The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space

Eugene Cernan was indeed the last man to walk on the moon, and in this memoir he talks about his life, his career, and his experiences in the Gemini and Apollo space programs. He (and his co-author) convey the grandeur and excitement of his journeys to the moon quite well, and that's something I never, ever get tired of reading, but his reminiscences also have a frank, earthy quality to them that's really rather refreshing.

This is very much a personal memoir, focused primarily on Cernan's own experiences and perspectives, so if you're more interested in a general overview of the space race, there are much better books for that. (I recommend Andrew Chaikin's A Man on the Moon.) But if you want, for example, to read an almost painfully show more vivid first-hand account of what it's like to get stuck inside a spaceship hatch after making the "spacewalk from hell," this is definitely the place. show less

Told by pioneering astronaut Eugene Cernan, this is the story of America’s Apollo program, designed to land man on the surface of the moon. Chronicling the successes, the failures, and the close calls, Cernan puts a personal spin on the story of America in space as he shares his personal thoughts: the fear, the love, the sacrifice demanded from the small cadre of men who aimed for the moon. Here, along with the facts and several pages of pictures, readers will find the feelings and the experience of space flight from the perspective of the last man to stand on the surface of the moon.

Highly recommended.

Reading books like this just makes me frustrated to live in a country that doesn't prioritize science and basic research enough to have continued making trips to the moon... or even low earth orbit on the Space Shuttle. I guess my generation just has to tough it out on Earth.

A couple scenes stand out: landing on the moon surrounded by mountains; crashing a helicopter in the water next to boaters; pulled over by a policeman the night before launch. Overall there isn't much here in the way of introspection and lots of cliches, but it is a rare thing: a memoir by someone who walked on the moon.

There are a number of astronaut autobiographies out now. And the time scale covered runs from the early days of the Mercury program all the way to the Space Shuttle. This is one of the top ten. Gene Cernan had a long and storied career with NASA, and as the title states, he was the last man to walk on the Moon. Cernan's book details the competition between the Astronauts and, tragically, how the deaths of certain ones effected the outcome of the crew selections for the later Gemini and early Apollo flights. This is a good book to read if you want an idea of what the Apollo days were all about.

Despite the subtitle, this is really Gene Cernan's autobiography. It's a good read - Gene covers much of what made him a pilot and astronaut. He shares his life warts and all. A great read.