A man on the Moon

A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
by Andrew Chaikin

Reviewed by: Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP®

Approaching the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong‘s first steps on the lunar surface, it seemed appropriate to listen to a book all about mankind’s only efforts to go to the moon.

As described in the forward by Tom Hanks, Chaikin’s scope in writing this book is massive. Having lived through the space race, the fire, the Challenger and Discovery disasters, this story was enlightening, to say the least.

JFK’s challenge to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960’s launched massive technology development, leading to many products we couldn’t imagine a world without today. Some examples of NASA spinoff developments include solar energy, Velcro, LEDs, water purification, firefighting gear, and food safety systems. This book doesn’t discuss these ancillary benefits, but rather, focuses on the scientific and human challenges overcome by Apollo.

Bronson Pinchot does his typically excellent narration.

TRACKING #1-844801