posted 12-30-2021 11:40 PM               

In trying to set aside my series editor cap, I have to say that this is one of the very best astronaut biographies I have ever had the pleasure to read, and to hear that the entire Evans family (and especially Jan) loved the book is nothing short of a wonderful endorsement of Geoffrey's work over the past couple of years. For a person writing their first full book, he did an outstanding job, and his narrative (and accuracy) is superb throughout.

Making it even more outstanding is the fact that he did most of his research and writing from his home in Belfast. Just like "The Light of Earth", "A Long Voyage to the Moon" captures what it is like to be a CMP on an Apollo mission, and if it is not gracing your bookcase by now, it definitely should be.

Although several other Outward Odyssey books are currently in the research and writing pipeline, it looks as if there will only be one more published in 2022, and so far the author and I have kept it a secret between us. However I can reveal that it has been accepted for publication and is a very human story about yet another Apollo astronaut, written by someone very close to him. More will be revealed next year.

posted 01-01-2022 06:26 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Kite:
Hopefully, if the world returns to something like normal, I will be able to catch up with Geoffrey at some space event and he might kindly personalise and sign it for me.

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posted 01-04-2022 07:58 AM               

On page 186, there is a reference to a cartoon printed in the Chicago Today newspaper that maybe a lot of you have seen but I had not. To quote the passage in the book, "Chicago Today printed an achingly poignant cartoon showing Armstrong raising the U.S. flag, Iwo Jima-style, aided by the spectral figures of Grissom, White, and Chaffee."

posted 01-05-2022 03:43 PM            

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Originally posted by JLR1:
On page 186, there is a reference to a cartoon printed in the Chicago Today newspaper...

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posted 01-13-2022 12:51 PM            

His meticulous research is phenomenal, finding witnesses in all the many different parts of his subjects life and writing it all in such a relaxed and readable style. It is so enjoyable and after each chapter I choose to reflect on it rather than carry on reading as much as it is tempting to do so. How a former solicitor having spent years of reading and writing legal jargon can switch to such an understandable narration is amazing! Well done and thank you Geoffrey, and also to Colin and others in the collectSPACE environment who saw your potential and have unearthed another brilliant author for us to enjoy.

posted 01-13-2022 08:23 PM            

After I supplied Nebraska with details for my "author profile" it occurred to me that my nearly 40 years as a litigation lawyer might leave some potential readers concerned that Ron's story would be written like a legal report to an insurance client! So I tried for a fairly "laid-back" style, while trusting my copy-editor to rein-in any excessively casual text. I hope I struck the right balance!

quote:

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Originally posted by gareth89:
...you're treating me to lunch and insider tales about Ron Evans.

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posted 01-23-2022 07:43 AM               

Ron Evans indeed has an amazing life story. It is refreshing to read about one of the lesser known astronauts who made great contributions to Apollo.

It is rich irony to consider a Vietnam combat veteran enjoying all that NASA had to offer while knowing that several of his Navy buddies were being held as prisoners of war in North Vietnam. I had assumed that the astronauts all working together and living in the same neighborhoods would be best of friends and buddies but this book showed that was not really the case.

posted 01-29-2022 11:44 AM            

I cannot recommend this book enough and can only state that it is certainly one of the very best biographies I have ever read too. Hopefully it will enjoy great sales which concern me as when looking around quality book stores in both Market Harborough and Northampton I could not locate it. At the latter in Waterstones the keen assistant assured me it could be ordered by them but they do not keep American books in store. I wonder if this is the same in big cities such as London, or indeed Belfast who should be proud of their local new author. Perhaps someone might know.

posted 01-31-2022 12:57 PM            

Your post also touches on a thorny point which I am still pursuing. Last October I asked the Belfast branch of Waterstones booksellers if they would stock "a local author's first book." I received an email on 29th October confirming that the branch's buyer had "placed an order for the Belfast shop today."

I understand four copies were ordered: enough to "test the waters." Since then, although the book is available on Waterstones' website and can be ordered online to be collected at branches, there is no sign of the copies ordered for the shelves last October. No one I have spoken to has been able to explain this.

I wonder if the Northampton assistant has "let the cat out of the bag" by stating that Waterstones "do not keep American books in store." If true, it would have been nice if they had told the author! It remains to be seen whether an actual order by a branch might override any such blanket policy.

On reflection, I have never seen any "Outward Odyssey" title on display in Waterstones in Belfast. I have certainly seen American titles such as "A Man on the Moon" and "Carrying the Fire" but these have actually been UK editions.

Of course, Amazon is happy to supply copies on this side of the pond, usually within two days. To my certain knowledge, Waterstones in Belfast have had to turn people away who wanted to buy copies for themselves and as Christmas presents. Those people then turned to Amazon.

posted 02-19-2022 07:39 PM               

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Originally posted by fredtrav:
Now you need to do a signing at the store.

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posted 02-21-2022 08:11 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by fredtrav:
Now you need to do a signing at the store.

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posted 04-16-2022 11:17 AM            

I was reminded of that today when I was looking for something in my 2010 Dover reprint of the NASA publication "Where No Man Has Gone Before"(NASA SP-4214). I was browsing through the Appendices and noticed that the 1966 astronaut group ("The Original Nineteen") had been reduced to only 18. I soon realized that the "missing man" was Ron Evans!

I have just checked the NASA History Office website and Ron is again missing from the Group 5 list of astronauts in Appendix 6. I couldn't help thinking it's a good thing I wrote "A Long Voyage..." if even NASA can overlook one of its Apollo astronauts.

posted 11-22-2022 05:26 PM            

Writing a biography of an Apollo astronaut inevitably transports you back in time to NASA's Golden Age. Yesterday, switching on the live NASA feed, I admit to getting just a little misty-eyed as I saw the Moon floating in the sky beyond the Orion spacecraft. Later, as a small, oval, blue and white object floated closer and closer to the lunar disc, until it disappeared behind it, I was once again transported back to December, 1972, and the days of "loss of signal" and "acquisition of signal."

I never expected it would take so long, but at least now, after many years of talk and inaction, NASA's direction of travel is back to the Moon...and beyond. I probably won't be around to see the first footprints on Mars, but I certainly hope and expect to see the thirteenth and fourteenth sets of footprints in the lunar dust.

posted 12-08-2022 04:17 PM            

The broadcast can be found on 365 Days of Astronomy.

Some of my contributions suffered slightly from the temporary failure of my laptop headset, but if you can understand the accent, you should have no trouble with the interview!