New York Times book reviews of note...
Giant Step, Full Stop
By THOMAS MALLON, The New York Times, July 12, 2009
(ROCKET MEN: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon, By Craig Nelson, Illustrated. 404 pp. Viking. $27.95)
and
(VOICES FROM THE MOON: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences, By Andrew Chaikin with Victoria Kohl, Illustrated. 201 pp. Viking Studio. $29.95)
The story of the moon landings is an oft-told tale, but one that feels stranger with each new telling. Walter Cronkite’s prediction, that after Apollo 11 “everything else that has happened in our time is going to be an asterisk,” wound up playing out backward. In our pop-historical memory of the 1960s, Project Apollo is the footnote, an oddball offshoot from assassinations, Vietnam and Charles Manson. Since 1972, no human has traveled beyond low-Earth orbit, a situation that makes one imagine what things might be like if, after Lindbergh’s flight, the species had contentedly gone back to making do with boats and trains.
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Children’s Books: From Laika to the Lunar Module
By JACK SHAFER, The New York Times, July 12, 2009
(T-MINUS: The Race to the Moon, By Jim Ottaviani, Illustrated by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon, 124 pp. Aladdin. $21.99. (Ages 8 to 12))
and
(ONE SMALL STEP: Celebrating the First Men on the Moon, By Jerry Stone, Illustrated. Unpaged. Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press. $24.95. (Ages 6 to 10))
and
(MISSION TO THE MOON: By Alan Dyer, Illustrated. 80 pp. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. $19.99. (Ages 8 to 12))
The early space race was really a chase, with the United States trailing its superpower rival — the So-viet Union — badly. The Soviets took a strong lead by tossing Sputnik 1 into Earth orbit in 1957 and smacking the moon in the face with the Luna 2 probe in 1959. Although the United States launched its first Earth satellite in 1958, its less powerful rockets had a tendency to detonate on the launch pad like short-fused bombs or break up after takeoff and sizzle like Fourth of July fireworks, or veer off course.
( Read More )
By THOMAS MALLON, The New York Times, July 12, 2009
(ROCKET MEN: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon, By Craig Nelson, Illustrated. 404 pp. Viking. $27.95)
and
(VOICES FROM THE MOON: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences, By Andrew Chaikin with Victoria Kohl, Illustrated. 201 pp. Viking Studio. $29.95)
The story of the moon landings is an oft-told tale, but one that feels stranger with each new telling. Walter Cronkite’s prediction, that after Apollo 11 “everything else that has happened in our time is going to be an asterisk,” wound up playing out backward. In our pop-historical memory of the 1960s, Project Apollo is the footnote, an oddball offshoot from assassinations, Vietnam and Charles Manson. Since 1972, no human has traveled beyond low-Earth orbit, a situation that makes one imagine what things might be like if, after Lindbergh’s flight, the species had contentedly gone back to making do with boats and trains.
( Read More )
Children’s Books: From Laika to the Lunar Module
By JACK SHAFER, The New York Times, July 12, 2009
(T-MINUS: The Race to the Moon, By Jim Ottaviani, Illustrated by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon, 124 pp. Aladdin. $21.99. (Ages 8 to 12))
and
(ONE SMALL STEP: Celebrating the First Men on the Moon, By Jerry Stone, Illustrated. Unpaged. Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press. $24.95. (Ages 6 to 10))
and
(MISSION TO THE MOON: By Alan Dyer, Illustrated. 80 pp. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. $19.99. (Ages 8 to 12))
The early space race was really a chase, with the United States trailing its superpower rival — the So-viet Union — badly. The Soviets took a strong lead by tossing Sputnik 1 into Earth orbit in 1957 and smacking the moon in the face with the Luna 2 probe in 1959. Although the United States launched its first Earth satellite in 1958, its less powerful rockets had a tendency to detonate on the launch pad like short-fused bombs or break up after takeoff and sizzle like Fourth of July fireworks, or veer off course.
( Read More )