ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Kurson s an American author best known for his 2004 bestselling book Shadow Divers, the true story of two Americans who discover a World War II German U-boat sunk 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey. Kurson began his career as an attorney, graduating from Harvard Law School, and practicing real estate law. Kurson’s professional writing career began at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he started as a sports agate clerk and soon gained a full-time features writing job. In 2000, Esquire published “My Favorite Teacher,” his first magazine story, which became a finalist for a National Magazine Award. He moved from the Sun-Times to Chicago magazine, then to Esquire, where he won a National Magazine Award and was a contributing editor for years. His stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications. He lives in Chicago.

4.22.18

SCIENCE AND HISTORY

Robert Kurson

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

Random House

Hardcover, 978-0812988703, 384 pages, $28.00

April 3, 2018

Reviewed by Chris Manno

If you could pick only one book to read that would place you at the epicenter of the daring Apollo moon landing program, the Cold War and the legendary Space Race, this would be it.

In Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man’s First Journey to the Moon, Kurson has achieved a fascinating and readable blend of both the history and context that comprised the world stage upon which man’s greatest journey played out in the latter years of the 1960s. The Apollo 8 mission itself was the crucial leap forward that boldly catapulted NASA and the United States ahead of the Soviet Union in the race both nations undertook to validate competing political ideologies with technical superiority.

The mission challenge was epic: fly a quarter of a million miles at over 23,000 miles per hour through outer space to the moon, orbit, then return safely — a transit between two celestial bodies that were themselves moving through space — then hit a reentry corridor precisely or they’d either burn up, or careen into outer space and away from the earth.

This colossal challenge NASA attempted mostly with slide rules and manual calculations, plus limited assistance from only the most rudimentary computers, at least compared to the average modern smart phone.

Kurson paints that sociopolitical backdrop with a broad but accurate brush, compelling the reader to understand all that was at stake not only for both nations, but also for the men — the astronauts — on both political and nationalistic contending sides of race. Where he really shines is in the very detailed portraits of the men of Apollo 8, their aspirations, their concerns, and realistically, what they all had to gain or lose on a bold mission fraught with risks.

Hours of interviews with Frank Borman, the Apollo 8 mission commander, and his crew, including Jim Lovell (who would go on to command the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission) and Bill Anders, allows Kurson to give the readers an intimate, firsthand look at the human dimension of the Space Race: the men, their families, the pressures and risks they all faced, and ultimately, the chutzpah and sheer will power that allowed the mission to succeed. Had they not, Kurson assures us, the all-important moon landing and the space race itself might have ended in failure for the United States.

The astronauts themselves braved the odds, but Kurson articulates the burden borne by the families as well. All three astronauts give frank accounts of the home-front stress: at one point, a NASA official shares with Susan Borman the odds of a successful return of her husband from the mission as perhaps 60-40. “That’s better than we thought,” she replied, demonstrating the firm resolve and quiet strength of the astronaut families waiting back in Houston for their wayfaring husbands and fathers attempting man’s first trip around the moon.

Rocket Men is the epic, historically grounded tale of technological triumph powered by the bold spirit of 1960s America. For those who’d live that dream with the people who made it reality, this is a meaningful, rewarding read. For those who study the history of space exploration, this is a must-read.

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