posted 03-09-2007 12:47 PM            

with a foreword, as you can see, by Walt Cunningham.

Colin and I have been told that the book will be in the press's warehouse in the fall. Using the link above, you can also ask the publisher to notify you when it is available.

This book covers human spaceflight (both Russian and American) from the Gemini missions through to the first manned landing on the Moon. It chronologically begins where our other book, "Into that Silent Sea," ends.

posted 07-14-2007 01:22 AM            

Good eyes, Rob! Indeed, the original photo will be familiar to many as one taken on Apollo 11's return trip.

The first time humans could look at the moon from up close and think, "I just walked on that surface"... and the Sea of Tranquility is beautifully prominent in the shot.

As those of you who are familiar with the publishing business will know, there are some aspects of the book which the authors have no final control over. While the authors can recommend photos for inside and outside the book, the final decision rests with the publisher. Colin and I made a number of suggestions for the covers of both books. This photo was not one of our choices, but it is very similar to our suggestions, and evocative of the book title and subject.

As you rightly point out, the design team it seems chose to flip the image - presumably to get a more pleasing artistic effect. And it certainly looks beautiful. But given the choice, I would have chosen the more accurate path.

It happens more often than you think - no matter how well-known the author. One recent astronaut autobiography, for example, has as its main cover photo a large image of the subject in their spacesuit. Those familiar with the photo, or who look closely at the NASA patch, may notice that the photo has been reversed.

The irony is, the cover shows how I have often observed details on the moon, as the telescope I looked through had a mirror reversed field. So the image on the cover is actually more familiar to me than in reverse.

posted 07-14-2007 03:06 AM            

Indeed, Bill Anders is enjoying himself flying airplanes, and told me he has no interest in ever writing a book. The Apollo 8 chapter is told largely from his viewpoint, and he and Valerie Anders were kind enough to invite me to their home for some great, insightful interviews, followed by a lot of proofreading. Very generous and giving people.

posted 07-15-2007 01:25 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by mdmyer:
I just received an e-mail from Amazon.com saying that my pre-ordered copy of In the Shadow of the Moon has shipped. The estimated delivery date is the 19th of July.

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posted 07-20-2007 12:10 AM            

The subject of the book dedication doesn't even know about it yet - I am hoping it will be a nice surprise!

Those of you who have it already, or are about to, will presumably have one of the 'reversed covers,' which as Colin says are going to be rather rare, and probably the sign of the very first of the first printed...

One thing I like about this book was the opportunity to take some portrait photos of the spacefarers, such as the ones I took of Gordon Cooper (p.53), Wally Schirra (p.231), Bill Anders (p.324), Rusty Schweickart (p.364) and Charlie Duke (p.407). Of course, the printing process removes much of the subtleties of them, but it was nice to be able to include some original photography. I did the same in the first book with a Leonov shot (P.381).

Rusty Schweickart liked his photo so much that he now uses it on his personal website.

posted 07-20-2007 06:27 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by FFrench:
The subject of the book dedication doesn't even know about it yet - I am hoping it will be a nice surprise

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posted 07-24-2007 04:39 PM               

Halfway through and it is excellent. It has some very unigue photos but it does need more pictures. As we have lost so many of our heroes, this is the first book series that tells the complete stories of their lives.

Thank you Francis and Colin for your acknowledgements and friendship.

posted 07-26-2007 12:40 AM               

The University of Nebraska Press is pleased to announce that "In the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969" by Francis French and Colin Burgess is now available for purchase.

posted 07-27-2007 12:10 AM            

If only we could get just a fraction of those Harry Potter sales, Jim...

As for ordering copies in Australia and Switzerland - many bookstores overseas will order US books for you. The book is already listed for sale at Amazon Germany, Canada, UK and Japan, but I have heard of some Europeans and Australians who have already ordered it from Amazon's US site. Not only are they likely to get it faster, there is a great exchange rate right now for most, and the book is also heavily discounted (over ten dollars off) - meaning essentially free postage for some... you may wish to take advantage!!

posted 07-27-2007 09:24 PM               

We are leaving for an extended weekend trip tomorrow morning. I have never taken a book on vacation but In the Shadow of the Moon might just have to go with me.

posted 07-28-2007 12:39 AM            

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Originally posted by mdmyer:
Did the lady you dedicated the book to learn about this honor yet?

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posted 07-29-2007 06:29 PM            

A more detailed version would be, they would nudge Gemini 9 into an elliptical orbit, out of the ADTA's near-circular orbit. The apogee and perigee difference between the two was slight - less than 3 miles - and one in which a small burn indeed took them above and behind the ADTA, as described in the book.

The orbits were such that the spacecraft drew closer together again when Gemini 9 reached its new orbital perigee, at which point a small braking burn helped match the orbits again for a second rendezvous.

There was a lot more to the manuever - Cernan taking sextant sightings, Stafford attempting to view the target optically without relying on radar, working as a team. But not even Stafford and Cernan themselves go into such detail in their own books on this maneuver. Probably, as Colin and I were, thinking that putting too much orbital mechanics in a book designed for the lay reader would scare them off turning any more pages!

The Gemini program is a much overlooked and underrated program in space history. Manuevers like the one we are discussing are ones which gave Apollo vital experience in flying techniques - some for emergencies, such as losing radar. Some techniques were never needed or used again, but they gave NASA a huge amount of experience and confidence in a very short time frame. The number and range of tests of his nature (creating artificial gravity using tethers, for example) is astoundingly broad, and in many instances decades ahead of its time. We had a lot of fun trying to show how vital the program was to solving the mysteries of rendezvous in the prior chapter ('A Rendezvous in Space') and also EVA, in the chapter you are reading ('The Ballet of Weightlessness'). I hope that we did so in a readable and non-technical way, trying to cover very complex events in a simple way, but with the main focus elsewhere - on how the people making these flights themselves thought and felt about the events, and who they were, before and after their flights.

quote:

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Originally posted by MCroft04
...hope this shows you how closely I am reading your book, and enjoying it word by word!

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