First published 2019
Charles Fishman examines the massive undertaking that transformed Kennedy's shocking 1961 Moon landing pledge into reality by 1969. The author traces how NASA scientists and engineers, caught completely off guard by the president's announcement, had to invent space travel from scratch with no existing knowledge of lunar navigation, rocket construction, or spacecraft computers. Fishman focuses on the 400,000 scientists, engineers, and factory workers who made the mission possible, from MIT's Charles Draper developing flight navigation tools to factory women hand-sewing spacesuits and parachutes. The book reveals the staggering scale of effort required, with each hour of space flight demanding one million hours of Earth-based work. Fishman uncovers surprising details, including near-forgotten items like the American flag and the broader impact of Apollo technology on modern life. The narrative captures both the technical challenges of solving 10,000 problems and the human stories of ordinary Americans tasked with achieving the extraordinary.
Genres: history, science, space, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: extraordinary-ordinary, found-family
Setting: MIT, Moon
Period: 1961, 1969
480 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster