Product Description
Out of the seven Apollo expeditions to land on the moon, sixof the efforts succeeded outstandingly and one failed. LostMoon is the story of the failure and the incredible heroism of thethree astronauts who brought their crippled vehicle back toearth. This account--written by Jim Lovell, commander of the mission,and his talented coauthor, Jeffrey Kluger--captures the high drama ofthat unique event and is told in the vernacular of the men in the skyand on the ground who masterminded this triumph of heroism,intellectual brilliance, and raw courage. A thrilling story of athrilling episode in the history of space exploration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (53)

Unbelievably great book!
Other reviewers have recapped this very well so I'll add a different perspective and experience.I actually read this in paperback AFTER the movie came out - which I immediately went to see and enjoyed because I remember the events of that time as they were happening.Great movie by a good director in Ron Howard.Too bad Tom Hanks blew the key dialog in the movie by over-acting with a stern face the line "Houston, we have a problem."Lovell so beautifully and calmly understated the line IRL ("Houston, we've had a problem").See the PBS special on Apollo 13, "To the Edge and Back" which includes real footage from the time and actual audio of communication between Houston and the astronauts.

So imagine when I got into this book and the detail which the movie would necessarily have had to telescope for time constraints.Just unbelievable the mix of calm and stress and problem-solving in a time where our technology toys and capabilities were significantly less.I re-read the paperback a second time, loaned it to somebody, reread it a third time when they returned the now dog-eared copy, and finally bought this in original hard cover edition under its original title so that I would always have it - then read it yet again.

A couple of points on top of my thanks to Jim Lovell for wanting to do this book in the first place...

(1) Excellent choice of Jeffrey Kluger to help co-author the book.Kluger is GREAT with words and narrative timing and, though I'm sure there may be some, I have personally seen no reviews that adequately credit his tremendous contribution to making this book so good.It reads like the best, most gripping fiction novel you have ever read and is made all the better because you know it all actually happened just the way it is described.NASA's making available of footage, recordings and personnel involved in the mission contributed also to the unvarnished truth and perspectives of a lot of the people whose lives were wall-to-wall angst for those four days in 1970.Kluger and Lovell capture this and Kluger ties it all together as smooth as glass.

(2)Shifting the narrative to third person, even though this is autobiographical from Jim Lovell's POV, was unique and appropriate.It was maybe the ONLY best way to tap into the psyches, experiences and perspectives of so many of the players in this event beyond just Jim Lovell.

One of my all time favorite books.

Apollo 13
My husband is fascinated with space exploration.He loved the movie, and wanted the full story.
I was also able to get a copy of this signed by Jim Lovell.Well worth it!

book review purchase
This was actually a gift, and we were very pleased.The book was in better condition than the seller stated!Very nice, thank you

Lost Moon
book was in great condition.was a hardback, for some reason i expected a soft-cover.what a bargain.shipped in 8 days.

The Miracle of Man and Technology!
Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 is an excellent account of the events that occurred during the flight of Apollo 13. Captain Lovell and Mr. Kluger did an excellent job in telling this story. It is very easy to get lost in the pages of this book. In the beginning, the book focused on the historical aspect of Project Apollo, including the tragedy of Apollo 1 and the lessons that were learned from that day in January of 1967. The original Apollo spacecraft was not too well received by the astronaut community and they had their concerns. Unfortunately, the fire in the Apollo 1 command module and the loss of its crew during a "Plugs Out" test, was their wake-up call. During the down time, the Apollo spacecraft was re-designed. When manned spaceflight resumed, the nation got excited as Project Apollo advanced to the historical flight of Apollo 11 and the first manned landing on the lunar surface. After the flight of Apollo 11, NASA was losing media coverage. The flights that followed, were considered routine. Everything changed during the flight of Apollo 13 when the liquid oxygen tank needed for the fuel cells and for life support, exploded and crippled the spacecraft.
Lost Moon had plenty of heroes. The first was Captain James Lovell himself. He was the most experienced astronaut in the astronaut corps. Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise and Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert were fully trained. However,they were first time flyers during the flight of Apollo 13. Yes, Captain Lovell was disappointed when he was unable to land on the moon. Being a good commander, he knew the safety of his crew was the first priority. Captain Lovell's experience and his leadership, were extremely valuable. What was most valuable was Captain Lovell's experience as a pilot and as an astronaut! One of the other heroes, was lead flight director Gene Krantz. Mr. Krantz was a former Marine and he was cool under pressure. His leadership with his flight controllers,his engineers and his resourcefulness is what brought Apollo 13 home. Mr. Krantz's statement "Failure is not Option!" was the driving force. He wanted the crew of Apollo 13 home and wanted them home safely. One of the first problems that resolved was the use of lunar module's descent stage engine to place Apollo 13 on a free return trajectory with an assist from lunar gravity. The second problem resolved was the problem with carbon dioxide levels building in the spacecraft and means to remove it. The resourcefulness came into play when the crew of Apollo 13 used what was available on the spacecraft,to construct the device which saved their lives from carbon dioxide poisoning. One of the other heroes that was mentioned, was flight controller John Allred. He was familiar with spacecraft systems. When Apollo 13 lost the liquid oxygen tank early in the flight, the command module Odyssey was powered down to conserve power, including shutting down the guidance computer. The flight of Apollo 13 was stretching the limits of the lunar module Aquarius when it was used as a "lifeboat!" His knowledge of spacecraft systems and his resourcefulness allowed Mr. Allred to come with a power conservation plan and the plan to power up the command module Odyssey for re-entry,including restoring the guidance computer.
Lost Moon also described the personal side of Captain Lovell and his family, especially his wife Marilyn. Mrs. Lovell was a pillar of strength as she kept her family together during the flight of Apollo 13. While she was keeping her family together, Mrs. Lovell was receiving the help and the support of her astronaut friends and neighbors and from the entire NASA community itself. Like any good story, the flight of Apollo 13 came to a successful conclusion when the command module Odyssey came through its fiery re-entry of Earth's atmosphere and made a successful splashdown in the South Pacific within view of the recovery forces.
Lost Moon looks at the flight of Apollo 13 from different angles. The first was the historical aspect. The second was from the technical side. The final view was from personal perspective from the crew of Apollo 13 and their families. The movie Apollo 13 was tastefully done. Director Ron Howard did a superb job with the movie. Hollywood however, does have the knack of taking a story out of context for dramatic presentation. If you want a more accurate account of the flight of Apollo 13, Lost Moon: The Perlious Voyage of Apollo 13, is recommended reading. Captain Lovell and Mr. Kluger, presented their story in chronological order. It's easy to get lost in the pages of this book! The technology of the time and the resourcefulness of Mission Control, allowed Captain James Lovell and the crew of Apollo 13, to return home safely! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (59)

Great book for interesting true exciting history
One of the great United States of America's "we can do it" stories.The adventure to the Moon to land there and do experiments has been forgotten in the past.Most people today only explore what is on cable TV.Even their vacations are "cruise ship planned out".This book captures you into the world of space exploration and the life threatening difficulties that sometimes happen along the way to super discoveries. Wonderfully written and it is a true story of team work and courage.

Failed mission. NASAs finest hour.Important history
Apollo Thirteen Commemorative The 30th Anniversary by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger is great. A fast passed exciting read. Nice pictures too. I also saw Apollo Thirteen the movie. The movie was great but this book was even better.

We see Jim Lovell in his early Navy times and later as a test pilot. Lovell has an exciting and almost deadly carrier landing as he temporarily gets lost at night, his instruments get shorted out and he almost flies low into the fantail of the carrier.He gets frantically sent around for another try. Too close. Almost bought the farm.

Later we see Jim Lovell as a test pilot at Pax River. He applies to NASA to be an astronaut but is initially rejected because of a possible past medical problem. NASA wants more astronauts and Jim applies again and this time Deke Slayton the head astronaut says welcome aboard. Jim meets friends Wally Shirra, Pete Conrad and others that also become astronauts.

Also his wife Marilyn and family are shown. Very nice family. We see his Gemini flights, the around the Moon flight and later the failed Apollo 13 flight. Jim has anexpensive Mink jacket on Christmas delivered to Marylin from the Man in the Moon.He also named a mountain on the moon after her. She learns her husband and the other 2 astronauts are in serious trouble on the Apollo 13 flight and only have a 10% chance on getting back.

Apollo 13s Fred Haise the LM pilot and the CM pilot Jack Sweigert have major roles in this book. All 3 played major roles in getting back. An oxygen tank explodes from shorted electrodes while getting the required mixing signal and takes out almost the entire side of the service module.The 3 astronauts see their atmosphere being vented into space and all electrical systems failing.We see the flight control teams workingto save the crew,feverishly planning procedures to get them back.All the hundreds in mission control and the makers of the LM worked frantically non stop. The astronauts must use the LM as a lifeboat to keep alive and later have to power up the CM which has the heat shield for reentry. CO2 build up will kill the crew and mission control gets the crew a procedure for making a CO2 scrubber for the LM. The LM was only made for 2 people for 2 days and they got to stretch and modify what they can for 3 people for 4 days. They must power down many electric circuits and conserve power. The astronauts are very cold and later Fred Haise comes down with an infection that requires hospitalization.

This book was so exciting and well written. Not a boring part. Thank goodness for the experts at mission control. Even though the mission was a failure this shows the politicians and the world what NASA can do. This besides Apollo 11 was NASA,s greatest finest hour.

They just barley are able to get the CM back on line and jettison their temporary lifeboat LM. All are so thankful for the LM .Using the LM was their only chance for survival. If the explosion would of happened when they didn't have the LEM all three would die of asphyxiation.

I still think many of the FLIGHT controllers had huge egos but after reading Apollo 13 I see that all of mission control and FLIGHT were so important and necessary for input and procedures in manned flight. Mission control saved the Apollo 13s crew's bacon. All deserved medals and a ticker tape parade like Lovell and Sweigert got ( Haise missed his parade as hewas still sick battling his infection).

I asked my kids age 16 and 19 if in any of their school classes was Apollo 13 mentioned and taught. No...nothing all the way throughtheir school years. Also almost nothing about Apollo 11. What a shame. So important history explaining some of mankind's greatest achievements and NASAs finest hour.So much technology learned and inventions from manned space exploration. Apollo 13s crew and all members of mission control were true heroes. Its a shame that the space program spiraled down into just the shuttle and ISS. We lost the drive for a permanent lunar base and Mars manned exploration. I hope we get back on track and my kids can see it in their lifetimes.

A fantastic book. Highest rating and I will be proud to read passages to my grandchildren. 5 stars.

Apollo 13: Lost Moon used
The condition of the used book was good. Not a big deal, but I wish I had known there would be a giant fold down the middle of the cover. The book is intact along with the photos in it. Overall, great deal for the money.

Riveting nonfiction
Jim Lovell, an astronaut who didn't make it into Project Mercury because of a minor medical test's not quite perfect result, tried again in time for Project Apollo. His first flight, Apollo 8, was among those leading up to the first moon landing. Apollo 13 should have been the third mission to land a LEM on the moon's surface, and Mission Commander Lovell looked forward to that as the goal toward which he had worked for years. But something went wrong - no, several things went wrong. With the redundancies built into any NASA spacecraft, it took several problems coming together in a sort of perfect storm to create the situation that Lovell and his crew, fellow astronauts Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, faced not long into their mission. Their goal swiftly changed from completing their moon landing to simply getting home alive.

This book switches back and forth, chapter by chapter, between the saga of Apollo 13 and the years leading up to it. It takes the reader through Lovell's earlier life, including back to a boyhood in which he experimented with rocketry and dreamed of traveling into space. It chronicles NASA's worst earlier disaster, the Apollo 1 fire that took the lives of the project's first crew, and it goes into technical detail whenever that is necessary for the reader to understand what happened and why. That level of detail may be more than some readers need, but if so it can easily be skipped. I chose to read it because I've been a space program follower since the first U.S. missions, when I was a small girl sitting alone in front of a black-and-white TV set before anyone else in my home awakened. I remember the events of this book well (by then I was a teenager), and I learned a lot that I didn't know by reading it now.

More than worthwhile for readers with interests similar to mine.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 science fiction EPPIE winner REGS

An Entertaining Book
When I first saw this book I thought it would be a synopsis of the movie. Then I read the book and found out that it is somewhat like the movie. The main difference between the two is that the book goes into more detail about the voyage of the long and tragic mission that never landed on the moon. Compared to the movie it really is more exciting. The wierdest thing in the book is that 13 is so called an "unlucky number." The weird thing is that Apollo 13 lifted off on April 11, 1970 at 1:13 p.m. or 13:13 military time, to me that's just the oddest thing I've ever heard of.
If I had to fly to the moon I would be very afraid of the accidentsfrom the past. Like how a fire started in the spacecraft before liftoff on January 21, 1967. The fire was thought to rise up to 1400 degrees. People who fly to the moon must be super prepared and must know all of those buttons and what they do.
I would recomend this book to people who like space and exploration. I would recomend this book because it is very exciting and intense. ... Read more

Product Description
Anastasia--the name has become synonymous with enigma. the story of the youngest daughter of the last Russian czar has become one of the world's most favorite romantic fascinations, and is one of the strangest, saddest, most haunting riddle of the twentieth century: Did she escape the massacre of the Russian Royal family in 1917?

James Blair Lovell's exhaustive search for the truth culminates in the definitive book, the last word on the mystery of Anastasia. Drawn form eyewitness testimony, medical and scientific study, handwriting analysis, and a cache of thousands of documents, letters, paintings, private photographs, and audio tapes, Anastasia: The Lost Princess separates the facts from the myths, and establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt the identity of the real Anastasia. Filled with romance, intrigue, drama, and startling revelation, it is Anna Anderson's true story.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Historical Mystery
There is no doubt that Anna Anastasia and Anastasia were one and the same.How many people can be the same height,eye color,mole mark on her shoulder.Foot deformity,it goes on and on.The Polish woman they tried to say she was was 5'7,shoe size 13 and hazel eyes.Why did the Royal Family go to extreme lengths to bribe her. Her personality was the same as when she was a child.Hard to handle and out of controll. Her knowledge that her Uncle Ernest visited her parents in Russia during WW1, her ability to name the characters in Gleb Boktin's cartoon book, her drew on the Standard for her entertainment. Her Aunt Olga was so excited she called the family that she found the little one.It was only when she
mentioned the money her father left her and her sisters in the Bank of England that Aunt Olge no longer knew her. The murder of the Inperial Family was not the saddest thing that happened to her, it was what her family did to her that showed the lack of character that they had.She is dead now and finally back with her family. I hope she rest in peace.

Character Study
Jimmy Lovell did not know the DNA outcome. He died some months before the results, of an incurable illness. I knew him quite well. I was with him the night he first put pen to paper for this book. Yes, he was an amateur, but he had had this amazing encounter with this woman and few, really, amateur or not, could have just let it alone. She pulled him in deep and he of course was a believer. He did the best he could, frankly. I was skeptical from the outset, but then, I am a skeptic. My name is in the credits. R.I.P. Jimmy.

A must-read for any skeptics!
I borrowed this book from the local library.There is just no way Anna Anderson was NOT Anastasia!

As far as so-called DNA evidence and some of her relatives saying she was impostor--well, money talks!

Ugh!
This book is one of the worst I've read about Anna Anderson.Unlike others, I don't believe she was a deliberate imposter-I think she truly believed she was the Grand Duchess.

However, it's not Lovell's belief in her that bothers me-it's his outlandish following of every fantasy the poor woman had.He only fed into her delusions, and the book only made her story less credible.Lovell took advantage of a vulnerable, mentally ill woman, which I find absolutely disgusting.

While Anderson has found to be an imposter, her story is pretty fascinating, and terribly sad.If you really wish for a good book on her account, I suggest Peter Kurth's instead.

I'm so glad I read this book.
I was a bit hesitant in deciding whether or not Anna Anderson was really Anastasiaor just another impostor. Yes, there was the DNA evidence, but I have always been a faith person and everything I'd read so far suggested she knew the things that only Anastasia would.

After reading this book, however, I'm convinced that Anna Anderson was NOT Anastasia. Thank God. Her behavior was so embarrassing for her to be a Grand Duchess. I'm sure Anastasia was not a perfect saint, but I'm still sorry that her name has been marred by this delusional lady. ... Read more

Product Description
The Remarkable Story of a True Hero of American Aviation

The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels are the most famous flight demonstration team in the world. While millions of aviation enthusiasts see their shows every year, the story of the man who formed the squadron has never been told. He is Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris, a World War II Ace and one of only two aviators ever to command the Blue Angels twice.

First Blue details the epic journey of an unassuming man whose strong character and desire to fly launched him into a life of drama, heroism, and accomplishment unique in his field. Because he wanted to serve his country during World War II, a young Butch Voris found himself flying fighter planes as part of the pitifully prepared and outmanned front in the early stages of the Pacific theater. He was nearly killed there but went on to be a leader in one of the most fearsome naval air squadrons in the Pacific. As a pilot, Butch is unquestionably in the same class as more recognized aviator heroes such as Chuck Yeager and Pappy Boyington.

While his World War II experience alone could comprise a book, Butch may be best known for his efforts in the creation of the naval air demonstration team, the Blue Angels. After the war, Voris was personally chosen by Admiral Nimitz to start the Blue Angels and to lead them, first in prop planes and later in jets. The story of his efforts is as exciting as it is inspirational, and it's told here in meticulous detail and with great humor. Today the Blue Angels still follow traditions established by Butch.

Butch's involvement in military flight didn't end with the Blue Angels; he became a major player in the development of the F-14 Tomcat and NASA's Lunar Explorer Module for Grumman. Butch dedicated his life to his work, and here, finally, is the remarkable, untold account of this true American aviation pioneer and hero: a man whose life had unparalleled influence on naval aviation and whose legacy continues to inspire millions of Americans each year.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

I should know
I was surprised to get in my email an invitation from Amazon to review one of my own books. We all know that bigness sometimes leads to oversight. What the heck. I'm happy to oblige. First Blue is the story of a great man whom I was privileged to meet and become friends with - and ultimately write his biography. Butch Voris was all-man and gentleman too. He was one of those intrepid few who battled the Japanese at the beginning of the war when it was kill or be killed. The Japanese had all the cards. At one point we were down to one carrier in the Pacific and Butch was one of the fighter pilots on it. None of those guys flinched. They did what they had to. The wars today don't compare. Some of them died. Some of them were imprisoned. But they stopped the enemy and consequently the US began its march to the Japanese mainland.

Butch became an ace and, right after the war, was asked to start the Blue Angels, the Navy Flight Demonstration team. With the war ended, it was to keep the navy's prowess in front of the public. He literally forged the group with his will and skill. This was the first of the service flight team. The result is the great tradition and honor the Blue Angels now posses. He was, literally, "First Blue" - a big, strapping tough, skilled and smart guy. But unlike someone with such accomplishments, he treated everyone with respect. It earned him the same from almost everyone who knew him.

After the war and the Blue Angels, which he skippered twice, he was instrumental in development of several new fighter planes, including the F-14 Tomcat, and had such integrity that he blew the whistle on military fraud in aircraft procurement. He knew it could cost him his career but he didn't hesitate. That's the kind of man and leader Butch was. It probably did cost him an admiralship. The military needs more leaders like him.

He ended his career working on early space shots at NASA. I wish I'd done more with the end of Butch's career but I think any reader will be happy with the war and Blue Angel parts. Butch was an aviator every bit as daring and important as notables like Chuck Yeager and Pappy Boyington. In fact, I think he was more important. But he never got the publicity and when you read this book you'll understand why. He was a guy only concerned with doing the best he could - and boy he really proved what such an attitude can produce.

P.S. Regarding the 5 stars: Ok. Maybe it's a 4. Read it and do your own review.

An excellent history of the early Blue Angels
The book is well written and the author has done an excellent job of describing the man and his work.

Two books about one man.
You could easily divide this one into two halfs. The first half is Butch's WWII Naval air combat exploits in the Pacific Theatre. The second half skips a beat then covers the Blue Angels and his Naval career after the war.

The WWII stuff is a great read. I'd give that half 5 stars. Lots of first hand accounts dealing with famous and not so famous battles.

The second half, and ostensibly the reason for writing the book, deals with Butch's role in forming the Navy Blue Angels, and his post war career. This half, while interesting enough, bogs down and does a pretty good impression of a tail dragger from time to time. I got the feeling the author struggled with this half of the book, I did.

At times there is plenty of action and excitement in mid-air collisions, falal crashes, near death near crashes, etc. The rest of the time the author is fighting to move the story along. He tries to make the day to day job as thrilling as the flying. It's a decent effort, but not entirely sucessful.
This half has more than it's share of filler... speculation based on newspaper clipings of air shows (like those were ever accurate to begin with)... Endless accounts of what a great guy Butch was... it gets old after a while.

The first half I read in two days. The second half took me a week.

I have to say one thing that's fairly important. The author is up front about speculation. You won't have much doubt about the veracity of the rest of it. In that regard it's excellent.

Call it a four star book on a five star subject.

First Blue
As a pilot and Navy vet.I enjoyed reading this book,
it was well done.Had a friend from our Essex days who
became a plane capt.on blue 4 and thus i was able to meet
some of the boys back in 1960.Buch Voris spent time at
North Island San Diego as i did for some 2 1/2 years.
The book brings back some fine memories.
T.J.Johannsen

"Take charge. Go do it."
First Blue is a sterling biography of one of the best known and most admired Naval aviators of the 20th century--Butch Voris, who not only started the Blue Angels after WW II, but restarted them after the interruption of the Korean War.In detailing Butch's career from his aerial combat in the Pacific to his service with NASA and the space program, Wilcox shows us a man of unflagging courage, devotion to his craft and his country, and constant pursuit of perfection in the performance of his duties.

In incident after incident, Butch's character emerges dramatically--the character accurately understated in a 1943 fitness report by his first skipper, Jimmy Flatley: "He has a very strong personality."His perfectionism saved the lives of his flying teammates, as well as his own life, many times over.The hair-raising air show disaster Wilcox opens the book with is only the first of a series of near-death experiences for Butch.As zealous in implementing good ideas of others as in pursuing his own innovations, he improved on almost every aspect of Navy practices and procedures he came in contact with, including the squadron-basing system for the Pacific fleet and methods of choosing and developing the best aircraft for the Navy's needs.

Wilcox is especially informative on the politics that cause turkeys like the F7U Cutlass to be purchased by the Defense Department--but rejected by Butch for the Blue Angels.And he reveals how Butch's detective work was instrumental in exposing the dishonesty in General Dynamics' development of the F111B fighter, crediting Butch with "raising the F-14 [Tomcat] from the F111B's ashes."A vivid encounter with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara helps us understand how a brilliant business leader can disastrously mislead the government and the armed forces.

Honesty and loyalty were rarely, if ever, in conflict for Butch.He repeatedly risked his reputation and career for the sake of both.Wilcox often reveals Butch's motivations through his own words: "Every time you are put to a test and survive, you learn something more.I think it was just my nature.Take charge.Go do it.I'm a great believer in that.It's my basic instinct."

First Blue is as informative on the technicalities of flying a hot fighter plane as it is on military-industrial politics.Wilcox's description of the difficulty of landing a prop-driven fighter on a pitching aircraft carrier deck is the best I've read, and for an encore he vividly shows us how doing it in a jet fighter is even trickier.

Wilcox also includes countless nuggets like how Butch got his name, how he had an unexpected chat with Winston Churchill after the war, and how he saved the fledgling Tailhook Association from the risks of south-of-the-border partying.

Butch Voris will forever be inseparable from the Blue Angels, the foremost precision flight team in the world, but this book shows convincingly that his contributions to America's superiority in the air and in space were far more numerous than that.The honors showered on him for these achievements make your head spin, leaving you unprepared for the revelation of the weaknesses in the Navy's promotion system that allow it to lose a superb officer like Butch. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Good Space History
This is a very good book on space history filled with excellent pictures, the only thing I wish was different is that is was a hard cover and not a soft back book.

A visual display gathering over 300 images
Andrew Chaikin's Space: A History Of Space Exploration In Photographs is a visual display gathering over 300 images which pay tribute to and trace the history of space exploration. Its appearance in a new paperback edition makes affordable and accessible a visually dynamic, classic history which charts the range of space exploration efforts and discoveries.

A Beautifully Illustrated Book Verifies 1960's Moon Race
This book is loaded with photographs as well as a historical narrative. What I found especially interesting was a series of photographs of the unsuccessful Soviet effort to beat the US to the moon in the late 1960's. These include the large new Soviet booster rocket that kept exploding shortly after launch, as well as a scaled-down (one man) Soviet lunar module that was never used. This information exposes the falsehood, advanced against the US Apollo Program at the time by certain left-wing circles, that posited that there had been no moon race because the Soviets ostensibly never had intended to land men on the moon. They certainly did--and they failed.

Spectacular!!!!
Andrew Chaikin is best known for his classic book "A Man on the Moon" which describes the Apollo missions to the moon and was basis for the equally classic HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon."In his latest offering, Andrew Chaikin presents the history of space exploration from the early space pioneers, through the space race, to the latest space shuttle missions to the International Space Station (ISS) using numerous high quality, large format photographs and a very small amount of introductory text for each chapter.I feel that this book will be another one of his classic space exploration books.

The book opens with a small discussion of the early space pioneers such as Wernher von Braun, Sergei Korolev and Robert Goddard, and their efforts to develop workable rockets.The book then moves into the dawn of the space age and the race between Russia and the United States to achieve various "firsts."For example, the first satellite, the first probe to the moon or another planet and of course the first country to put a man into space.After this portion of the book, the Mercury, Gemini, Vostok, Voskhod and early Apollo programs are examined.The next section is devoted to NASA's exploration of the moon and contains many full page photographs.To further emphasis the grandeur of these missions of exploration, there are several two page foldouts.The next chapter of the book covers the early robotic exploration of the solar system, up to and including the Viking and Voyager missions.The next portion of the book examines the space shuttle era.It is here that I feel that the book should have included more.While the space shuttle has been flying for over twenty years, there is less than twenty pages of shuttle related photographs.The book concludes with the current robotic exploration of the solar system, some really excellent photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope and the construction of the International Space Station.

I only have two minor criticisms about the book.First, most of the photographs are devoted to the space race up to the Apollo moon landings, with very little dedicated to the Space Shuttle and International Space Station projects.Secondly, many of the photographs are ones that have been published before so there is very little new here.Nevertheless, these two very minor complaints, are overshadowed by the splendor of the numerous high quality photographs is this book.

unbelievable beautiful
it's hard to believe we haven't gone back to the Moon, after seeing these phot0graphs ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: printed for F. and C . Rivington in 1793 in 163 pages; Subjects: Literature; Great Britain; English literature; Literary Criticism / General; Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Reference / Bibliographies ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is a reproduction of two photograph albums belonging to the Russian Imperial Family, some of which were taken by Tsar Nicholas II's daughters, as well as by the Tsar himself. The first album, created by the Grand Duchess Maria, contains 40 b&w personal photographs, previously unpublished, of Imperial life. The second, which belonged to the Tsarina Alexandra, has some 30 photographs, unseen until now, of the Romanovs at work with their subjects and relaxing at home and on their estates. An additional 30 rare prints complete this record of a priviliged era that vanished in 1918. These albums are part of the estate of the Romanov historian, James Blair Lovell, passed on to him by Gleb Borkin, the son of the family doctor who was executed with the Imperial Family in 1918. Many of the photographs are accompanied by captions translated from the original Russian. This text gives detail on their social, historical and political background. When James Blair Lovell died in 1994, he left an important archive of Romanov documents and artefacts. Anthony Summers is the author of "The File on the Tsar" with Tom Mangold, "Conspiracy: Who Killed President Kennedy?", "Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe" and "Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

L I K E.......A.......R O Y A L.......T I M E.......M A C H I N E...!
The pictures in this book are mostly LARGE!They have informative
and sometimes poignant captions.Many of them have previously been
unseen, as they are from the private albums of the Czarina, Alexandra, and her daughter, the Grand Duchess Marie.Pictures of private moments, imperial splendour, and, sadly, of life whilst imprisoned and confined, are also shown.What impressed me most about these pictures are 1) the majority OF them are, as mentioned, nicely L A R G E.LARGE enough to really see the details of royal expressions, clothing, and background.The pictues are also remarkably c l e a r -- due, no doubt to the large-format cameras usually used on all occasions at that time.This book might not have as many pictures as some books on the Imperial Family -- but those that are here are enough to keep anyone interested in this close-knit, royal, loving, and tragic family enthralled.These pictures -- and their capitons -- give a wonderful "insiders" view of what life was like for them.It's the next best thing to having a time-machine, I think, and is a treasure for all people interested in this intriguing, sadly lost Royal Family.

Beautiful pictures but mistakes on Grand Duchesses
This book is beautiful. I have the one with the purple cover. This is from Alexandra and Maria's album. There are beautiful official portraits of the Big Pair and Little Par in white dresses that are breathtaking. There are also pics I have never seen so if you're a Romanov buff get it. Cute pics from Finland of the girls. However, the author repeatedly mixes up Maria with Olga. It really irritates me because I love Maria. She's my favorite. The picture is blatantly Maria but it says its Olga. To me if you're a historian you should know by looking at the the girls who is who. We need to keep their memory alive.

A glimpse of a Royal Family without the Press
I have always had an interest in the Russian Royal Family (the Romanovs), but until I acquired this book, had not realised the Family's interest in photography.It is such a blessing.It means that all sorts of family outings are recorded, with a really nice 'snap-shot' feel.Such lovely offspring, and such a tragedy, especially as the Tsar's cousin would not offer them sanctuary in England.

Not altogether bad, not altogether good
I'm afraid the endorsement by HRH Prince Michael of Kent creates a false expectation.The photo identifications in this book are far from accurate.The author has made several false identifications; she can't tell Olga or Anastasia from Maria, and has made one or two very careless mistakes, such as suggesting that a particular photo was taken by a particular grand duchess (who just happens to be in the middle of the picture).There are some photographs that I have not seen in other Romanov photocollections, and the information contained in the text SEEMS spot on.However, I would not recommend this for anyone who does not have extensive familiarity with the Romanov family already.

czar nicholas
i love to read anything i can find on the russian royal family,great book.great service,thanks. ... Read more

Product Description
Les achats comprennent une adhésion à l'essai gratuite au club de livres de l'éditeur, dans lequel vous pouvez choisir parmi plus d'un million d'ouvrages, sans frais. Le livre consiste d'articles Wikipedia sur : James Lovell, Michael Collins, Jack Swigert, Frank Borman, William Anders, Ken Mattingly, Richard Gordon, Thomas Stafford, Fred Haise, Ronald Evans, Stuart Roosa, Alfred Worden. Non illustré. Mises à jour gratuites en ligne. Extrait : James Arthur Lovell, Jr., dit « Jim » Lovell (né le 25 mars 1928 à Cleveland, Ohio) est un astronaute américain de la NASA, connu pour avoir été le commandant de la mission Apollo 13. Né à Cleveland, dans l'Ohio, d'une mère tchèque, il étudia à l'Université du Wisconsin, où il rejoint la fraternité Alpha Phi Omega puis l'United States Naval Academy. Il fut mobilisé pendant la Guerre de Corée. Il fut sélectionné comme astronaute en 1962 dans le groupe 2 de la NASA. Il prit sa retraite de la NASA en 1973 et devint entrepreneur jusqu'en 1991. Il s'est marié en 1952 et a quatre enfants. Lovell fut pilote remplaçant de la mission Gemini 4, puis fit son premier vol sur Gemini 7 en décembre 1965 et prit part au premier rendez-vous spatial avec Gemini 6A. À cette occasion, il battit le record de durée dans l'espace, avec 14 jours. Il était prévu que Lovell fût commandant remplaçant de la mission Gemini 10, mais après le décès d'Elliott See et Charles Bassett, il devint commandant de Gemini 9A, et, en novembre 1966, fit son second vol en tant que commandant sur la mission Gemini 12. Après ces deux missions, il devint le pilote à avoir passé le plus de temps dans l'espace. Il prit part à la mission Apollo 8 suite à l'indisponibilité de Michael Collins, en compagnie de Frank Borman et William Anders, la première en orbite lunaire. Il pulvérisa, à cette occasion le record du plus grand éloignement de la Terre, de la durée d'un voyage dans l'espace, et fit partie des premiers hommes à voir directement...http://booksllc.net/?l=fr ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1899.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Les achats comprennent une adhésion à l'essai gratuite au club de livres de l'éditeur, dans lequel vous pouvez choisir parmi plus d'un million d'ouvrages, sans frais. Le livre consiste d'articles Wikipedia sur : John Zerzan, Karl Malden, Miloš Forman, Judy Baar Topinka, James Lovell. Non illustré. Mises à jour gratuites en ligne. Extrait : John Zerzan (né en 1943) est un auteur américain anarchiste, philosophe du primitivisme. Ses travaux critiquent la civilisation comme oppressante dans son essence, et défendent des modes de vie conçus comme plus libres tirant leur inspiration des chasseurs-cueilleurs préhistoriques. Zerzan va jusqu'à critiquer la domestication, le langage, la pensée symbolique (des mathématiques jusqu'à l'art) et le concept de temps. Ses livres principaux sont Elements of Refusal (1988), Future Primitive and Other Essays (1994), Running on Emptiness (2002), Against Civilization : Readings and reflections (2005) et Twilight of the Machines (2008). John Zerzan est né en 1943 à Salem dans l'Oregon, dans une famille d'immigrés originaire de Bohême. Il a étudié comme undergraduate à la Stanford University avant de recevoir une maîtrise d'Histoire de la San Francisco State University. Il a alors commencé un Ph.D. à la University of Southern California mais a abandonné l'université avant de finir sa thèse. Dans ses travaux, Zerzan s'inspire du concept de Theodor Adorno de dialectique négative pour élaborer une théorie de la Civilisation comme résultat agrégé d'un processus d'aliénation. Selon Zerzan, les sociétés humaines originelles de l'époque paléolithique, et aujourd'hui les sociétés similaires comme les Kung, les Bochimans et les Mbuti, vivent selon un mode de vie non-aliéné et non-oppressant fondé sur la société primitive d'abondance, en contact avec la nature. La construction de telles sociétés relèvent d'une forme d'utopie politique, ou tout du moins, d'une intéressante comparaison à partir de laquelle il ...http://booksllc.net/?l=fr ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
The Age of Enlightenment profoundly enriched religious and philosophical understanding and continues to influence present-day thinking. Works collected here include masterpieces by David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as religious sermons and moral debates on the issues of the day, such as the slave trade. The Age of Reason saw conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism transformed into one between faith and logic -- a debate that continues in the twenty-first century.
++++
The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
++++
British Library

T096850



London : printed for J.F. and C. Rivington, 1791. iv,132p. ; 8° ... Read more