Author Description

This official NASA history document is an enthralling compilation of first-hand accounts and essays from the leading figures of the Apollo program: astronauts (Aldrin, Collins, Schmitt, Conrad, Shepard, Lovell) along with managers and engineers (Seamans, Webb, Gilruth, von Braun, Low, Petrone, Kraft, Phillips, Mueller). The editor's note states: "In planning this history we set out to record the story of Apollo before the colors fade and memories blur. At first we aimed to restrict ourselves to the actual expeditions to the Moon. But it soon became clear that this approach could not capture the scope and spirit of so far-reaching an enterprise. So we decided that the breadth of Apollo would be shown best from the differing perspectives of the people directly concerned. Each chapter author was encouraged to recount his part of the story as he remembered it. We refrained from homogenizing these contributions, although we recognized that they are necessarily personalized and slightly duplicative. But they do offer the viewpoints of some of the people who made Apollo happen, and thus may provide fresh insights into that incredible project." Contents include: Foreword * JAMES C. FLETCHER / Introduction * ROBERT C. SEAMANS, JR. / Chapter 1 A Perspective on Apollo - The forces that set us on the path to the Moon * JAMES E. WEBB / Chapter 2 "I Believe We Should Go to the Moon" - Engineering what had never been done before * ROBERT R. GILRUTH / Chapter 3 Saturn the Giant - Building the boosters to send men beyond Earth * WERNHER VON BRAUN / Chapter 4 The Spaceships - Building the first craft to cross an ocean of space * GEORGE M. LOW / Chapter 5 Scouting the Moon - Mechanical explorers went before human ones * EDGAR M. CORTRIGHT / Chapter 6 The Cape - The new shipyard of space created for Apollo - ROCCO A. PETRONE / Chapter 7 "This is Mission Control" - How men on Earth aided men in space * CHRISTOPHER C. KRAFT, JR. / Chapter 8 Men for the Moon - How they were chosen and tra