posted 07-22-2017 11:28 AM               

The inside, lesser-known story of NASA's boldest and riskiest mission: Apollo 8, mankind's first journey to the Moon on Christmas in 1968. A riveting account of three heroic astronauts who took one of the most dangerous space flights ever, from the New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Divers.

In early 1968, the Apollo program was on shaky footing. President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline to put a man on the Moon was in jeopardy, and the Soviets were threatening to pull ahead in the space race. By August 1968, with its back against the wall, NASA decided to scrap its usual methodical approach and shoot for the heavens. With just four months to prepare — a fraction of the normal time — the agency would send the first men in history to the Moon. In a year of historic violence and discord — the Tet offensive, the assassinations of MLK and RFK, the Chicago DNC riots — the Apollo 8 mission was the boldest test of what America could do. With a focus on astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders, and their wives and children, this is a vivid, gripping, you-are-there narrative that shows anew the epic danger involved, and the singular bravery it took, for man to leave Earth for the first time — and to arrive at a new world.

• Hardcover: 352 pages
  
• Random House (April 3, 2018)
  
• ISBN-10: 0812988701
  
• ISBN-13: 978-0812988703

posted 03-05-2018 05:08 PM               

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission and the release of the new book "Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon" by Robert Kurson, with a special evening at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Join the crew of Apollo 8 — astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders — for an exclusive panel discussion with the author. You'll also be able to visit the Apollo 8 capsule they rode to the Moon, and explore select other Museum exhibits in an after-hours environment.

Admission costs $35 and includes a copy of "Rocket Men" signed by the author, a panel discussion with the Apollo 8 astronauts, admission to select Museum exhibits, and light snacks. A cash bar will also be available.

posted 04-04-2018 04:30 PM               

There are some details I did not know about, like the mismatched set of cufflinks Lovell brought on the mission. As an Annapolis Midshipman, he attended the annual Army-Navy football game. Afterwards, he met a West Point cadet and they each exchanged one of their academy cufflinks. The West Pointer: Ed White, another future astronaut.

posted 04-05-2018 11:05 PM               

In 'Rocket Men,' Robert Kurson retells 'greatest space story ever told'

Robert Kurson was there to see a submarine.

The author of the 2004 bestseller "Shadow Divers" about the discovery of a World War II German U-boat off the coast of New Jersey, Kurson was at the Museum of Science and Industry in his hometown of Chicago to see a similar submarine when he happened across the exhibit of a space capsule.

posted 04-06-2018 12:27 PM               

Robert provided a wonderful introduction as to how the book came about, and some of the tidbits he learned along the way in writing. He then introduced Borman, Lovell and Anders, who were given the first of a few standing ovations.

I was surprised at how funny they were. I don't know how often they talk regularly, but it was like being at a bar with three best friends, throwing jabs at each other and leaving us in stitches.

I cannot wait to read this book, and Robert was commended by the astronauts that, of all of the publications regarding the mission, this was the first that gave proper due to the wives of the astronauts, who sacrificed just as much as they did.

posted 04-06-2018 07:54 PM               

My son really enjoyed the presentation, and was excited to see both the Command Module and Aurora 7 there at the museum. He has now seen one of each of the 4 types of manned spacecraft used.

An example of the fun that was had at the event:

posted 05-06-2018 05:18 PM            

Impressed that the author describes Jim Lovell's error (I am sure due to fatigue) on the way back from the Moon when the CSM lost its platform due to gimbal lock and how he had to work hard with the sextant to get it back. Haven't seen this mentioned in any other versions of Apollo 8, including Borman's, Lovell's, Chaiken’s and Murray and Cox books, but did find it in David Woods’ "How Apollo Flew to the Moon," which author Robert Kurson acknowledges what a help Woods was in writing and researching this book.

As someone who remembers 1968 very well I can still recall an elderly gentleman on hearing the news of the launch telling me that they would never come back. That is how fantastic the journey was to us at the time and this book puts it all in perspective with what was going on in America in that year.

posted 07-01-2018 02:22 AM            

This program is used on Earth before launch. It orients the platform in preparation for the gyrocompassing trick that is used to get a prelaunch alignment. In doing so, the platform was taken away from the orientation it ought to have been in. Gimbal lock was not involved.

posted 12-22-2018 11:29 AM            

The drama of each moment of the mission is conveyed in taut, muscular and dynamic writing that had me eager to know the next moment, even though history already knows how the mission ended. It would have been all too easy to overdo the tension, but Kurson instead clearly conveys what the dangers truly were – it is never overdone.

We are fortunate to live in an era when the first people to truly leave earth are still around and were able to relate their mission to Robert Kurson. You'd be unfortunate to miss the chance to read it.

posted 07-29-2019 04:52 AM               

Set in 1968 – the year of the Tet offensive, the assassinations of MLK and RFK and the Chicago DNC riots, it tells the true story of the Apollo 8 mission as a stark example of what America was capable of in a time of dramatic violence and discord. "Rocket Men" focuses on the three astronauts of the Apollo 8 crew and their families, presenting a vivid, gripping narrative that shows how much danger was involved – and how much bravery it took – for man to travel away from Earth.