Will
you be watching the American Experience film titled Chasing the Moon on pbs this week? It’s
on for three nights, exploring the early days of the Space race with the Soviet
Union, the Apollo 1 tragedy and the triumph of the moon landing on July 20,
1969, all while commenting on how “dreams of space dramatically intersect with
dreams of democracy.” CHASING
THE MOON by Robert Stone and Alan Andres is the book companion and its
chapters are split chronologically, beginning with “a place beyond the sky
(1903 -1950).” That discusses pioneering scientists like Robert Goddard and
Werner von Braun and will allow readers to contemplate the many innovative ideas
and risks of that era – perhaps not unlike today’s efforts in genetic
engineering or artificial intelligence. The next chapter looks at the period
from 1952 to 1960 and several subsequent chapters cover two or three year
periods during the 1960s, with the last chapter, the final frontier, delving
into events from the 1970s. Throughout
there are some surprising statistics (e.g., there was a television in one-third
of American households by spring 1952) and much evidence of corporate and media
involvement (e.g., Colliers early promotion and sponsoring as well as exclusive
rights to the astronauts’ story being given to Life magazine and subsequent
promotion from Pan Am and others). Stone and Andres also seem to highlight controversial
aspects like von Braun’s work for Hitler, early (and offensive) comments about
women in space and pleas from Edwin R. Murrow to integrate the astronaut corps.
In fact, their subtitle is “The People, the Politics and the Promise that launched
America into the Space Age.” CHASING THE MOON has over twenty pages
of notes, several brief biographical sketches of astronauts and others, plus a
helpful index and numerous black and white and color photographs including
iconic images. 
Perhaps you have seen the new movie titled Apollo 11? It is a great factual
reminder of events leading to the moon landing and also a help to visualizing
those described in
ONE GIANT LEAP by Charles Fishman. The best-selling author of
other non-fiction titles (The Big Thirst,
The Wal-mart Effect) strives to
inspire readers with the story of “the impossible mission that flew us to the
moon.” He begins by stressing how little we knew about space travel when Kennedy
issued his famous challenge. Fishman notes, “The astronauts went to the Moon
and their skill and courage is undeniable, and also well-chronicled. But the
astronauts aren’t the ones who made it possible to go to the Moon. … That
extraordinary accomplishment was done by ordinary people … Theirs is a story
with unexpected surprises at every turn.”
For example, he points out that only three people were trained and licensed
to fold by hand the recovery parachutes so they were forbidden from riding
together in order to avoid an accident. And, astronauts relied on miniaturized,
state-of-the art computers while also utilizing paper checklists and star
charts. Fishman discusses the contributions of the space program – aside from achieving
the Moon landing mission – like the use of integrated circuits and real-time
computing, re-emphasizing his theme and saying, “The race to the Moon took
developments and technologies and trends that most of the rest of the world,
most of the rest of the economy, didn’t know about and magnified them, and
helped make their significance and value clear well beyond space travel.” More than twenty-five percent of this extensively researched text is filled with notes, a bibliography, index and photographs. ONE GIANT LEAP received a starred review from Library Journal.
If you are looking for more commemorations regarding Apollo
11, consider attending the Winnetka Public library program: One Giant Leap on Saturday,
July 13, beginning at 3:00pm. Designed
for adults and teens, actor Terry Lynch will portray astronaut Neil Armstrong
as he recounts the lead up to the first moon landing, as well as the other
"series of firsts" associated with that historic mission, including:
the first color TV transmission from Earth and the first time a customs report
was filled out from another planet! Registration is required.
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