Moonshot : the inside story of mankind's greatest adventure

A thrilling and revealing account of one of the defining moments in human history — the 1969 moon landing. In 1969, people across the globe gathered around television sets to witness one of mankind’s most historic moments — the first moon landing. Following this epic undertaking from its very beginning — a product of the Cold War and America’s desire to flex its international muscle — through to its aftermath, Moonshot goes beyond official accounts of the Apollo 11 mission to tell the real, untold story of an event known the world over. From the fraught and often bitter relationships between the three men destined to make history — hot-headed Buzz Aldrin, easygoing Michael Collins, and the inscrutable Neil Armstrong — to the moment when, just minutes before Armstrong and Aldrin were about to reach the surface of the moon, their equipment failed and alarms rang out, Dan Parry reveals how the mission could so easily have gone terribly wrong, and America’s great triumph have become a national disaster. Based on extensive research and interviews with many of the leading participants, Moonshot describes in nail-biting, page-turning detail every step of a remarkable and perilous mission that has captured the imagination of generations then and since. Sarasota Herald Tribune Corrects . . . some of the bigger misunderstandings about the Apollo 11 mission. A thrilling and revealing account of one of the defining moments in human history - the 1969 moon landing.'It didn't matter that they were now three miles beyond their target site, that communications were dropping out and that they were running low on fuel. All that mattered to Neil as he searched for a safe spot to land was that boulders littered the surface below. "Thirty seconds," called mission control. In truth, the flight controllers were now no more than spectators, just like everybody else. No more needed to be said.It was down to Armstrong.'Simultaneously connected and separated by television, millions of people around the world held their breath as a human being looked back at them from the surface of the Moon. Yet who were these men capable of such an achievement? How did the passionate Buzz Aldrin, inscrutable Michael Collins and enigmatic Neil Armstrong learn to depend on one another as they endured the most intense period of their lives?From the personal tragedies and triumphs they encountered along the way to the terrifying climax of a mission that redefined humanity, Moonshot - now also a major TV factual-drama - draws on interviews with many of the leading participants and hundreds of hours of archive material to tell the compelling true story of an event that captured the imagination of generations, then and now. 'It didn't matter that they were now three miles beyond their target site, that communications were dropping out and that they were running low on fuel. All that mattered to Neil as he searched for a safe spot to land was that boulders littered the surface below. "Thirty seconds," called mission control. In truth, the flight controllers were now no more than spectators, just like everybody else. No more needed to be said.It was down to Armstrong.' Simultaneously connected and separated by television, millions of people around the world held their breath as a human being looked back at them from the surface of the Moon. Yet who were these men capable of such an achievement? How did the passionate Buzz Aldrin, inscrutable Michael Collins and enigmatic Neil Armstrong learn to depend on one another as they endured the most intense period of their lives? From the personal tragedies and triumphs they encountered along the way to the terrifying climax of a mission that redefined humanity, Moonshot - now also a major TV factual-drama - draws on interviews with many of the leading participants and hundreds of hours of archive material to tell the compelling true story of an event that captured the imagination of generations, then and now. On July 20, 1969 more than 500 million people across the globe watched as the first man in history stepped onto the face of another planet. The triumph of the Apollo 11 mission was a momentouspinacle that followed years of construction, planning, and training, all of which is conveyed in this captivating history that uses official accounts to tell the real, untold story. The background of the space race is retold in full detail, including the role of the Cold War and Americas desire to flex its international muscle. The fraught and often bitter relationships between the three men destined to make historyhot-headed Buzz Aldrin, easygoing Michael Collins, and the inscrutable Neil Armstrongare also addressed, as is the nail-biting moment when, just minutes before Armstrong and Aldrin were about to reach the surface of the moon, their equipment failed. This is an engaging account of a mission that could easily have gone terribly wrong, but instead turned into an American triumph. On July 20, 1969 more than 500 million people across the globe watched as the first man in history stepped onto the face of another planet. The triumph of the Apollo 11 mission was a momentous pinacle that followed years of construction, planning, and training, all of which is conveyed in this captivating history that uses official accounts to tell the real, untold story. The background of the space race is retold in full detail, including the role of the Cold War and America's desire to flex its international muscle. The fraught and often bitter relationships between the three men destined to make history -- hot-headed Buzz Aldrin, easygoing Michael Collins, and the inscrutable Neil Armstrong -- are also addressed, as is the nail-biting moment when, just minutes before Armstrong and Aldrin were about to reach the surface of the moon, their equipment failed From the personal tragedies and triumphs they encountered along the way to the terrifying climax of a mission that redefined humanity, this title draws on interviews with many of the leading participants and hundreds of hours of archive material to tell the true story of an event that captured the imagination of generations.