Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story

by Jeffrey Kluger, Rob Reider (Narrator)

From the bestselling author of Apollo 13 comes the thrilling untold story of the pioneering Gemini program that was instrumental in getting Americans on the moon.

Without Gemini, there would be no Apollo.

After we first launched Americans into space but before we touched down on the moon’s surface, there was the Gemini program. It was no easy jump from manned missions in low-Earth orbit to a successful moon landing, and the ten-flight, twenty-month celestial story of the Gemini program is an extraordinary one. There was unavoidable darkness in the program—the deaths and near-deaths that defined it, and the blood feud with the Soviet Union that animated it.

But there were undeniable and previously inconceivable successes. With a war raging in Vietnam and lawmakers calling for cuts to NASA’s budget, the success of the Gemini program—or the space program in general—was never guaranteed. Yet against all odds, the remarkable scientists and astronauts behind the project persevered, and their efforts paid off. Later, with the knowledge gained from the Gemini flights, NASA would launch the legendary Apollo program.

Told with Jeffrey Kluger’s signature cinematic storytelling and in-depth research and interviews, Gemini is an edge-of-your-seat narrative chronicling the history of the least appreciated—and most groundbreaking—space program in American history. Finally, Gemini’s story will be told, and finally, we’ll learn the truth of how we landed on the moon.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Space, Audiobook, Technology, American History

Audible Audio

First published November 11, 2025

About the author

Jeffrey Kluger is Editor at Large at Time, where he has written more than 45 cover stories. Coauthor of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which was the basis for the movie Apollo 13, he is also the author of 13 other books including his latest book Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story.

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

“America would ultimately celebrate Mercury and Apollo—its first venture into space and its first venture to another world—louder and longer and with more passion than it would celebrate Gemini, the middle sibling of the manned space program. But it was Gemini that taught the US to live in space, to work in space, to walk in space, to thrive in space. Without Gemini, men would never have walked on the moon. The green shoots of space habitation poked up in the soil that was the Gemini program. Sixteen men flew those ten missions—and those same sixteen men have never been fully celebrated for the greatness they exhibited. Let history right that wrong at last.”

Books like this one make me genuinely happy. Not only is this the story of humanity’s crazy triumph — for all our ambitions, there’s only one very near and yet incredibly far celestial body other than out own planet that we have managed to set a foot on, a thought both very humbling and yet full of deserved pride for all the strength of human ingenuity and science and sheer competence — but the way it’s told is just so reassuringly and happily competent, well-written, well-researched and accessible without condescension. And that’s enough reasons to keep my reader heart happy.

Far from being the overlooked middle child of the US Space Program, sandwiched between fancier Mercury and Apollo, Gemini (and it’s definitely Gemin-ee and not Gemin-eye, to my sheer delight at having had accidentally pronounced it correctly all this time) was the workhorse, the program that took what eventually was a fancy space tin can barely scratching Earth orbit and developed it into the spacecraft able to go to the Moon and back, with the human crew onboard remaining safe (-ish, to be precise). And that’s a remarkable achievement for a society that still produces idiots who believe that Moon landings were a conspiracy.

“Like all naval aviators, Schirra received hazard pay for combat flying or any other mission that could present a high risk of death. In Schirra’s case, the flight atop the Atlas, inside the Mercury, making a record-breaking six full circuits around the earth, earned him bonus pay of $35.31, more than any other astronaut to date.”

Everything the astronauts did was new and dangerous, and yet they handled it with remarkable character — even when the most dangerous part of their missions was, in the words of exasperated Gus Grissom to a reporter, “The part between liftoff and landing.” Things went wrong all the time, unexpected problems popped up, but those led to genius decisions quite a few times.

Both dangerous and extraordinary, Gemini was a testament to science and human daring perseverance.

Kluger’s style is calm and collected, thought-out and mission-focused, avoiding gossip or sensationalism. It’s mostly serious and focused, although with occasional warm humor or pathos infusion that lands right as it’s not overused. He highlights the desperate rivalry with the Soviet space program and, despite Gemini being the star of the book, brings in the necessary background of the US space program, devoting a third of the book to the early days and Mercury program. And altogether it flows so well and stays calmly exciting and engaging, with the perfect amount of love for space and respect for the space program and people behind it.

And special appreciation to the fantastic audiobook narrator Rob Reider who is quite perfect for this book. I’d highly recommend both the audio and the regular version.

“The valedictory mission of Gemini 12 followed Gemini 11 less than two months later, lifting off from Cape Kennedy at 3:46 p.m. on November 11, 1966, with Gemini 7 pilot Jim Lovell in the commander’s seat and Buzz Aldrin, nicknamed “Dr. Rendezvous,” as the pilot. No sooner had launchpad 19 cooled than welders, wreckers, and demolition experts converged on the site, reducing the gantry to junk and clearing it for the construction of more elaborate launch facilities to come as the glorious days of Apollo dawned and the United States moved on to the moon. Two hours earlier, Lovell and Aldrin had walked from their transport van to the gantry elevator, sealed in their suits and carrying their portable air-conditioning units. A sign on Lovell’s back read THE. A sign on Aldrin’s read END.
And so it was.”

5 stars.

——————

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an Advanced Listening Copy in exchange for an honest review.

——————
Also posted on my blog.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-written, thoroughly researched, informative non-fiction book, which vividly describes the Gemini spacecraft, equipment, astronauts, and missions. It details the program's importance in advancing space exploration, and places it within the context of the political climate. I especially enjoyed reading the headlines of the day. The epilogue and acknowledgements are enlightening and are truly appreciated.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, Mr. Kluger, and NetGalley, from whom I received an advanced reader copy of this fascinating book. This is my honest opinion.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the list of places I wouldn't go even if you paid me, space is pretty high up there (get it? GET IT?!). My position was even more firmly entrenched when I finished Jeffrey Kluger's Gemini (Fun fact: You are pronouncing it wrong). The book is totally fantastic, but space sounds totally terrible.

Gemini is such an inspired choice because the collective missions under the aforementioned umbrella were vital in making possible the moon landing. (Side note: Yes, the moon landing happened. I can't believe I need to say this.) Along the way were near death malfunctions, acts of heroism and genius, and a set of super surly astronauts.

Generally with excellent reviews, I have a lot to say. Honestly, though, Kluger writes this book with such streamlined precision that a long review isn't necessary. It's as if Kluger had a 5,000 pages of research and then just said, "Ok, I'll only keep the awesome stuff." It reads that way. Characters are established with minimal fanfare but enough to know who they are. The science is distilled down so even fools can understand it (and yes, I do mean me). The stories you are left with highlight just how dangerous and uncomfortable space is. In summary, I highly recommend this book. I do not, however, recommend going to space.

(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.)

[Michael Schramm · Rating 5 out of 5]

After pining for a book focused on NASA’s Gemini program for many years now, my wish finally materialized. By now, most enthusiasts of the United States’ early days of manned space pioneering are well acquainted with the vaunted “Mercury 7” astronauts as well as the Apollo missions to the Moon (and of course the hapless mission that went awry with Apollo 13). But even those fairly well versed with that seminal period of 1962-1972, might be hard pressed to weigh on the middle portion of a protracted program which was ultimately brought to fruition to land astronauts on the Moon before the end of the decade of the 1960s (per JFK’s challenge in a public address).

For me, the Gemini program was the most exciting and intrepid period for advancement in the astronaut program. Gemini missions were conducted from 1965-1967, wherein rapid advances were achieved by way of multi-staging with the Atlas rocket, rendezvouses, space walks and docking procedures all carried out with aplomb by “cool as cucumber” pilots and mission specialists for the various Gemini missions. Jeffrey Kluger (author of “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13”) provides the reader with a “you are there” feel as we learn of the myriad problems that arose across several missions that required cool heads to improvise on the fly. Men such as Borman, McDivitt, Aldrin, Young, Armstrong, Grissom and several others come across as superhuman in their exploits, courtesy of the engaging passages as penned by Mr. Kluger. Throughout his book, I gained valuable insight on the quantum technical leaps that were being made in such a short period of time—leaps that ultimately made it possible for Apollo to be phased in for the next big push to land humans on the Moon.

(My thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review).

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, Gemini, by Jeffrey Kluger, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Space travel has changed so much throughout the years. Gemini was a space program that started in 1961, it was not without tragedy, but was a much needed program to learn more about space. This was a very interesting read about the Gemini.

[Dona's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy popular science books, including books on astronomy, which is why I grabbed this one.

Sadly, I didn't find this book that engaging. The pacing and organization were off, which I find really affects the quality of a nonfiction book. I also don't know if there was enough material on the title subject, as it rambled quite a lot. This would still be a good choice for readers interested in the space race and moon landings.

Thank you to Jeffrey Kluger, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of GEMINI. All views are mine.

[Nancy Yager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeffrey Kluger takes us back to the early days of America’s space program in Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon—The Untold Story. The book gives a detailed look at all the steps that had to happen before NASA could make it to the moon. I enjoyed learning about history and found many details that I hadn’t known before.

That said, I was hoping for something a little more personal. Much of the book leans heavily on technical explanations, and the paragraphs are long, which makes it a bit hard to digest. A more familiar, interview-based style, perhaps drawing on family members or astronauts’ own recollections would have made it feel warmer and more relatable. I only suggest this because the author speaks of how much media coverage of these events. Many of the astronauts did personal interviews.

Still, I appreciate the depth of research, and if you’re interested in the nuts and bolts of how the Gemini program laid the foundation for Apollo, this book will certainly deliver. It’s more technical than I expected, but a worthwhile read for anyone curious about the history of America’s journey to the moon.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader Copy of the book.

[William de_Rham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeffrey Kluger’s “Gemini” is a history of NASA’s Gemini program, a series of two-man orbital missions designed to develop and test various capabilities necessary for sending astronauts to the moon via the Apollo program. It is a well-researched, well-written, and instructive work of non-fiction.

One of Mr. Kluger’s principal aims is to explain Gemini in the context of the entire effort to meet President Kennedy’s 1961 goal of “… landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth” before the end of the decade. To do that, he reviews:

- Soviet accomplishments in space, including the first orbital satellite (Sputnik) and first manned missions;

- US efforts to catch up, including the employment of German scientists from the WWII V-1 and V-2 rocket programs, and the formation of NASA and Project Mercury,

- The involvement of various politicians in the "space race," including Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

- Project Mercury’s seven astronauts and their missions, as well some of the people leading NASA on the ground.

He then goes on to detail all ten of the Gemini missions, concentrating on the men who flew them, each mission’s objectives and why they were necessary to “get to the moon,” and what actually happened during each mission. The story he tells is filled with anecdotes and allows readers to get to know—at least a little—the astronauts involved in the project.

Mr. Kluger’s prose is straightforward and clear. He has a talent for explaining complex technical matters in easy-to-understand terms. I especially appreciated this when it came to his descriptions of the physics of rocketry, orbital mechanics, and spacecraft design and construction. His accounts of various “space walks” had me on the edge of my chair.

Scheduled for publication on November 11 of this year, just in time for the holidays, “Gemini” is a good choice for anyone interested in NASA, the history of space exploration, and/or the “space race” between the US and USSR throughout the 1960s.

My thanks to NetGalley, author Jeffrey Kluger, and publisher St. Martin's Press for providing me with a complimentary ARC. All of the foregoing is my honest, independent opinion.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a rare book that can have me holding my breath for a tense moment. Al Michaels’ recount of the Miracle on Ice is the last one I can recall. Even when I know the outcome - like Apollo 13 (I recently found a copy of Mr. Kluger’s Lost Moon, now on my “Space shelf”, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Must remedy that.) - sometimes an author can write something in a compelling way that… well, grabs me. And the Introduction did just that, with Gene Cernan’s spacewalk. Then it settles down to a fine accounting of the oft overlooked but critical program with the NASA pronounced name of Gem-in-ee.

I eat this stuff up. I grew up in this era and I was two months shy of five when the Cernan spacewalk happened and I remember listening to the coverage of it with my father (he recorded it, a couple of other Gemini missions and definitely the moon landing on reel to reel tape - no video recording at home back then!) Yes, I remember it. I still had a hard time keeping the NASA pronunciation in my head, as opposed to the astrological. (In Latin, I understand it should probably be ghemenee.)

Mr. Kluger actually covers the entire 1960s space programs, Mercury in somewhat less (but still full enough) detail than the subject, and throws in an epilogue of Apollo flights. I liked getting to know more about the astronauts (and administrators). Their peccadilloes and their senses of humor.

Gus Grissom: “What, the journalist wanted to know, would be the most dangerous part of the mission? Grissom regarded him the way he'd regard a fly that had gotten through the screen door of his Houston home and was buzzing peskily around his head.
‘The part between liftoff and landing,’ he responded.”

Mr. Kluger’s storytelling is engaging and as noted above, prompts me to read more from my TBR space shelf. I appreciate getting an advance review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

[J.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only question now was how to pronounce that name. The astrology nuts would speak the word with an eye at the end – GEM-in-eye. But there were not a whole lot of astrology nuts at NASA. There were pilots and engineers and military men, and they did what pilots and engineers and military men do – which is to say that they made up their own technical pronunciation. Within the walls of NASA, the word would thus land with a long e at the end – GEM-in-ee.

There's a scene in the movie "That Thing You Do" where astronaut Gus Grissom is being interviewed on tv and he corrects the host on the pronunciation, so that explanation jumped out at me while reading. And this is an excellent history of the Gemini program, the forgotten middle child in the American space program between Mercury and Apollo. Kluger, who wrote an excellent book on Apollo 8, has done a great job with the Gemini Project as well. Gemini was very much a competition with the Soviet space program – but much more public even when things didn't go right. Whereas Mercury got men into space – albeit low orbit, and one man at a time – Gemini was a stepping stone to Apollo, where the US would attempt to land men on the moon. Gemini began with crews of 2 and featured space walks and longer missions and docking with other space vehicles.

But with our hindsight, we don't often understand how difficult and dangerous these things were. And Gemini had its own tragedy as well, when two of the astronauts were killed in a training flight accident (in T-38 jets, not in the space capsules). Plus, it was hugely expensive, and with the Vietnam War going on, Congress complained about the high cost and whether it was worthwhile or not and whether the US could catch up to the Soviets, who seemed to have an insurmountable head start. But with President Kennedy's challenge to land a man on the moon before the decade was over and the clever promotion that rallied the American people, Gemini was hugely successful.

America would ultimately celebrate Mercury and Apollo – its first venture into space and its first venture to another world – louder and longer and with more passion than it would celebrate Gemini, the middle sibling of the manned space program. But it was Gemini that taught the US to live in space, to work in space, to walk in space, to thrive in space. Without Gemini, men would never have walked on the moon... Sixteen men flew those ten missions – and those sixteen men have never been fully celebrated for the greatness they exhibited. Let history right that wrong at last.

This was a great book that highlights the accomplishments of all those who made the Gemini program and future space flight possible. It remined me of other excellent books on the subject, such as The Right Stuff and Red Moon Rising. (Thanks to the publisher for an advance electronic copy.)

[Dave Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both the Mercury project and the Apollo program live on in memory as the key stepping stones to the moon, but between the two was the Gemini project with its 19 launches that bridged the gap between "we got a man to orbit the Earth!" and "we sent men to the moon with a lander, separated while orbiting, landed on the moon, explored, took off from the moon, docked with the orbiting spaceship, and flew back to the Earth".

The Gemini project accounted for 19 launches, with 10 crewed missions, as NASA and its many contractors figured out an endless parade of engineering challenges, from seat design to batteries, landing control systems to docking with another vessel in space, space walks, and so much more.

There were successes and failures, even life-threatening dangers. The project tragically lost two of its astronauts when Elliot See and Charles Bassett crashed their fighter jet into a McDonnell Aircraft building near the St. Louis Airport while attempting to land during terrible weather. Most of the Gemini astronauts went on to become part of the Apollo program too, including Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Pete Conrad, Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, and Mike Collins.

With all of this history, however, there's just not much available about the Gemini project and its many milestones in the Space Race. Enter "Gemini" from author and long-time NASA aficionado Jeffrey Kluger. If you're a space nut like me - I've been fascinated by NASA for decades - you'll love the details and information about obstacles encountered and overcome. Even the most casual readers will find Kluger's breezy style and superb research result in an eminently readable book. Highly recommended.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gemini missions were sandwiched between the Mercury and Apollo missions, but as author Jeffrey Kluger points out, it was “Gemini that taught the US to live in space, to work in space, to walk in space, to thrive in space. Without Gemini, men would never have walked on the moon.” This reader has been fortunate to have been alive during the period and my e-reader has many space related books most of which concentrate on the Apollo flights. This volume adds many previously unknown stories of what it really took to go from suborbit to earth orbit to moon orbit to actually landing on the lunar surface. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

[Mary Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was worried at first that a book about the Gemini space program might be dry and boring, but the book, Gemini, is extraordinary. It details the Gemini flights and the political landscape leading up to them in a way that's really compelling and almost feels like a thriller in parts. I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed Gemini. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

[Kara Babcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space: the final frontier. Except it’s actually many frontiers. The history of spaceflight is fascinating precisely because of its incremental nature. Humanity didn’t suddenly venture forth into deep space, and obviously we have a ways to go yet. So I love reading about this history, and the Gemini program is something with which I was not very familiar. In Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story, Jeffrey Kluger chronicles this program. I received an eARC from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in return for a review.

The book is a fairly straightforward, chronological account of the Gemini program, bookended by brief summaries of Mercury and Apollo. Kluger splits his focus between the people and the products. He provides brief biographies on each of the astronauts as well as some of the key behind-the-scenes figures, like Chris Kraft. Alongside, he explains the development of key technologies, such as the Titan and Atlas boosters, ejection seats, etc. He also compares the program to the simultaneous progress made by the USSR, thereby situating Gemini within the larger context of the space race.

Kluger somehow manages to move us through the years in a way that sustains interest and avoids getting too technical. I won’t pretend I was enraptured for the entire time. Nevertheless, it was really fascinating to see the series of missions presented less as an overdramatized story and more as stepping stones. Kluger doesn’t lionize the people involved, and he doesn’t sugarcoat anything either—especially when it comes to mistakes made. You really get a sense of how much hard work went into this project, yet also how much still came down to luck.

Indeed, this book is at its best when Kluger explains how engineers or the astronauts themselves overcame setbacks and solved problems you might not even realize would be problems in microgravity. When contractors failed to deliver, people at NASA improvised a new mission schedule. When astronauts decided their flight suits were too hot, they silently protested until flight control reached a compromise with them. These are the little moments of history that might not always make it into the big-budget spectacle movies yet are fascinating regardless!

The details of the various astronauts kind of blur together. Part of this is just the sameness of their backgrounds—Kluger does his best to distinguish between their personalities, accomplishments, origin stories, etc. Yet there is only so much you can say about “white man joined the military and wanted to fly planes and now he’s going to space.” Obviously certain names, Jim Lovell’s in particular, feature more prominently. At the end of the day, however, I can’t say I came away from this book with a better understanding of the people involved in these missions.

Kluger also shies away from discussions or revisionism of politics at NASA. No discussion of the Lavender Scare, for instance, which in recent years coloured the launch of the otherwise incredible JWST. While some might argue that Kluger is simply attempting to stick to the facts, he doesn’t mind editorializing when it comes to, say, Lyndon Johnson’s fixation with the space program. Yet, aside from the obvious need to discuss Kennedy’s assassination, there is precious little mention of the persecution of communists, of the Vietnam War, etc. So in this respect, I am slightly disappointed that Gemini is so narrow it fails to address the shortcomings of NASA during this time or indeed to engage on any meaningful level with the social and political environment of the late 1960s.

If you’re looking for something that discusses the technology of Gemini and the incredible innovations of this slice of the American space program, then I highly recommend this book. On the other hand, if you want something with wider scope when it comes to the social and political context of this program and spaceflight in general, I don’t think Gemini delivers on that front.

Originally posted on Kara.Reviews.

[Jackie Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sixteen astronauts made history with ten US Gemini missions from 1961 to 1966. Jeffrey Kluger tells the background story of these men, details of the flights and federal budget concerns. It’s well written with an impressive amount of research.

NASA’s programs (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo) were competing against the Soviet Union with the race to safely be the first for mankind to orbit the Earth and land on the Moon. It takes us to a historical time when Americans were glued to their TV sets while watching the flights launch from Cape Canaveral. Yet, there was so much in this book that we never knew about. It shows us the progress that was made with each Gemini flight. While there are many astronauts and commanders involved, it was not overwhelming.

This is a part of our history that makes us proud with new discoveries. Yet, it was a costly program that required a large portion of US federal funding -- and still does. This book showed how politics played a role with the advancement of the space missions and how it made us think about the importance of supporting science.

The author used notes from extensive interviews over the years, flight transcripts, technical documents, magazine and newspaper clippings, federal budget documents and reports from Presidential library archives along with books on autobiographies. It’s all there.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of November 11, 2025. The opinions presented are my own.

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I want to thank both NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Jeffrey Kluger’s gripping book Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story. From intro to epilogue I was entertained with stories of bravery and mystery to personality traits and well timed humor.

Perhaps Kluger’s greatest strength is his ability to share individual astronauts’ quirks, both positive and negative, that attach the reader to the man performing life threatening experimentation in space. The curt comms between astronaut to ground crew are often humorous, poignant and powerful.

Structurally, I enjoyed learning more about the oft overlooked Gemini program and missions in their natural progression. So aptly titled stepping stone that it be, I will be going full space nerd and continuing straight into the Apollo programs for my next read. Great book. I have been sharing informational nuggets from it for days now.

[Patrick Laney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written narrative of the forgotten, yet pivotal Gemini missions. The storytelling is necessarily detailed without being exhaustive or boring. For a book that is focused on sharing the story of Gemini and pointing out it being too easily lost in the more popular stories of Mercury and Apollo, it spends far too much time on Mercury (approximately 30%) which somewhat undermines an important point the author makes in the end. In the end, Gemini is a stepping stone and this is a fairly accessible and engaging read for anyone interested in learning more about how America ultimately arrived at the moon.

[Maddelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a bit of a space nerd, so this book was right up my alley. Kluger takes a look at the Gemini program, which he makes a case is the sadly overlooked sibling between the Mercury and Apollo programs. It was interesting to read about the people that shaped the space program, some of whom are famous and some who aren't. Kluger does a great job of putting these events in their historical context while also showing the feeling of urgency and excitement around the space program.

[Christina Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book! When my son was going through his physics and astronomy stage I read Kluger's Apollo 8--another winner--and this was every bit as absorbing, with its share of thrilling and moving moments.

Kluger goes in depth on the missions between Mercury and Apollo, as well as how Kennedy Space Center came to be. Having recently visited Cape Canaveral, I was sorry I hadn't read this beforehand. Next time I am definitely shelling out for the big tour.

[Ebbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book that’s supposed to be about an oft neglected chapter in the space race, we sure spent a lot of time talking about Mercury and Apollo instead. I do think the Gemini program makes for a fascinating deep dive, but sadly I don’t think Kluger did it justice. The two biggest things I struggled with were the pacing, and wondering who this was written for.

Regarding the pacing; the first third was fine, but then everything grinds to a halt so we can flashback to the 20’s and hear a little story about a three year old, and his sandwich snack. The point of the story is apparently, if Chris Kraft hadn’t gotten so injured as a child, he wouldn’t have been rejected from the Navy, and never would have gotten an engineering degree, and that would have changed history?? Which felt like a weird message to me, given that I thought the whole point of the accomplishments of Space Race was the tireless work of thousands of people made it all possible, cumulatively. Not a couple of specific special men.

And then on the other end of the pacing problems, there were multiple times we just zoomed right past something I would have loved to learn more about, or sat with longer. We’ll be there for every step of the launch of a mission, all the way through the atmosphere, and first several orbits, and then just smash cut to “they landed 2 days later” ??? did they just twiddle their thumbs and stare aimlessly out the window for two days??? And there was essentially zero information about things like the actual space suits design and construction process, which you’d think would have been a long and important process, to keep men alive in the vacuum of space for the first time ever?? Nah, no details, but we do get to learn about all the different types of rockets and their construction, and the history of rockets, and how powerful the rockets are, and how cool the rockets are, etc etc.

I can’t imagine that someone who only kinda knows about Apollo 11 picking up this book and having a good time. It absolutely assumes a lot of background knowledge of the era (or maybe the assumption that you were alive during the 60’s watching these launches at school…), and jumps around enough in the timeline to be confusing. But I also could see someone who does remember these events getting annoyed at the way Kluger repeatedly fabricates tension, about impending tragedy for the missions….which they know turns out fine, because they know those astronauts go on to fly other, famous missions, or knowing that the astronaut in question only died relatively recently, and not in a horrible fireball in the sky in the 60’s. And again, if you don’t know anything about these events, you’re going to get annoyed at all the fakeouts about disaster.

I did find the information about the Soviet’s side of things interesting, because I haven’t read much about that before, but again, I would have loved more time spent on it.

The final thing that leaves the worst taste in my mouth, is the framing of “no one else tells this story”, but most of the non fiction about 60’s era NASA are memoirs by the astronauts themselves! I don’t think it’s fair to claim Apollo gets all the glory, when those astronauts flew in both missions (or sometimes Mercury instead), and thus talk about their whole career.

I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Gab · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect.

Jeffrey Kluger tells the story of the Gemini program (the NASA's program - after Mercury's first space flights - that paved the way for Apollo to go to the moon) in a way that's so vibrant, so poignant, that you cannot stop reading. Even though I knew how all the missions ended from previous interest in space exploration, I still learned so much and profoundly enjoyed reading about it all from the collected retold perspective of those who lived it. The book mentions the technical aspects of many of the flights, but does so in a very easily approachable manner, so the reader can grasp how dangerous and/or difficult different manoeuvres were, without ever requiring advanced knowledge of physics or other sciences.

I will say, I am biased because I love learning about space (so much so that I had to pause my reading thought it was difficult to put it down for even a minute to look up the images and videos of many of the events described in the book), but I would highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to understand a bit better how NASA structured its missions to eventually get men to land on the moon.

I had never read a book by Kluger, but I will now be rushing to the bookstore to acquire copies of all of them, as well as this one once it is available.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. Gemini comes out this week (November 11th).

[Kamis · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

An excellent look at the Gemini missions, the middle child of the space program. There have been plenty of books about the Apollo and Mercury missions, but Gemini gets relegated mostly to footnotes and quick info before moving on to other things.

Gemini was the bridge between Mercury and Apollo. It involved spacecraft that was twice the size of those used during Mercury, included two astronauts instead of one, and had many different tasks to accomplish to prove that the US was ready to land people on the moon. These included things like spacewalks, docking and undocking, and longer duration missions lasting up to 2 weeks. Besides the many triumphs, there were a lot of close calls and near disasters which could have ended the entire program. The program didn't end though - it accomplished all the tasks set before it and proved that man could be sent to the moon. Without Gemini, Apollo wouldn't have been possible.

While the Gemini spacecraft were double the size of Mercury, they were by no means roomy or comfortable. I had the chance to sit in a replica of one at OMSI, a science museum in Portland. I sat in one seat, and my friend sat in the other. We are both pretty small (5' 2" and 5' 5"), and it still had a cramped feeling. I can't imagine being stuck in one for 3 days, let alone 2 weeks.

My only real issue with this was the author's repetitive writing style. When listing out things, he constantly repeats the same beginning word over and over. I don't remember this from his previous books, but it does get a little old after a while. Besides that small annoyance, the book is well-written, with lots of research covering not only the whole span of Gemini, but also info on the formation of NASA, the Soviet Union's accomplishments, and the Mercury and Apollo programs. A must for anyone who loves space and the space race.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Lara Reading Wild · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say, I was absolutely enthralled by this book. The author found a beautiful balance of giving technical detail while still keeping a fluid, engaging narrative.

I appreciated how the author wove in the politics of the era, as well as the juxtaposition the Soviet program.

The author’s narrative style makes this book easily readable and accessible for anyone interested in learning about this part of American space program history. I could have easily read this in one sitting if I had a day set aside! I’ll definitely be looking for other books by this author.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an exciting presentation of a lesser known (at least for me) NASA program! For one, I have now learned to *not* pronounce the NASA Gemini program like the constellation (Gemin EYE) and more like the NASA experts of the 60s (Gemin EE). Okay, well in truth, that is just one small bit of trivia in an extensive story. This book certainly helped to fill in some of the blanks in my novice level of knowledge about the beginnings of the famous 60s era Space Race. The background information about the Mercury program and details about the Cold War political climate offers important context for the subsequent monumental scientific history. Quite impressively, while Kluger covers heady engineering concepts within these detailed chapters, he manages to keep the content engaging, even suspenseful at times, and I have been inspired to explore more resources on NASA's 1960s heyday, including Kluger's additional books on the subject.

I do admit that I got a bit lost in some of the more technical details, but that could be due to my lower level of incoming knowledge about space travel. Part of me also hoped for a more personal perspective of the astronauts. The technical details are incredibly well researched here, but I also would have loved to know more about what the key players were thinking and their motivations.

The narrator on the audiobook is fantastic, absolutely perfect for this book. There is a classy aspect to his voice and cadence that almost reminds me of announcers of the 60s; I mean this in a positive way! His voice creates an ambiance that is quite complementary to the subject matter.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jeffrey Kluger, and Macmillan Audio for sending me this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well researched and written. It covers primarily the little written about Gemini program that took place between the original Mercury program and the Apollo program that reached the moon. The first part of the book spends most of the time on the Mercury program, the recruitment of the astronauts and the issues that occured during it. It them picks up with the Gemini program a d covers in detail the progress of the program until the Apollo program becomes the focus. This is a good book for those who are interested in the history of the space program.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

[Cathy O'c · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gemini is an impressive work. Anyone who grew up obsessed with the space program will enjoy this amazingly well researched and detailed book. The author weaves a compelling timeline of the space race and the development of NASA. He provides background and personal stories about many astronauts and other people involved in the space race along the way. Even though this book is dense with facts and technical information, the way the author personalizes the story makes it very readable and enjoyable. I would recommend this to anyone seeking to expand their knowledge of the early days of NASA and the space race.

[Kelly Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a delight of a read! For anyone remotely interested in the space program and how we got to where we are today, this was such a detailed and exhaustive book, but it is such an easy and enjoyable read, written like a narrative. The detail in all of the stories of each mission and getting to hear each person's perspective was incredible, showing everyone's humanity with a bit of humor, but at the same time explaining the details and relevant physics. It really puts into perspective how much work went into these missions, and how meticulous they had to think through each step closer to the moon.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, it was a pleasure to read and review.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unforgettable time in history captured in both the technical and human aspects of early space travel by one who knows from the inside out. I found it to be eminently readable by one who is neither astronaut nor engineer of any stripe. A good read and comfortably absorbed. Lots of witty parts, too.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Pub Date Nov 11, 2025
#GeminiBook by @jeffkluger #SteppingStonetotheMoon #untoldstory @stmartinspress #astronauts #usspaceprogram #nonfiction

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading books about NASA and the history of U.S. space exploration, even the depressing ones (like the books about the Challenger and Columbia shuttle explosions), and I especially loved Lost Moon, about the Apollo 13 disaster that nonetheless resulted in all three astronauts surviving through the work of many. Jeffrey Kluger was the coauthor of Jim Lovell’s Lost Moon so I was eager to read his new book, Gemini. (He is the author of another dozen books on various topics as well.)

Gemini covers stories about the early space program that I was not familiar with (along with a review of the Apollo 1 fire, which seems to be obligatory in every book about the U.S. space program). Since it does not cover one long incident, like the Apollo 13 disaster, the tension found in that book is not present here. There is true danger for the astronaut pioneers, along with mistakes and deaths and miraculous escapes, but Gemini is not riveting throughout its entire 300 pages.

Still, if you like to read about the space program, I recommend Gemini. I read new information, revisited a lot of astronauts from previous books and movies, met new people I was not familiar with, and was reminded how truly brave astronauts are. Kluger writes, “Every docking a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft makes with the space station, every space walk any astronaut from any nation takes, every step an Apollo astronaut took on the lunar surface, every one of the 135 space shuttle missions, every scientific experiment conducted aboard any active spacecraft flows directly and indirectly from lessons learned more than a half a century ago when the very first Geminis with their very first astronauts made their very first flights into the void.” (Introduction for the ARC) He is right that this was a story that needed to be told.

I read an advance reader copy of Gemini from Netgalley.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have more than a casual interest in space flight, so I was eager to dive into this forthcoming book on the Gemini missions (that’s pronounced Jem-i-nee). Jeffrey Kluger was the co-author of the definitive book on Apollo 13, which was the basis for the hit film with Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Ed Harris. That fact alone made me eager with anticipation.

In order to understand the Gemini missions, Kluger provides the backstory to how the United States got there. Exploring the Cold War and the Soviet’s space program, the reader feels the sense of dread that the United States felt. The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik and sent a man to space, leaving many to believe that America was losing the Cold War. President Kennedy’s bold assertion that NASA could land a man on the moon by the end of the decade was a call-to-action.

Gemini is filled with a blend of Cold War tension, personal perseverance, and scientific triumph. This high-stakes, historically grounded narrative was expertly researched; I really felt like I was reading a science fiction book. Speaking of which, I was pleased that the author explained the scientific aspects with clarity and an easy-to-understand way.

After detailing the Mercury missions and all that was accomplished, Kluger goes on to detail all ten of the Gemini missions. He mentions the team behind each mission, what they were trying to accomplish, and what the result was. Even though we may know how the missions turned out, the narrative really puts you on the edge of your seat.

I thought the narrator of the audiobook was spot on. His inflections when describing some of the fraught situations pulled me into the story even further. I would listen to something by this narrator again,