Earthrise: My Adventures as an Apollo 14 Astronaut

by Edgar D. Mitchell, Ellen Mahoney, Brian Cox (Foreword)

The inspiring and fascinating biography of the sixth man to ever walk on the Moon Of the nearly seven billion people who live on Earth, only 12 have walked on the Moon and Dr. Edgar Mitchell was one of them. Earthrise is a vibrant memoir for young adults featuring the life story of this internationally known Apollo 14 astronaut. The book focuses on Edgar's amazing journey to the Moon in 1971 and highlights the many steps he took to get there, including growing up as a farm boy on a ranch; living in Roswell, New Mexico, during the alleged UFO crash; graduating from Carnegie Mellon and MIT; being a navy combat pilot; and becoming a NASA astronaut. In engaging and suspenseful prose he details his historic flight to the Moon, describing everything from the very practical—eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom in space—to the metaphysical, such as the life-changing sensation of connectedness to the universe that he felt and that has been described, in varying degrees, by many astronauts. Extensive resources include annotated lists of websites about space, museums and organizations, films and videos, and books for further reading.

Genres: Space, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Science, Memoir, Autobiography

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Captain Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell, Sc.D. is a former U.S. Naval officer, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, having served as the Lunar Module Pilot of the 1971 Apollo 14 mission and the 6th man to walk on the moon. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1970 by Richard Nixon.

He is the founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) for the purpose of consciousness research and related phenomena. His experience as an astronaut provided some of the inspiration for the phenomenon labeled the "Overview effect" by Frank White.

Reviews

[Merelee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I like Mitchell's description on his Apollo flight, his bio, his overview of Apollo missions, and his life-changing view if Earth form space. If you like science non-fiction, or biographies, or esp, you'll love this.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! An excellent narrative about going to the moon.

[Linnea · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an approachable memoir, full of inane details like a space menu for food eaten in the way to the moon, and other similar details, but lacking in the more technical details found in other astronauts' biographies. Easy read but not terribly engaging.

[Philip Hollenback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. One of the weaker astronaut autobiographies I have read. Worthwhile for completeness, but there are dozens of better examples of this genre out there.

[Bon Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun. I enjoyed reading how the astronaut went to the moon. I liked reading about his life and it was very interesting.

[Neil Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent accessible book. Light on technical detail but still exciting and extremely enjoyable

[Echidna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Torn between 3, 3.5, and 4 stars. It was an easy read, and provided a lot of detail about space travel, but not terribly exciting.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent memoir/autobiography of an Apollo 14 astronaut. This book is definitely targeted towards a younger audience, although it's hard to say which. There is enough text and few enough pictures/sidebars to suggest YA, but the language is very clear and basic. I suppose this would be good for YAs looking for something on the easier side, or for more patient middle grade kids.

It was a fascinating narrative that explained things without getting bogged down in technical details. I found Mitchell's personal transformation inspiring and am glad he shared that experience with readers. I myself had a similar experience of oneness and appreciation for Earth, albeit at a much smaller scale, as a result of my recent interest in space. If only the politicians and other leaders who seem to be racing to outdo each other in small-mindedness, greed, and environmental destruction could experience what Mitchell did: it would make our little "spaceship Earth" a much better place.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed for professional publication.

[Patrick DiJusto · Rating 3 out of 5]

It doesn't say anywhere on the book that it is a Young Adult non-fiction book. Nor was it stocked in the YA section. But in terms of content, this is definitely a YA book.