Apollo: The extraordinary visual history of the iconic space programme

by Zack Scott

Explore the iconic Apollo space missions and moon landings through these stunning infographics and data visualisations. If you like space, this book is for you.

The Apollo Program ran from 1961 until 1972, and marks one of the greatest accomplishments in all of human endeavour - man walking on the moon. On 20th July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin achieved this most remarkable feat, becoming the first humans to visit another celestial body.

Apollo is an extraordinary visual history of the story of this iconic space programme, based on recently released NASA data about the various missions of that name. Using beautifully designed infographics, Apollo takes us through all the astonishing facts and figures, as well as some quirky little-known details, and gives us a detailed and elegant history of the seventeen missions which saw twelve humans step on the surface of the moon. Apollo gives us an insight in to the incredible individuals who made that journey.

What readers are saying about Apollo:

'Always loved NASA and the Apollo missions and this book breaks down all the rockets and missions so you can understand every detail'

'Love it, would highly recommend. Easy for everyone to understand and a great gift'

'Five stars'

Genres: Nonfiction, Space, Science, History

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2017

About the author

One sunny day, a stingray bit Zack while he was snorkeling. You might be asking yourself, ‘Hey do stingrays even have teeth?’ Well according to the scientists at Wikipedia, stingrays do indeed have teeth. Now this was no serious bite wound, looked more like a hickey, a hickey on his arm, a hickey from a stingray.

Zack has also written a few stories.

Reviews

[ʚ Aileen ɞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally a book about the Apollo mission, and space in general, where you don‘t have to be a math genius to actually understand it. Very informative, and the illustrations were great too.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

March 2025

I was disappointed that this book had zero photographs; I had been expecting that. It’s just diagrams and line drawings to visually display many data points of the Apollo missions. Some of these were really interesting as I hadn’t seen some of this data before (like comparisons of how close each mission came to its landing site). It also has a page on Skylab and a page on the Apollo-Soyeuz rendezvous. I mostly skimmed the text (it was so tiny and in a sans serif font) rather than read it cover to cover, and studied the diagrams. Ideal for space nerds who love comparing data.



Clean content

[Romaly Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I've always been a space nerd so reading this beautiful book was amazing. The infographics are very well done and the writing provides a great commentary.

[Richard Archambault · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun quick read to go along with my recent Apollo program fascination. I didn't realize that all the astronauts were not only excellent pilots (save one), but that they all were highly intelligent men, all with degrees and in the top of their classes.

A few things that I wish had been different in the book, though:

* Some sentences were a little awkward, and I had to re-read them 3 or 4 times. This was especially a problem on the page that talked about the number of lunar rovers built and used.
* I wish there had been little biographies of the command module pilots (the ones who didn't get to walk on the moon)
* The end felt a bit too much like filler, like "crawler transport speed comparison".

Still even with these little things, I did enjoy this book, and it sent me to Wikipedia quite a few times! Now, I want to read The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space and Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon!

[Ryan Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a self confessed space geek and this book is my favorite space book of all time. The quality of the pages, of the art, the infographics and the story it tells are all utterly fantastic.

I can't reccomend this book enough to anyone even remotely interested in either space of the Apollo missions.

This books doesnt just cover the moon landings, it covers every detail of the entire program from start to finish, and you will love every second.

[Kea4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good graphics and information. It is a very informative book.
The Apollo Program ran from 1961 until 1972 and gives you very detailed information that’s easy to understand. Shows you the rockets, where they landed, and so on. I liked the book. I would have used real photos of the astronauts instead of drawings but that’s just a minor issue.

https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...

[Ray Smillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cannot argue with the fact that the title of this publication exactly describes the contents. A few photographs would have been nice however this is a nice addition for those, like me, who loved the Apollo missions and were allowed to watch the first steps on the moon live in the wee small hours.

[Lisa K · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

Color scheme and small type made it hard for this middle-aged space travel enthusiast to read, so I gave up quickly. Very excited to learn about Moon Trees, though. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary...

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent visual and factual record of the Apollo missions the Moon.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting visual way of presenting information about the Apollo program.

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you're into this sort of thing or not, this is a very interesting read alongside cute graphics, making literal rocket science easier to understand for people like me! I would have loved some actual photographs from the surface of the moon and of the astronauts, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the Google searches that followed.

[Nova Syzygy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this in the library and decided to impulsively pick it up. I know more about future space travel than past missions, and I thought to basically catch up on my history and stuff. I think I should have a separate rating system for non-fiction, because I can’t exactly deduct two stars for a lack of plot when this isn’t meant to have a plot in the first place.
Anyway:

Was this informative? Yes.
Was this more or less enjoyable? Yes.
Was it fun to read? Kind of?
Was everything explained in a clear and concise way? Big yes.

Overall, this is a pretty good nonfiction book to explain all of the Apollo missions, how they worked, and what the individual components did.

[James Francis McEnanly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A primer on the Apollo missions

This book would have been a good book for a bright child to read during the Apollo era. It would still be good to read 50 years later to understand what was involved.

[☆ Grace ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!!!!!!!

[Einer Denkt · Rating 2 out of 5]

reine schaubildartige Auflistung der Daten und Fakten - ziemlich oberflächlich, liest sich wie eine Lobhudelei. Technik- und Raumfahrtbegeistere werden vermutlich eher enttäuscht sein.