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Bestseller Critically Recognized
  • Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon by Craig Nelson book cover
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Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon

by Craig Nelson

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Apollo 11 through the machinery, people, and stakes of the space race

$30.58 USD
$47.79 USD $30.58 USD
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Paperback New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Bestseller

    A New York Times bestseller

    Described in the metadata as a New York Times bestseller.

  • Critical praise

    Praised by The Wall Street Journal

    The Wall Street Journal is quoted praising the book as a celebration of a bold era.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Apollo 11 through the machinery, people, and stakes of the space race

Craig Nelson’s account of the first lunar mission places the July 16, 1969 Apollo 11 launch within the larger Cold War competition that made a Moon landing a matter of national security and prestige. Drawing on interviews, extensive NASA oral histories, and declassified CIA material, the book traces the mission’s path toward a landmark moment witnessed by more than a million people at the launch. It combines the practical undertaking of sending astronauts beyond Earth with the political pressures and public scale surrounding the American space program.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in Apollo 11 and the history of human spaceflight
  • Fans of nonfiction about the Cold War space race
  • Readers who want a source-based account of NASA’s Moon mission

Themes

Apollo 11Space explorationCold War competitionNASA historyNational prestige

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A New York Times Bestseller

"Celebrates a bold era when voyaging beyond the Earth was deemed crucial to national security and pride."
-The Wall Street Journal

Restoring the drama, majesty, and sheer improbability of an American triumph, this is award-winning historian Craig Nelson's definitive and thrilling story of man's first trip to the moon. At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 rocket launched in the presence of more than a million spectators who had gathered to witness a truly historic event. Through interviews, 23,000 pages of NASA oral histories, and declassified CIA documents on the space race, Rocket Men presents a vivid narrative of the moon mission, taking readers on the journey to one of the last frontiers of the human imagination.
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