One Giant Leap

January 1, 2019

When President Kennedy announced on May 25, 1961, that America would land a man on the moon by 1970, NASA engineers went into shock; they'd achieved only 15 minutes of space time. What happened next; by a three-time Loeb Award winner. A 75,000-copy first printing.

April 15, 2019
Marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, a close look at the scientific and technological challenges that needed to be overcome to make it possible--achievements that regrettably have been "mostly invisible." Rather than focus on the astronauts, journalist Fishman (The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, 2011, etc.) offers lively profiles of many tireless, imaginative, and innovative scientists, engineers, and technicians who contributed to the Apollo mission from May 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would send a man to the moon by the end of the decade, until July 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped onto lunar dust. Kennedy's proposal stemmed not from an adventuresome spirit but from Cold War urgency: He wanted to beat the Russians in the space race and demonstrate the triumph of freedom over communism. However, that triumph was hardly certain; NASA, surprised by Kennedy's announcement, gave the U.S. only a 50-50 chance of success. As Fishman amply shows, the nation was woefully unprepared for space flight. Astronauts had "exactly 15 minutes of manned spaceflight experience," and rockets, landing ships, navigation equipment, spacesuits, and a new generation of computers and software all had to be invented from scratch. In the 1960s, computers took up whole rooms, required huge amounts of electricity, and could not run for more than a few hours without failing. The MIT Instrumentation Lab, headed by the irrepressible Charles Draper and his brilliant colleague Bill Tindall, was charged with inventing and building flight computers, writing and wiring their software, and training astronauts in their use, and 20,00 companies contributed to the construction and assembly of the spacecraft. For eight years, 410,000 people put in 2.8 billion work hours to make the flight possible. As the author sees it, those efforts--long before the innovations emanating from Silicon Valley--ushered in the digital age, making technology "a tool of everyday life." A fresh, enthusiastic history of the moon mission to be read alongside Douglas Brinkley's American Moonshot and other recent books commemorating the 50th anniversary.

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April 29, 2019
Astronauts take a back seat to politicians, project managers, engineers, and the marvelous machines they created in this engrossing history of the moon landings. Journalist Fishman (The Wal-Mart Effect) presents a loose-jointed, episodic account of the Apollo program, from President Kennedy’s 1961 promise to put men on the moon to the 1969 Apollo 11 landing. The project initially seemed impossible with existing technology (and pointless to naysayers who dubbed it a “moondoggle”) but succeeded through largely unsung breakthroughs that Fishman describes with inquisitive relish: the small, underpowered (at “0.000002 percent of the computing capacity of the phone in your pocket”), but brilliant Apollo Guidance Computer, literally hand-woven from wire and magnets; the painstaking, counterintuitive procedures for orbital rendezvous of spaceships, which require slowing down to catch up; the hidden metal frame that made an American flag seem to ripple in a phantom moon-breeze. The author also explores the organizational prowess and maniacal attention to detail required of Apollo’s 400,000-plus workers to ensure that the gadgetry worked near perfectly in space, where any glitch could spell disaster. Fishman’s knack for explaining science and engineering and his infectious enthusiasm for Apollo’s can-do wizardry make for a fascinating portrait of a technological heroic age. Agent: Raphael Sagalyn, ICM/Sagalyn.

Starred review from June 1, 2019

According to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Arthur Schlesinger, the landing of U.S. Apollo 11 on the moon in 1969 was the most significant event of the 20th century. Fishman (The Big Thirst) skillfully tells the remarkable story of the event in his latest offering, explaining that when John F. Kennedy made his famous proclamation in a May 1961 speech that "we choose to go to the moon," the United States was completely unprepared to do so. NASA lacked the proper tools and equipment, did not know how to navigate to the moon, nor what to expect from its surface. The author illustrates how this incredible achievement was accomplished and challenges encountered along the way. Of note was the immense human capital needed to accomplish the feat; contributors included scientists and factory workers who literally wove Apollo's computer programs with copper wire. In addition, Fishman provides fascinating details about the mission, including how the moon smells and how the American flag was made to appear as though it were flying despite the moon lacking an atmosphere. VERDICT With the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, this compelling read is highly recommended for all public libraries.--Dave Pugl, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL

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