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Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: NASA’s Moon Landing Program
Discover the exciting backstage story of the NASA’s Apollo program and lunar landing with this volume of essays by the program's participants—engineers, administrators, and astronauts – describing the unprecedented challenges associated with putting men on the Moon. Written in direct, jargon-free language, this enthralling exploration story features nearly a hundred black-and-white illustrations as well as more than 160 dazzling color photographs. This comprehensive survey offers insights into the program's management challenges as well as its engineering feats.
No nation ever demonstrated its aspirations and abilities as dramatically as did the United States when it landed the first men on the Moon, or as much in public: More people on Earth watched that first small step on a foreign planet than had witnessed any prior event in the ascent of man.
In planning this photo history NASA set out to record the story of Apollo before the colors fade and memories blur. They decided that the breadth of Apollo would be shown best from the differing perspectives of the people directly concerned. Each chapter author was encouraged to recount his part of the story as he remembered it. Although they are necessarily personalized and slightly duplicative, they do offer the viewpoints of some of the people who made Apollo happen, and thus may provide fresh insights into that incredible project.
New scientific insights are an important part of the legacy of Apollo, as well as the worldwide lift to the human spirit that the achievement generated. But there is a third legacy of Apollo that is particularly germane today. This was the demonstration that great and difficult endeavors can be conducted successfully by a steadfast mobilization of national will and resources.
In looking back at the origins and development of the Apollo program, one word that comes to mind is action. Apollo was an outstanding example of how governmental agencies, industrial firms, and universities can work together to reach seemingly impossible goals.
No nation ever demonstrated its aspirations and abilities as dramatically as did the United States when it landed the first men on the Moon, or as much in public: More people on Earth watched that first small step on a foreign planet than had witnessed any prior event in the ascent of man.
In planning this photo history NASA set out to record the story of Apollo before the colors fade and memories blur. They decided that the breadth of Apollo would be shown best from the differing perspectives of the people directly concerned. Each chapter author was encouraged to recount his part of the story as he remembered it. Although they are necessarily personalized and slightly duplicative, they do offer the viewpoints of some of the people who made Apollo happen, and thus may provide fresh insights into that incredible project.
New scientific insights are an important part of the legacy of Apollo, as well as the worldwide lift to the human spirit that the achievement generated. But there is a third legacy of Apollo that is particularly germane today. This was the demonstration that great and difficult endeavors can be conducted successfully by a steadfast mobilization of national will and resources.
In looking back at the origins and development of the Apollo program, one word that comes to mind is action. Apollo was an outstanding example of how governmental agencies, industrial firms, and universities can work together to reach seemingly impossible goals.
553 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 11, 2015
10 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 19, 2025
One of my earliest memories as a child is of being awoken after my bedtime by my parents. I was three years old and they proceeded to place me next to the television set. They then took my picture with their state-of-the-art Polaroid camera next to the fuzzy picture of the Apollo 11 astronauts bouncing around on the Moon for the first time in human history. From then on, my early childhood was permeated with rocket launches and moon landings. It was something that we simply did until we stopped doing it.
As time progressed, and I’ve become older, I’ve come to realize how important the moon landings actually were. They depicted the tangible results of science and they commanded respect by just about everyone, even those that had no knowledge of the scientific process. At present, the respect for science has diminished, so much so that those who do not understand the process feel empowered to dismiss it on a mere wim of their own desires. It’s hard to dismiss the sight of astronauts walking on the moon, but dismissing the science of climate change has become routine.
As with any book of extensive details, the level of your enjoyment will be proportional to your fanaticism for the subject. My childhood experiences and my observations of science in society as an adult have lead me to this level of enthusiasm for the golden age of space exploration. Plus walking on the Moon is badass-cool. I am a fan.
As a collections of essays from the various participants in the space program, Apollo Expeditions to the Moon had the potential to become a maze of information. The individual writers could have produced similar stories of their favorite moments which would have repeatedly overlapped with each other. However, to the credit of the editor, Edgar Cortright has assembled a series of focused essays on specific events by the people that knew their topics well. In this way, the collection of essays comes together as a collective history of the Apollo Program and the details of the work are such that true fans of Apollo space flight will relish the minutia.
If you happen to be venturing into this subject for the first time, I recommend that you start elsewhere, with broader accounts of the Apollo Program and manned space flight in general. Possibly warm up with The Right Stuff by Wolfe (movie or book); move into binge-watching the TV mini-series From the Earth to the Moon, throw in a viewing of Apollo 13, and then read a book like Moon Shot by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton. If you are still interested in the subject of manned space flight after that, be rest assured you will be fanatically ready for the contents of Apollo Expeditions to the Moon.
As time progressed, and I’ve become older, I’ve come to realize how important the moon landings actually were. They depicted the tangible results of science and they commanded respect by just about everyone, even those that had no knowledge of the scientific process. At present, the respect for science has diminished, so much so that those who do not understand the process feel empowered to dismiss it on a mere wim of their own desires. It’s hard to dismiss the sight of astronauts walking on the moon, but dismissing the science of climate change has become routine.
As with any book of extensive details, the level of your enjoyment will be proportional to your fanaticism for the subject. My childhood experiences and my observations of science in society as an adult have lead me to this level of enthusiasm for the golden age of space exploration. Plus walking on the Moon is badass-cool. I am a fan.
As a collections of essays from the various participants in the space program, Apollo Expeditions to the Moon had the potential to become a maze of information. The individual writers could have produced similar stories of their favorite moments which would have repeatedly overlapped with each other. However, to the credit of the editor, Edgar Cortright has assembled a series of focused essays on specific events by the people that knew their topics well. In this way, the collection of essays comes together as a collective history of the Apollo Program and the details of the work are such that true fans of Apollo space flight will relish the minutia.
If you happen to be venturing into this subject for the first time, I recommend that you start elsewhere, with broader accounts of the Apollo Program and manned space flight in general. Possibly warm up with The Right Stuff by Wolfe (movie or book); move into binge-watching the TV mini-series From the Earth to the Moon, throw in a viewing of Apollo 13, and then read a book like Moon Shot by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton. If you are still interested in the subject of manned space flight after that, be rest assured you will be fanatically ready for the contents of Apollo Expeditions to the Moon.
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October 20, 2025There's a terrific 45-minute video of the US and USSR moon programs: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0846565/re...
August 23, 2018
Interesting stories, written by various people covering the Apollo program. At first it's strange to read, but once you understand the format, it is worth reading. I especially liked the tidbits of personal knowledge, some of which is quite amusing.
My biggest complaint about the book (Kindle version) is that it was obviously created using OCR. There are more than enough examples that no one proofread it after conversion.
My biggest complaint about the book (Kindle version) is that it was obviously created using OCR. There are more than enough examples that no one proofread it after conversion.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews