Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon

The Space Race of the long 1960s (late ‘50s through the early ‘70s) reached its climax with the Apollo 11 Moom landing in July 1969. This is rightly seen as the greatest achievement in scene and technology of all time. However, over the last few years, as the memory and recognition of that great event has faded, another space mission has taken its place alongside Apollo 11.

In December 1968 the Apollo 8 mission sent three men to orbit the Moon. This was an adventure of firsts: the first use of the Saturn V rocket; the fastest that men had ever travelled; the furthest that men had ever gone in space; the first time that men had left the grip of Earth’s gravity; and so on.

Apart from the technical achievements, this was the mission show more that kick started the whole environmental movement. By taking the famous Earthrise photograph showing the blue/white/brown Earth as a small ball hanging in space, some much needed perspective was placed on the human place in the universe.

I thought I knew a fair amount about the Apollo 8 mission, but there was new information, new perspectives and new meaning revealed on almost every page of this book. Written in a pacy, accessible style Kurson has opened up this historical event in a way not seen before. His access to the key participants has ensured a you-are-there essence to the whole enterprise.

Not just for space nerds, this book shows how a society can affect and be affected by an expedition and how brave men react under extreme pressure. show less

Review of Advance Reader’s Edition

In 1968, America, filled with dissent and violent discord, seemed on the verge of tearing itself apart. And the mission set by John Kennedy, to send men to the moon and return them safely to earth, was in jeopardy as the Soviets’ space program appeared to be on track to pull ahead in the fierce space race that existed between the two countries.

In a rare and unprecedented move, NASA decided to scrap its usual training plan and send three astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders, to the moon in just four short months. Threatening disaster at every turn, NASA’s scientists, engineers, and astronauts embraced this bold and brave move. Here, then, is the exciting story of man’s first show more trip to another world . . . a dream fulfilled and an unexpected Christmas Eve gift from three brave men to the world they called home.

“Rocket Men” reads like an exciting thriller, filled with unexpected twists and turns. This is a story so well-told that readers will feel as if they are in the midst of this amazing journey. The saga of the men of Apollo 8 is an unputdownable narrative of courage, hope, resilience, patriotism, and love.

Highly recommended. show less

It's easy to read history and forget that the characters were real people, but Kurson does an amazing job showing the human side of both the astronauts and their families. While the book could have ended after the astronauts successfully arrived back on Earth, the addition of the Epilogue to answer the question of "What does an astronaut do with his life after going to the Moon?" was a fascinating addition.
And, wow! Humans haven't landed on the Moon since 1972? This book left me excited to watch what NASA does in the near future with the upcoming Artemis program.

I couldn't put ROCKET MEN by Robert Kurson down for the last few days, what a ride!(no pun intended). Everyone knows story of Apollo 11 and most know the story of Apollo 13, but the story of Apollo 8 in many ways is more fantastic than those others. The book carries the reader through the decision to have Apollo 8 orbit the moon, to the rushed preparation to have the astronauts trained, the proper equipment tested, and the mission plan created all in about 4 months. Then the ship is launched, and the story follows the entire mission in space, all the time checking in with the astronaut's families and the inner workings in NASA on earth. Kurson provides a in-depth and entertaining bio of each of the astronauts (Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, show more and Bill Anders) and also constantly reminds the reader of the state of affairs in the US and the world in 1968, with special attention to the space race with Russia. Kurson keeps the science speak to a minimum and what is there is very accessible. Kurson even throws in a lot of the dialogue between the astronauts, ground control, and even the astronauts families, bringing humanity to the book that could easily have been lost.
The discovery of how bold and remarkable a mission Apollo 8 was I will leave to future readers, but I will say that this action-packed book was entertaining, educational, and thought-provoking all in one.
I received this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program. show less

This book was everything I love in a nonfiction history. It had it all: solid research, fascinating plot, page-turning pacing, characters I cared about.

Kurson's book tells the story of the Apollo 8 mission and the three astronauts who were the first to go to the moon. Taking place over Christmas 1968, the mission was put together in about 4 months as a critical step to understanding how to get an astronaut to walk on the moon. It was also trying to beat the Soviets in the space race.

We learn about the astronauts and their families, elements that went into the mission (it's just staggering to me, the math involved. And they nailed it), how NASA fit into volatile 1968, and the mission itself in exciting detail.

Some of the risks involved show more became a bit redundant, but I can't fault the author for wanting to remind us a few chapters later of a specific relevant risk.

I read this for an upcoming book club, and I'm so glad the timing of the club meeting prompted me to bring this title to the top of my TBR list. I'm paring a few books with this one for fun, including Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt, The Mercury 13 by Martha Ackmann, and Scott Kelly's biography, Endurance. show less

This book had the potential in Chapter one to go very bad. Kurson wrote something that would be mortifying to any intelligent adult reading a junior high history text (and, unfortunately, too many high school texts also): On George Low, NASA engineer..."His mission: to build a machine from the future that would help make the world safe for democracy." The saccharine drips from such a journalistic embarrassment.

But he recovered. This is the second book on Apollo 8 I've read this year. The other, titled Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything, by Martin Sandler was an ARC I was fortunate to be allowed to review. This one is nominated for a Goodreads award.

Two books about the greatest space flight in the history of humanity to date - show more Apollo 11 gets its accolades, and is the greatest engineering achievement, but this...this was the first for so many things. Never had humans flown on the Saturn V. Never had they traveled so far. Never had they had to insert themselves into lunar orbit, and execute a trans-Earth insertion. Never had humans seen the far side of the moon in person.

Never had humans seen Earthrise. Kurson redeemed himself with a solid narrative, chock full of mission facts, candid information about the families and crew, a fitting tribute to a magnificent forgotten achievement. show less

One of the best books read thus far in 2021, this is the story of three very brave men who were chosen among NASA's elite. In December 1968 NASA astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders were all exceedingly smart, very well competent, and each had a strong history of flight.

Traveling from earth in December of 1968 to the moon, making many successful spins around, and back again to earth, this remarkable journey was in fact a miracle of hope, and success. Some tests before the launching were fraught with errors. Tremendously well planned, the computer systems then were certainly nothing in comparison of today. Yet, they were successful.

History shows that the year of 1968 was one of sadness and chaos. Both Martin Luther show more King and Robert Kennedy were killed that year. The Democratic National convention hall was surrounded with protests, primarily regarding the horror of the Viet Nam war.
President Lyndon Johnson promised a fast conclusion to the war. As the body count grew, and the nightly news read numbers from a lottery choosing who would be the next to risk their lives in a country where many knew we did not belong, a country sick and tired of war held LBJ accountable for the disaster.

The nation needed something good to hold on to. Apollo 8 provided that!

A beautiful reading from the bible from Genesis on Christmas Eve brought tears not only to Americans listening, but to the scientists and all those who, despite all the odds, made this journey successful. With this mission, we beat the Russians to the moon, and, this successful mission brought images of the moon's craters highlighting where a mission of a next team could be successful in landing a man on the moon.

Reading this well into the evening, it is a wonderfully written, well researched book of early space exploration and the success of bringing hope to a weary United States.

Highly recommended. show less