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The Man Who Knew the Way to the Moon
The story of John C. Houbolt, an unsung hero of Apollo 11 and the man who showed NASA how to put America on the moon.
Without John C. Houbolt, a junior engineer at NASA, Apollo 11 would never have made it to the moon.
Top NASA engineers on the project, including Werner Von Braun, strongly advocated for a single, huge spacecraft to travel to the moon, land, and return to Earth. It's the scenario used in 1950s cartoons and horror movies about traveling to outer space.
Houbolt had another idea: Lunar Orbit Rendezvous. LOR would link two spacecraft in orbit while the crafts were travelling at 17,000 miles per hour. His plan was ridiculed and considered unthinkable. But this junior engineer was irrepressible. He stood by his concept, fired off memos to executives, and argued that LOR was the only way to success.
For the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, hear the untold story of the man who helped fulfill Kennedy’s challenge to reach the moon and begin exploring the final frontier.
Without John C. Houbolt, a junior engineer at NASA, Apollo 11 would never have made it to the moon.
Top NASA engineers on the project, including Werner Von Braun, strongly advocated for a single, huge spacecraft to travel to the moon, land, and return to Earth. It's the scenario used in 1950s cartoons and horror movies about traveling to outer space.
Houbolt had another idea: Lunar Orbit Rendezvous. LOR would link two spacecraft in orbit while the crafts were travelling at 17,000 miles per hour. His plan was ridiculed and considered unthinkable. But this junior engineer was irrepressible. He stood by his concept, fired off memos to executives, and argued that LOR was the only way to success.
For the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, hear the untold story of the man who helped fulfill Kennedy’s challenge to reach the moon and begin exploring the final frontier.
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First published July 4, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 463 reviews
August 6, 2019
I was reading something about the 50th anniversary of the moon landing recently, and one thing that caught my eye was that apparently over 400,000 people worked on various projects related to making that happen. I’d say that out of all them, the contribution of John Houbolt may be the most controversial.
Houbolt was an engineer at NASA who became an advocate for Lunar Orbit Rendezvous. In the early days of trying to get to the moon most everyone thought that the way to do it was to either build an enormous rocket that would make the entire round trip or that a ship would have to be assembled in Earth orbit and then sent to the moon. The thing about LOR was that by taking a light landing craft it would save having to get an enormous amount of weight, mostly fuel, to the moon and back. The problem was that it would mean that two spacecraft would have to rendezvous in lunar orbit, and at a time when nobody had docked in Earth orbit yet that seemed extremely dangerous, maybe even impossible.
So when most of the NASA committees and big wigs were trying to make decisions the idea of LOR was usually quickly crossed off the list. However, Houbolt had done an extensive analysis of the numbers, and to him it was clear that LOR was the only way to get to the moon by the deadline John F. Kennedy had set for the country so he started to relentlessly push the idea even when he was dismissed out of hand. Sometimes he was met with outright hostility like when another engineer angrily declared that Houbolt’s numbers were a lie in a meeting with some of the top NASA people.
Although frequently hurt and frustrated, Houbolt refused to take no for an answer and continued to push LOR, and he even risked his job by skipping the chain of command and sending letters and his report to one of the top men in NASA. Eventually the tide turned and LOR was adopted as the strategy to get to the moon. Yet, Houbolt was almost immediately shut out, and many in NASA began downplaying his role. Houbolt would end up leaving the agency just months after the decision was made, and for the rest of his life he’d insist that he hadn’t received the credit he was due.
The counterpoint to that is that Houbolt didn’t create the idea of LOR, he was just a believer who pushed it. So the NASA attitude was often that while Houbolt was an early advocate for LOR that other people were also studying it too, and that the idea was so logical that it surely would have been used even without Houbolt’s efforts.
The other odd factor is that Houbolt did, in fact, receive a lot of recognition. NASA awarded him a commendation at the time, he was interviewed and profiled in the media including Time magazine, he was invited back to NASA to witness the moon landing from Mission Control where Werner von Braun thanked him personally, and his old hometown gave him a parade and named a street after him. Houbolt and his struggle were even briefly depicted in the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon back in 1998 so it’s not like he’d been completely ignored and forgotten. However, Houbolt was eventually denied a large cash award thanks to a NASA executive downplaying his importance so maybe that’s why he seemed to feel like he wasn’t given his due.
Another interesting aspect explored in this is that while LOR was probably the only way that America could have gotten to the moon by 1970, it might have been a mistake for long term space exploration. Some engineers were envisioning a whole orbital infrastructure that would be used to not just go to the moon, but beyond. By doing it the quickest way possible to make an arbitrary deadline NASA may have inadvertently set manned space exploration back by decades.
I very much enjoyed this as an Audible original I got as one of their freebies. There’s not really enough here for an entire non-fiction book, but the 3 ½ hours audio presentation including interviews and historical clips is just about the perfect way to learn about Houbolt and this story. It seems more like listening to a long NPR feature or podcast episode instead of a book, but it’s an intriguing side story for anyone interested in the Apollo landings.
Houbolt was an engineer at NASA who became an advocate for Lunar Orbit Rendezvous. In the early days of trying to get to the moon most everyone thought that the way to do it was to either build an enormous rocket that would make the entire round trip or that a ship would have to be assembled in Earth orbit and then sent to the moon. The thing about LOR was that by taking a light landing craft it would save having to get an enormous amount of weight, mostly fuel, to the moon and back. The problem was that it would mean that two spacecraft would have to rendezvous in lunar orbit, and at a time when nobody had docked in Earth orbit yet that seemed extremely dangerous, maybe even impossible.
So when most of the NASA committees and big wigs were trying to make decisions the idea of LOR was usually quickly crossed off the list. However, Houbolt had done an extensive analysis of the numbers, and to him it was clear that LOR was the only way to get to the moon by the deadline John F. Kennedy had set for the country so he started to relentlessly push the idea even when he was dismissed out of hand. Sometimes he was met with outright hostility like when another engineer angrily declared that Houbolt’s numbers were a lie in a meeting with some of the top NASA people.
Although frequently hurt and frustrated, Houbolt refused to take no for an answer and continued to push LOR, and he even risked his job by skipping the chain of command and sending letters and his report to one of the top men in NASA. Eventually the tide turned and LOR was adopted as the strategy to get to the moon. Yet, Houbolt was almost immediately shut out, and many in NASA began downplaying his role. Houbolt would end up leaving the agency just months after the decision was made, and for the rest of his life he’d insist that he hadn’t received the credit he was due.
The counterpoint to that is that Houbolt didn’t create the idea of LOR, he was just a believer who pushed it. So the NASA attitude was often that while Houbolt was an early advocate for LOR that other people were also studying it too, and that the idea was so logical that it surely would have been used even without Houbolt’s efforts.
The other odd factor is that Houbolt did, in fact, receive a lot of recognition. NASA awarded him a commendation at the time, he was interviewed and profiled in the media including Time magazine, he was invited back to NASA to witness the moon landing from Mission Control where Werner von Braun thanked him personally, and his old hometown gave him a parade and named a street after him. Houbolt and his struggle were even briefly depicted in the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon back in 1998 so it’s not like he’d been completely ignored and forgotten. However, Houbolt was eventually denied a large cash award thanks to a NASA executive downplaying his importance so maybe that’s why he seemed to feel like he wasn’t given his due.
Another interesting aspect explored in this is that while LOR was probably the only way that America could have gotten to the moon by 1970, it might have been a mistake for long term space exploration. Some engineers were envisioning a whole orbital infrastructure that would be used to not just go to the moon, but beyond. By doing it the quickest way possible to make an arbitrary deadline NASA may have inadvertently set manned space exploration back by decades.
I very much enjoyed this as an Audible original I got as one of their freebies. There’s not really enough here for an entire non-fiction book, but the 3 ½ hours audio presentation including interviews and historical clips is just about the perfect way to learn about Houbolt and this story. It seems more like listening to a long NPR feature or podcast episode instead of a book, but it’s an intriguing side story for anyone interested in the Apollo landings.
July 13, 2019
A fascinating look at how NASA decided to use the Lunar Orbital Rendezvous to get to the Moon and back. At least that part was interesting.
The sad part was the moaning and complaining from John Houbolt, and how he spent the rest of his life angry and frustrated that he didn't get the recognition he thought he deserved. Sad, really.
The sad part was the moaning and complaining from John Houbolt, and how he spent the rest of his life angry and frustrated that he didn't get the recognition he thought he deserved. Sad, really.
July 11, 2019
I listened to this book via Audible.
I was familiar with John C. Houbolt's contributions to the Apollo program thanks to the seminal HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, so when I saw the Audible Original about the man who championed Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) I knew I had to listen.
The production is a fantastic overview of Houbolt, giving you information on his background and upbringing, which gives context to his actions in the early 1960s at NASA. It was interesting to learn about his struggles to get LOR considered for the moon landings and the ultimate cost it had on him.
I appreciate the balanced approach the author takes, doing his best to explain all sides to the story. He never paints Houbolt as perfect or infallible, and in fact acknowledges some of his flaws. It definitely feels like you get the full story here, or as close to it as you can get without having lived through it.
If you're inspired by the accomplishments of the Apollo program and NASA in the sixties, give this a listen!
I was familiar with John C. Houbolt's contributions to the Apollo program thanks to the seminal HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, so when I saw the Audible Original about the man who championed Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) I knew I had to listen.
The production is a fantastic overview of Houbolt, giving you information on his background and upbringing, which gives context to his actions in the early 1960s at NASA. It was interesting to learn about his struggles to get LOR considered for the moon landings and the ultimate cost it had on him.
I appreciate the balanced approach the author takes, doing his best to explain all sides to the story. He never paints Houbolt as perfect or infallible, and in fact acknowledges some of his flaws. It definitely feels like you get the full story here, or as close to it as you can get without having lived through it.
If you're inspired by the accomplishments of the Apollo program and NASA in the sixties, give this a listen!
July 11, 2019
Fascinating behind-the-scenes details about the moon landing 50 years ago.
September 7, 2019
Despite being a self-proclaimed Apollo nut, I knew not of John C. Houbolt, the man credited with devising the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous method of landing on the moon. At the time, there was a push at NASA to use one giant rocket (the Nova) to make the trip and land / take off from the moon but John's idea ultimately won over Wernher von Braun and the NASA decision makers.
Houbolt didn't have a lot of people on his side and felt disrespected during the run-up to the Apollo program, but received his due when von Braun publicly credited him with his contribution to the success of Apollo 11. But that wasn't the end of it. He was angry and bitter after being denied a science prize for $10,000 for his contribution to Apollo, due to a statement from a fellow scientist and spent years appealing the decision. There was some animosity between him and some of his fellow scientists during his career. I didn't find all this sniping to be particularly interesting.
What I did find interesting was the interviews. One especially good one towards the end addressed the difficulty of landing large objects, such as human occupied spacecraft, on Mars. It would be much more difficult than landing on the moon due to the planet's thin atmosphere and gravity. There is a lot of good science in this book. This is my first read for #ScienceSeptember.
Houbolt didn't have a lot of people on his side and felt disrespected during the run-up to the Apollo program, but received his due when von Braun publicly credited him with his contribution to the success of Apollo 11. But that wasn't the end of it. He was angry and bitter after being denied a science prize for $10,000 for his contribution to Apollo, due to a statement from a fellow scientist and spent years appealing the decision. There was some animosity between him and some of his fellow scientists during his career. I didn't find all this sniping to be particularly interesting.
What I did find interesting was the interviews. One especially good one towards the end addressed the difficulty of landing large objects, such as human occupied spacecraft, on Mars. It would be much more difficult than landing on the moon due to the planet's thin atmosphere and gravity. There is a lot of good science in this book. This is my first read for #ScienceSeptember.
July 12, 2019
John C. Houboldt was a airplane engineer who worked for NASA, and became interested, in some ways obsessed with, the Moon program that he logically ought to have no role in.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were already, before President Kennedy ever made his speech committing the US to get to the Moon and back before the end of the 1960s, space program scientists were already working on how to do it. There were three basic approaches--the direct approach, using a single large rocket to lift from Earth, land on its tail on the Moon, and return home; Earth rendezvous, lifting smaller units into Earth orbit and the vehicle to reach the Moon there; and lunar orbital rendezvous. Lunar orbital rendezvous is the methods used in the end: the command module waiting in lunar orbit while the lunar lander brought two members of the crew to the surface of the Moon and back.
Lunar orbital rendezvous may seem inevitable now, but initially it was the least-favored serious approach. John C. Houboldt, first-generation American, son of Dutch immigrants, airplane engineer rather than a rocket engineer, heard the debate going on, did his own research--and became a major, and persistent, advocate for lunar orbital rendezvous as the only way to get to the Moon by Kennedy's deadline.
Houboldt's time at NASA was contentious and stressful for him. Some of his troubles may have been due to personality conflicts as much as disagreement over his ideas. Yet he never claimed to have originated the lunar orbital rendezvous plan, and his advocacy for it, in addition to being correct, probably played a major role in the plan being adopted.
Zwillich gives us an even-handed and really interesting account of this part of NASA history.
Recommended.
This was one of Audible's free offerings for members this month.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were already, before President Kennedy ever made his speech committing the US to get to the Moon and back before the end of the 1960s, space program scientists were already working on how to do it. There were three basic approaches--the direct approach, using a single large rocket to lift from Earth, land on its tail on the Moon, and return home; Earth rendezvous, lifting smaller units into Earth orbit and the vehicle to reach the Moon there; and lunar orbital rendezvous. Lunar orbital rendezvous is the methods used in the end: the command module waiting in lunar orbit while the lunar lander brought two members of the crew to the surface of the Moon and back.
Lunar orbital rendezvous may seem inevitable now, but initially it was the least-favored serious approach. John C. Houboldt, first-generation American, son of Dutch immigrants, airplane engineer rather than a rocket engineer, heard the debate going on, did his own research--and became a major, and persistent, advocate for lunar orbital rendezvous as the only way to get to the Moon by Kennedy's deadline.
Houboldt's time at NASA was contentious and stressful for him. Some of his troubles may have been due to personality conflicts as much as disagreement over his ideas. Yet he never claimed to have originated the lunar orbital rendezvous plan, and his advocacy for it, in addition to being correct, probably played a major role in the plan being adopted.
Zwillich gives us an even-handed and really interesting account of this part of NASA history.
Recommended.
This was one of Audible's free offerings for members this month.
Read
August 26, 2019I don't usually read much in the way of non-fiction but this one was very interesting. How scary it must have been for the early astronauts to attempt landing on the moon. It's something I've always taken for granted. Hearing exactly how it happened with all the problems and issues going with it was really interesting.
July 24, 2019
I am of two minds about this book. On the one hand, I learned some stuff I never otherwise would have looked into in regards to the moon landings of the '60's. On the other hand, most of what I learned made me dislike the titular man who "knew the way to the moon" and I really don't think that was the author's intent.
My feelings for what I learned about John Houbolt aside*, I also have mixed feelings about the audiobook. There were lots of interviews and quotes from TV or radio broadcasts. And the volume was not consistent. It also felt like the intent was to make a film documentary which got changed last-minute into an audio one. There was background music and people talking over the interviews, and sometimes it was way too much all at once for an audiobook.
Don't get me wrong: I did enjoy learning new stuff. And I loved hearing Neil Armstrong's quote again saying that the Eagle had landed. But this audiobook in general felt very over-produced. Still, it was a free-with-membership Audible Original, so I guess I can't complain about the price.
* a brief note: most of why I disliked what I learned of him came from the tone and wording of the snippets of his letters and interviews played on the audiobook. While the book's author could have picked quotes that made Houbolt sound better, it was all in Houbolt's own words.
My feelings for what I learned about John Houbolt aside*, I also have mixed feelings about the audiobook. There were lots of interviews and quotes from TV or radio broadcasts. And the volume was not consistent. It also felt like the intent was to make a film documentary which got changed last-minute into an audio one. There was background music and people talking over the interviews, and sometimes it was way too much all at once for an audiobook.
Don't get me wrong: I did enjoy learning new stuff. And I loved hearing Neil Armstrong's quote again saying that the Eagle had landed. But this audiobook in general felt very over-produced. Still, it was a free-with-membership Audible Original, so I guess I can't complain about the price.
* a brief note: most of why I disliked what I learned of him came from the tone and wording of the snippets of his letters and interviews played on the audiobook. While the book's author could have picked quotes that made Houbolt sound better, it was all in Houbolt's own words.
August 31, 2019
I will always find any stories connected with humanity’s exploration of space inspiring and this is no exception.
I have a feeling a lot of people will judge John Houbolt as being petty in his quest for recognition. I wonder how I would have felt in his place. I know a lot of people deserve credit for their part in one of humanity’s greatest achievements. We think of the Space Program as representing the best of us. The worst of us was also there and I think if John was petty, so were those who seemed to be working so hard to deny him his due.
To me, the important part is that we went and we will go again.
I have a feeling a lot of people will judge John Houbolt as being petty in his quest for recognition. I wonder how I would have felt in his place. I know a lot of people deserve credit for their part in one of humanity’s greatest achievements. We think of the Space Program as representing the best of us. The worst of us was also there and I think if John was petty, so were those who seemed to be working so hard to deny him his due.
To me, the important part is that we went and we will go again.
September 2, 2020
Okay, I wasn't sure how to rate this so I'm giving it four stars because the production was great and I love all the interviews and the detailed historical research that went into this production. The audiobook itself, I would give five stars.
I have a love-hate relationship with stories about people who didn't get the recognition they deserved at the time. I personally love some of these books about people behind the scenes and unsung heroes. Yet, I also easily irritated by people who feel like victims and whine about not getting the praise they feel they deserve. Honestly, that is just life. The majority of those who do good will not get the pervertible ticker-tape parade for our efforts.
John C. Houbolt championed Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR). Early in the NASA program. LOR would link two spacecraft in orbit while the crafts were traveling at 17,000 miles per hour. He was mocked for this by many who had other ideas. Obviously, this idea eventually was what was used. Now, he didn't invent it, he just promoted it. He even went so far as to go around his bosses to tell the directors about it.
Here's some observations about him from the book
~ He wasn't a team player
~ He got angry with people for not listening
~ He called people stupid among other things when they said he was wrong
In short, he isn't the kind of person who is easy to work with.
After he left NASA, very early in the space program, he continued to speak bitterly about how he had been treated. Even when he was recognized for what he did by some, it wasn't enough. He wrote letters and did interviews to tell people about what he did and how poorly he was treated.
Was he important? I think so. I think he did some of the groundwork that made LOR possible. However, I fail to see why he thought that he, out of all the other brilliant people who worked a day in and day out without a shred of recognition deserved to be honored above so many others. Frankly, if he did deserve it, I think his bitterness and letters of anger probably made many want to honor him less.
In summary: this is about a brilliant man who couldn't even seem to enjoy the agitation that he did receive because he was so bitter about the past.
I have a love-hate relationship with stories about people who didn't get the recognition they deserved at the time. I personally love some of these books about people behind the scenes and unsung heroes. Yet, I also easily irritated by people who feel like victims and whine about not getting the praise they feel they deserve. Honestly, that is just life. The majority of those who do good will not get the pervertible ticker-tape parade for our efforts.
John C. Houbolt championed Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR). Early in the NASA program. LOR would link two spacecraft in orbit while the crafts were traveling at 17,000 miles per hour. He was mocked for this by many who had other ideas. Obviously, this idea eventually was what was used. Now, he didn't invent it, he just promoted it. He even went so far as to go around his bosses to tell the directors about it.
Here's some observations about him from the book
~ He wasn't a team player
~ He got angry with people for not listening
~ He called people stupid among other things when they said he was wrong
In short, he isn't the kind of person who is easy to work with.
After he left NASA, very early in the space program, he continued to speak bitterly about how he had been treated. Even when he was recognized for what he did by some, it wasn't enough. He wrote letters and did interviews to tell people about what he did and how poorly he was treated.
Was he important? I think so. I think he did some of the groundwork that made LOR possible. However, I fail to see why he thought that he, out of all the other brilliant people who worked a day in and day out without a shred of recognition deserved to be honored above so many others. Frankly, if he did deserve it, I think his bitterness and letters of anger probably made many want to honor him less.
In summary: this is about a brilliant man who couldn't even seem to enjoy the agitation that he did receive because he was so bitter about the past.
August 20, 2019
The story behind the creation of, landing, and return of Apollo is fascinating. The calculations for a spacecraft lift off from the moon are intriguing - I had never considered how the ship would get off the moon without the thousands of gasoline needed for takeoff. Nor how the plane would leave the surface of the moon. The recorded voices of the astronauts are touches of history that propel the otherwise snoozer story.
The comical astronauts and Houston's radioed responses - in outer space - were enthralling and merited several re-winds and re-listens.
The comical astronauts and Houston's radioed responses - in outer space - were enthralling and merited several re-winds and re-listens.
August 25, 2019
This was my favorite audible original I have listened to yet. I felt like it was incredibly well researched and told a familiar story with so many new facts. As someone who is only mildly interested in the space race Zwillich made it so I was much more intrigued. I also very much enjoyed his voice and it didn't bug me near as much as the chili guys.
July 29, 2019
Loved this. As part of my summer of Apollo it was an interesting and refreshing tale in the cannon of the moon landing. And a great way to ease myself down off the Moon Landing high. Best Audible Original I’ve heard so far. Or at least the one that worked best for me.
August 3, 2019
A very good book which is giving close insights according to one of the biggest achievements in human history.
It is presenting how even good/best ideas can be hard to implement to some company scheme.
It is presenting how even good/best ideas can be hard to implement to some company scheme.
August 6, 2019
My childhood was filled with a fascination about space travel. I still (50 years later) vividly remember watching the moon landing. I challenge folks who don’t believe we landed men on the moon to listen to this audio book about a brave NASA engineer who stood up for what was right.
July 29, 2019
Poorly put together and not well-written. Learned some facts, but the story was too fragmented to make much sense.
September 24, 2019
Fascinating account of how the persistence of a NASA scientist led to the U.S. being the first to successfully have a man land on the moon.
August 6, 2020
I’m not really much of a space buff although I do go back to what were practically my pre-teenage years and watching the sputnik blink through the sky. So this is enjoyable to listen to with some of the audio highlights of the 1960s and the race to the moon. The story of the man is particularly interesting. Because I am somewhat of a filter at windmills myself so I can relate to pushing on something when others seem unsupportive or disinterested.
If you are used to reading mystery stories where all the loose ends are tied up, this story will not be particularly satisfactory since it seems the truth is not certain. But we also know with inventors and inventions that it was very common that multiple people had the same idea independently at about the same time. So the notion here that this particular idea originated with one person is improbable. In fact I guess the one person’s own position is that he did not invent the idea but simply tried to push it forward when it was not Getting the attention it deserved. It seems plausible to me that NASA might’ve reached that Destiination regardless but maybe not as soon as 1969. This little dip into going to the moon did steer me in the direction of another book titled Moon Shot in which I will hope to find out more about Werner von Braun, Yet another possible piece of scum in American history.
If you are used to reading mystery stories where all the loose ends are tied up, this story will not be particularly satisfactory since it seems the truth is not certain. But we also know with inventors and inventions that it was very common that multiple people had the same idea independently at about the same time. So the notion here that this particular idea originated with one person is improbable. In fact I guess the one person’s own position is that he did not invent the idea but simply tried to push it forward when it was not Getting the attention it deserved. It seems plausible to me that NASA might’ve reached that Destiination regardless but maybe not as soon as 1969. This little dip into going to the moon did steer me in the direction of another book titled Moon Shot in which I will hope to find out more about Werner von Braun, Yet another possible piece of scum in American history.
November 3, 2020
How I read this: borrowed through Audible free trial
Wow... To think I never knew about Houbolt. This is a must read for any space nerd, especially if you're an Apollo fan.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
Wow... To think I never knew about Houbolt. This is a must read for any space nerd, especially if you're an Apollo fan.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
July 18, 2019
(Audible)
3.5-4.0 stars
The audio production explores the contribution of Apollo program engineer John C. Houbolt, a NASA associate at Langley Research Center. An aeronautic engineer, not assigned to the space program, he was an early advocate (zealot) of the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous as the most economical and fastest strategy for putting man on the moon and returning them to the earth safely.
The production includes sound bites from the period, as well as interviews with Houbolt's wife (Houbolt passed away in 2014).
The book (which has more of the feel of a podcast) presents 1960's business culture--white male, hierarchical driven, stiff upper lip--DO NOT VIOLATE THE CHAIN OF COMMAND--in all of it's competitive, shaming and blaming glory. Houbolt is humiliated at a meeting in 1961 when a superior calls him a liar, aka--your math is wrong, and his crusade to prove his point becomes so ingrained that the rest of his life he works obsessively to get them to apologize and admit they were wrong.
Even when his LOR plan is adopted, he's not pacified because the SOB's attempt to rewrite history and claim someone else was the earliest advocate. They even go so far as to kill a $100,000 award that was due to him for his efforts.
Through all of this, Houbolt writes and writes and writes and advocates for himself with an aggrieved and petulant and sometimes angry tone to every authority he can think of. The historic record gives a clue as to he might have been unloved and lacked the respect of the peers he was beating up on.
And --so classic for this period--his wife knew nothing of the work he was doing, the fights he was having with his superiors until reporters showed up at their house to do a story on him for TIME magazine.
Overall Houbolt's story is a sad one, and not just for the way he was treated.
I enjoyed the dip back into a period of American exceptionalism. The Mercury and Apollo space programs are deeply ingrained in me. So much so that I made my sister ride Mission Earth--full intensity--at DisneyWorld--and didn't even notice when she got sick from the ride. I was ready to do it again!
Sorry Kath.
RECOMMEND
3.5-4.0 stars
The audio production explores the contribution of Apollo program engineer John C. Houbolt, a NASA associate at Langley Research Center. An aeronautic engineer, not assigned to the space program, he was an early advocate (zealot) of the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous as the most economical and fastest strategy for putting man on the moon and returning them to the earth safely.
The production includes sound bites from the period, as well as interviews with Houbolt's wife (Houbolt passed away in 2014).
The book (which has more of the feel of a podcast) presents 1960's business culture--white male, hierarchical driven, stiff upper lip--DO NOT VIOLATE THE CHAIN OF COMMAND--in all of it's competitive, shaming and blaming glory. Houbolt is humiliated at a meeting in 1961 when a superior calls him a liar, aka--your math is wrong, and his crusade to prove his point becomes so ingrained that the rest of his life he works obsessively to get them to apologize and admit they were wrong.
Even when his LOR plan is adopted, he's not pacified because the SOB's attempt to rewrite history and claim someone else was the earliest advocate. They even go so far as to kill a $100,000 award that was due to him for his efforts.
Through all of this, Houbolt writes and writes and writes and advocates for himself with an aggrieved and petulant and sometimes angry tone to every authority he can think of. The historic record gives a clue as to he might have been unloved and lacked the respect of the peers he was beating up on.
And --so classic for this period--his wife knew nothing of the work he was doing, the fights he was having with his superiors until reporters showed up at their house to do a story on him for TIME magazine.
Overall Houbolt's story is a sad one, and not just for the way he was treated.
I enjoyed the dip back into a period of American exceptionalism. The Mercury and Apollo space programs are deeply ingrained in me. So much so that I made my sister ride Mission Earth--full intensity--at DisneyWorld--and didn't even notice when she got sick from the ride. I was ready to do it again!
Sorry Kath.
RECOMMEND
May 26, 2020
I've been familiar with John Houbolt and his quest to see Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) become the USA's method of getting to the moon for quite some time. It's touched on in Andrew Chaikin's A Man on the Moon, and character actor Reed Birney played Houboult in the HBO mini-series Chaikin's book inspired, but I've never seen this story as more than a footnote to the greater tale of going to the moon.
And maybe that is all it really is ... a footnote.
But it is a fascinating footnote, and as told here by Todd Zwillich, Houbolt and LOR take on the tone of a passionate, nearly heroic quest. It's all a bit overblown, but the telling is exceptionally well done, including interviews with people who were there, soundbites from people who are long gone, Houbolt included, and some wonderful little diversions -- footnotes to this footnote -- that try to shine a little light on some of the dark corners that NASA, and those who love the agency, seem more than happy to ignore or are even willing to justify (such as the preeminence of Herr von Braun).
The Man Who Knew the Way to the Moon is a fun listen, an informative listen, but I can't help wondering if Houbolt's story really merits the attention it occasionally receives (especially considering that an engineer named Tom Dolan had his own version of LOR called MALLAR). Now a true expose of Werner von Braun ... that's the story I really want to know more about.
And maybe that is all it really is ... a footnote.
But it is a fascinating footnote, and as told here by Todd Zwillich, Houbolt and LOR take on the tone of a passionate, nearly heroic quest. It's all a bit overblown, but the telling is exceptionally well done, including interviews with people who were there, soundbites from people who are long gone, Houbolt included, and some wonderful little diversions -- footnotes to this footnote -- that try to shine a little light on some of the dark corners that NASA, and those who love the agency, seem more than happy to ignore or are even willing to justify (such as the preeminence of Herr von Braun).
The Man Who Knew the Way to the Moon is a fun listen, an informative listen, but I can't help wondering if Houbolt's story really merits the attention it occasionally receives (especially considering that an engineer named Tom Dolan had his own version of LOR called MALLAR). Now a true expose of Werner von Braun ... that's the story I really want to know more about.
August 4, 2019
If you’re curious about the backroom politics at NASA—a combination of honest disagreements, petty jealousies, and the usual jockeying for position—than this short book was written for you. It tells the story of John Houbolt who thought up the way to get astronauts to the moon’s surface and back—Lunar Orbit Rendezvous. The preferred idea at NASA was to build a rocket big enough to launch to the moon, land there, and then launch again to come home. The problem with this was that the tech to build such a rocket capable of carrying the tremendous fuel load it would require was outside the abilities of the U.S. at that time and unlikely to be achievable on President’s Kennedy timeline to put a man on the moon.
This book shows how even scientists can be guilty of ignoring the math and the data in favor of preconceived notions, and of how petty they can be in recognizing the contributions of the man who showed they were wrong. It’s a quick and enjoyable read.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
This book shows how even scientists can be guilty of ignoring the math and the data in favor of preconceived notions, and of how petty they can be in recognizing the contributions of the man who showed they were wrong. It’s a quick and enjoyable read.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
July 25, 2019
50 years ago a man walked on the moon.
I can hardly say I remember the moment as I was 5 at the time, but the whole Space program has always fascinated me and are probably a big part of my science fiction interest.
As part of the anniversary Audible issued this tale about one of the lesser known heroes of the Apollo program, it’s a very interesting story that gives some insight into some of the politics which surrounded this immense program spanning nearly 10 years.
It also raises the very interesting point that the much praised Kennedy challenge “putting a man on the moon before the end of this decade”, might have sidetracked future space exploration and being the reason why we never proceeded towards new goals.
I can hardly say I remember the moment as I was 5 at the time, but the whole Space program has always fascinated me and are probably a big part of my science fiction interest.
As part of the anniversary Audible issued this tale about one of the lesser known heroes of the Apollo program, it’s a very interesting story that gives some insight into some of the politics which surrounded this immense program spanning nearly 10 years.
It also raises the very interesting point that the much praised Kennedy challenge “putting a man on the moon before the end of this decade”, might have sidetracked future space exploration and being the reason why we never proceeded towards new goals.
January 14, 2020
Eh. 2.5 stars
Interesting look in to a tiny bit of what NASA was up to specifically around the lunar orbital rendezvous time and how it came about.
Felt a bit odd about how it seemed the more main point was how much Houbolt was pushing and getting resistance. At least in the light of this book obviously with the title. But it really felt forced and still an unwelcome outcome.?
Interesting look in to a tiny bit of what NASA was up to specifically around the lunar orbital rendezvous time and how it came about.
Felt a bit odd about how it seemed the more main point was how much Houbolt was pushing and getting resistance. At least in the light of this book obviously with the title. But it really felt forced and still an unwelcome outcome.?
July 6, 2021
The number of folks involved in sending humans to the moon was enormous. The number bandied around that I’ve heard most often is something like 400,000. If you’re of the conspiratorial mindset, that might mean 400,000 people either knowingly, or ignorantly, being part of the web of lies to fool the world into thinking we went when we actually did not*.
Which I’m in danger of ranting about why people who insist aliens built the pyramids (because it’s too unimaginable that humans could do it) are so often the same people that say we didn’t go to the moon (because it’s unimaginable humans could do it) and instead think an impossibly elaborate conspiracy involving a significant percentage of the governments on earth are covering up the truth, which is something actually unimaginable … But that’s old hat, I won’t rehash it again**.
Lunar Orbit Rendezvous was, in the man’s opinion that this short audible original is about, the only way America could get a man to the moon before the end of the 60’s, full stop. No one else really believed it was feasible, and he fought hard and managed to convince everyone he was right. It took years, and faced ridicule, humiliation, and discouragement along the way. Then, once his hard work paid off, his role was minimized and he was sidelined.
Weirdly, although this book was about the incredible effort he put in to get NASA to see his logic and then how little recognition he got after, it seemed mind-blowing to me the amount of recognition he actually did receive. Which included cash rewards, parades, magazine articles, things named in his honor, and loud and vocal kudos from Verner Von Braun about how he (whose name I’ve forgotten) made it all possible during the landing of Apollo 11.
But credit is a fickle thing. I mean, Harlen Ellison sued James Cameron over the Terminator movie because he felt he deserved the credit (I don’t know if he won or they settled out of court (there is now a “inspired by the works of Harlen Ellison” credit at the end), but the rule of thumb† is that you can’t win a lawsuit over the theft of an idea in fiction. I’ve seen all sorts of book and movies where they are based almost entirely on other works, only with the specifics being changed. But we live in a litigious society. If you feel you have a case, I suppose you can sue if you want to). More bands than I care to name broke up for similar reasons. More than that though, scientists have had some pretty brutal wars fought over who gets credit for what (and that’s fair, as a gifted protegee can have all his or her contributions minimized while a mentor gets Nobel Prizes and accolades galore based on the work of others).
At the risk of derailing myself, I’m trying to make the point that sometimes the perception we’re being wronged is more important than whether or not it’s true. Regardless, I found this story fascinating.
*This reminds me of a skit I saw on the interwebs where the conspirators in the moon landing hoax were sitting around figuring out the expense & resources needed to fool the world, and conceding that to fool people they’d need to build a mock-up that could look real enough to those inspecting it. They’d also need to have a paper trail of contractors and materials to make it look like they were really building something, so they’d have to really build parts and order supplies, and they’d have to train people to pretend to go to the moon, and then they’d have to make the support staff, mostly made up of engineers and scientists, be fooled into believing it was real, and over the course of the conversation ended up with a real rocket going to the real moon filled with real astronauts… because it’s just cheaper to do it that way.
** Same people find no problem thinking a “round earth” is a govt conspiracy, for some reason, along with interdimensional demon worshiping, baby-eating, pedophile politicians that created Covid-19 as a hoax to trick people into taking a vaccine that plants chips in you so they can track you.
†Insert anecdote about how this phrase was originally about beating one’s wife with an implement and how odd it is that it continues to be used so much in today’s society..
Which I’m in danger of ranting about why people who insist aliens built the pyramids (because it’s too unimaginable that humans could do it) are so often the same people that say we didn’t go to the moon (because it’s unimaginable humans could do it) and instead think an impossibly elaborate conspiracy involving a significant percentage of the governments on earth are covering up the truth, which is something actually unimaginable … But that’s old hat, I won’t rehash it again**.
Lunar Orbit Rendezvous was, in the man’s opinion that this short audible original is about, the only way America could get a man to the moon before the end of the 60’s, full stop. No one else really believed it was feasible, and he fought hard and managed to convince everyone he was right. It took years, and faced ridicule, humiliation, and discouragement along the way. Then, once his hard work paid off, his role was minimized and he was sidelined.
Weirdly, although this book was about the incredible effort he put in to get NASA to see his logic and then how little recognition he got after, it seemed mind-blowing to me the amount of recognition he actually did receive. Which included cash rewards, parades, magazine articles, things named in his honor, and loud and vocal kudos from Verner Von Braun about how he (whose name I’ve forgotten) made it all possible during the landing of Apollo 11.
But credit is a fickle thing. I mean, Harlen Ellison sued James Cameron over the Terminator movie because he felt he deserved the credit (I don’t know if he won or they settled out of court (there is now a “inspired by the works of Harlen Ellison” credit at the end), but the rule of thumb† is that you can’t win a lawsuit over the theft of an idea in fiction. I’ve seen all sorts of book and movies where they are based almost entirely on other works, only with the specifics being changed. But we live in a litigious society. If you feel you have a case, I suppose you can sue if you want to). More bands than I care to name broke up for similar reasons. More than that though, scientists have had some pretty brutal wars fought over who gets credit for what (and that’s fair, as a gifted protegee can have all his or her contributions minimized while a mentor gets Nobel Prizes and accolades galore based on the work of others).
At the risk of derailing myself, I’m trying to make the point that sometimes the perception we’re being wronged is more important than whether or not it’s true. Regardless, I found this story fascinating.
*This reminds me of a skit I saw on the interwebs where the conspirators in the moon landing hoax were sitting around figuring out the expense & resources needed to fool the world, and conceding that to fool people they’d need to build a mock-up that could look real enough to those inspecting it. They’d also need to have a paper trail of contractors and materials to make it look like they were really building something, so they’d have to really build parts and order supplies, and they’d have to train people to pretend to go to the moon, and then they’d have to make the support staff, mostly made up of engineers and scientists, be fooled into believing it was real, and over the course of the conversation ended up with a real rocket going to the real moon filled with real astronauts… because it’s just cheaper to do it that way.
** Same people find no problem thinking a “round earth” is a govt conspiracy, for some reason, along with interdimensional demon worshiping, baby-eating, pedophile politicians that created Covid-19 as a hoax to trick people into taking a vaccine that plants chips in you so they can track you.
†Insert anecdote about how this phrase was originally about beating one’s wife with an implement and how odd it is that it continues to be used so much in today’s society..
March 2, 2020
I found this book, another audible original, interesting and thought provoking on numerous levels. It tells the story of John Houbolt, a junior engineer at NASA that would not take no for an answer. John stood up to the ridicule of his coworkers and colleagues, and went around his managers because he knew the success of the Apollo mission and meeting President Kennedy’s directive to get a man on the moon was dependent upon the use of a Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR). it is a really good lesson for when you know something, really know something, don’t back down. not sure many of us would have the stomach to fight that hard. Other points of interest for me was the fact that his wife Mary, who I believe was also an educated mathematician, didn’t know a thing about this while it was going on. He just did’t talk about work at home, so she didn’t even realize he was working on the lunar project until a magazine reporter showed up to interview him. Finally, there was the discussion of whether or not we were I. Such a rush to be first and going with the LOR option instead of a rocket refueling transfer we somehow stymied further space travel.
March 5, 2021
Obviously it took a lot of planning and research to put a man on the moon. This audiobook covers one man’s determination to prove that Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) was the best and cheapest way to get a human on the moon.
This was very interesting. John Houbolt had the calculations to prove that LOR could work. His colleagues thought he was crazy and one person verbally abused him in a meeting. Ironically, it was LOR that put Apollo 19 on the moon.
I’m still trying to decide if this book is very biased for Houbolt or just stating facts. There were more people than Houbolt who worked on the LOT theory, but he was the only one that pioneered its application. And he took a lot of criticism for it. There are people who believe that because of Houbolt’s determination to use LOR, he should be recognized as an important part of history. Others believe that he did not develop LOR and the others who did would not get their recognition either.
Honestly, it was an educational read that was dripping in NASA politics that did not settle well with me.
This was very interesting. John Houbolt had the calculations to prove that LOR could work. His colleagues thought he was crazy and one person verbally abused him in a meeting. Ironically, it was LOR that put Apollo 19 on the moon.
I’m still trying to decide if this book is very biased for Houbolt or just stating facts. There were more people than Houbolt who worked on the LOT theory, but he was the only one that pioneered its application. And he took a lot of criticism for it. There are people who believe that because of Houbolt’s determination to use LOR, he should be recognized as an important part of history. Others believe that he did not develop LOR and the others who did would not get their recognition either.
Honestly, it was an educational read that was dripping in NASA politics that did not settle well with me.
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