Shoot for the Moon, James Donovan
Shoot for the Moon, James Donovan
4 Rating(s)
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Shoot for the Moon
The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11

Author: James Donovan

Narrator: Allan Robertson

Unabridged: 13 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/12/2019


Synopsis

Learn why NASA astronaut Mike Collins calls this extraordinary space race story "the best book on Apollo": this inspiring and intimate ode to ingenuity celebrates one of the most daring feats in human history.
When the alarm went off forty thousand feet above the moon's surface, both astronauts looked down at the computer to see 1202 flashing on the readout. Neither of them knew what it meant, and time was running out . . .
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. One of the world's greatest technological achievements -- and a triumph of the American spirit -- the Apollo 11 mission was a mammoth undertaking involving more than 410,000 men and women dedicated to winning the space race against the Soviets.
Set amid the tensions and upheaval of the sixties and the Cold War, Shoot for the Moon is a gripping account of the dangers, the challenges, and the sheer determination that defined not only Apollo 11, but also the Mercury and Gemini missions that came before it. From the shock of Sputnik and the heart-stopping final minutes of John Glenn's Mercury flight to the deadly whirligig of Gemini 8, the doomed Apollo 1 mission, and that perilous landing on the Sea of Tranquility -- when the entire world held its breath while Armstrong and Aldrin battled computer alarms, low fuel, and other problems -- James Donovan tells the whole story.
Both sweeping and intimate, Shoot for the Moon is "a powerfully written and irresistible celebration" of one of humankind's most extraordinary accomplishments (Booklist, starred review).

About James Donovan

James Donovan has been a literary agent for over a decade, during which time he sold several bestselling nonfiction titles. Prior to that he was a bookstore chain buyer and a trade book editor. He has also written several books, including the coffee-table tome Custer and the Little Bighorn, a main selection of the Military Book Club. He lives in Dallas, Texas.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Christopher on June 15, 2021

Punched out early on this one. TL;DR version: Yet another telling of the space race, along with a summary of the first human landing on the moon, written in a pedestrian style. A blurb on the cover, attributed to Apollo 11's command module pilot Michael Collins, touts this as the best book on Apollo......more

Goodreads review by Byron on April 12, 2019

What a thrilling book! Even though I knew the outcome from the beginning, having lived the early space years as a youth, I could not put this book down, making up excuses to drive my car so I could listen to the next chapter. Donovan details the history of the race to the moon, including a lot of ma......more

Goodreads review by Wendy on September 11, 2019

I thought this book is just about Apollo 11. However, this book is more informative. It details the American space program from the very beginning, culminating in Apollo 11 and the moon landing. I learned a lot, like Lyndon Johnson's big role in encouraging the space program's birth. Learned that po......more


Quotes

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2019

"If you're looking for telling of the manned space program's story, you should start with James Donovan's Shoot for the Moon."—NPR

"Donovan's narrative is a well-crafted one...one of the best in print."—Science Magazine

"Vividly readable"—Christian Science Monitor

"Donovan combines his masterful research skills and narrative gifts in recounting the full story of the most famous Apollo trip...Donovan's history is a powerfully written and irresistible celebration of the Apollo missions."—Booklist (starred review)

"Exceptionally researched, this exciting, sometimes harrowing book highlights the work not only of the pioneering astronauts but also of thousands of technicians and engineers. This is a perfect volume to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing and all that led up to it."— Publishers Weekly (starred)

"This account reads like an adventure story."—The Columbus Dispatch

"Donovan's account of Apollo 11 is a breath-stopping page-turner."— Michael Barnes, Austin-American Statesman

"Shoot for the Moon is a gripping account of the dangers, the challenges, and the sheer determination that defined not only Apollo 11, but also the Mercury and Gemini missions that came before it."—BookPeople

"Its breadth and detail will give you a new appreciation for just how complex and dangerous this mission was. You'll come away marveling that, against all odds, we put people on the motherf**in' moon!"—Austin Chronicle