This book was lost in my stack of books to be read. I don’t know why. I love space exploration and uncovering the mysteries of the universe. I believe the search of space should always be an endless story. As new insight into the universe continues from each exploration, from each journey, we cannot afford to stop.
Chaikin takes a very scientific subject and makes it easy to understand. I never tired to put the book down. He condenses each journey to the moon into a unique story. There have been only 12 men to walk on the moon. With his stellar sources (interviewing some of the astronauts personally), Chaikin tells the reader about each one in detail. When I finished the book, l knew so much more about the Apollo program and what the astronauts endured. How dangerous each journey was and how each astronaut became our modern day Christopher Columbus.
In the epilogue of his book, Chaikin concludes, “If NASA has lost direction, it is only because we have not chosen to give it one. Instead of letting the moon be the gateway to our future, we have let it become a brief chapter in our history.”
Today, we cross the sea with impunity. Captains rarely question their coordinates and can avoid bad weather instead of sailing into it. We fly plans from continent to continent with minimal accidents. Yes, we have come a long way and we need to continue man’s nature to explore. Eventually, the idea of going to the Moon or landing on Mars should come routine, just like flying a plan from London to New York. As Mr. Chaikin noted:
For a time it will still be magical to meet someone who has been to the moon, but gradually that mystique will fade, and a moon voyager will seem no more extraordinary than an explorer who has been to the Antarctic.
Thank you and bravo for compiling this masterpiece.
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