"In the most authoritative book ever written about Apollo. . ."

What makes something authoritative? Is it first-hand experience? Exhaustive research? Assembling a bunch of quotes instead of writing your own narrative? Unfortunately for this book, it seems to mean the latter.

I find it rather insulting to other works on Apollo to call this one the most authoritative. Of all the books on Apollo that could be in the running for that title, this one is not among them. I've thought quite a bit about why the author felt he could make this claim. I feel that it must be related to the number of quotes he uses. Some of them go on for pages, one right after another. Certainly quotes can enhance your work, but the author relies on them far too much. I know that not all of them are exclusive, either. For example, Gene Kranz's Tough and Competent speech has been printed numerous times. It is certainly not unique to this book.

I was also frustrated, yet again, by a book claiming to be about Apollo 11, when that mission takes up only a small part of the page count. The author takes you back to the early days of the space race, providing you with both the Soviet and American missions up to Apollo 11. I feel like I've been mislead when I have to endure 200 pages of backstory to get to the subject the book claims to be about.

Space enthusiasts should avoid this one. May be good for general interest readers, but there are so many better choices out there.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher (at ALA), in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Nice history of the USA/Russia space race. ( )

In this engrossing book, the author utilizes exclusive interviews with those intimately involved in the drama of the Apollo 11 lunar mission to look at the mission within the context of the larger drama of the space race. From the days of the early space pioneers through NASA’s Apollo program, the crew, other astronauts, engineers, NASA officials, politicians, and even the Soviets tell the story of humanity’s great achievement.

Included with the narrative are an extensive section of both color and black and white photographs, a bibliography, and a listing of source materials.

Highly recommended. ( )

Anniversary of moon landing. ( )