Sex on the Moon

The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History

By: Ben Mezrich

Narrated by: Casey Affleck

Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Thad Roberts, a fellow in a prestigious NASA program had an idea - a romantic, albeit crazy, idea. He wanted to give his girlfriend the moon. Literally.

Thad convinced his girlfriend and another female accomplice, both NASA interns, to break into an impregnable laboratory at NASA - past security checkpoints, an electronically locked door with cipher security codes, and camera-lined hallways - and help him steal the most precious objects in the world: the moon rocks.

But what does one do with an item so valuable that it’s illegal even to own? And was Thad Roberts - undeniably gifted, picked for one of the most competitive scientific posts imaginable, a possible astronaut - really what he seemed?

Mezrich has pored over thousands of pages of court records, FBI transcripts, and NASA documents and has interviewed most of the participants in the crime to reconstruct this Ocean’s Eleven-style heist, a madcap story of genius, love, and duplicity that reads like a Hollywood thrill ride.

©2011 Ben Mezrich (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Movie-worthy treatment to the guy who stole moon rocks from NASA" ( The New York Daily News)

"An in-depth look at Thad Roberts, who along with three other NASA interns, stole pieces of lunar rock to impress his girlfriend. Mezrich has done extensive research to recreate the story of how an aspiring astronaut ended up getting caught for stealing over 100 pieces of the moon." ( The Atlantic Monthly)

"Mezrich has uncovered another high-stakes, fascinating true story....part love story, part madcap caper, part astro-geekery, the book is one of the summer's most fun reads." (NPR)

Entertaining

I wasn't aware that this was a true story and that makes it a bit more interesting. Its an entertaining story although I found the main characters' name ("Thad") a bit annoying. I don't know why. I'm not sure why nobody cared for the narration- I didn't see anything wrong with it though Casey Affleck is a little flat. If you're looking for a light listen for a few hours this is a great choice.

positive review

this is a moving story with great and enthusiaatuc narration by Affleck. highly recommend it

Good book, horrible narration

This story is very interesting and well written; if I were reading the book it would get a higher rating. But this is the most awful narration I've heard in a long time. He sounds constantly bored by the material and annoyed at having to do this. It really detracts from the book. Too bad - this is an interesting story!

Great story, so-so narration

Like all of Ben Mezrich's books, he found a great real life story and that carries the day. Given the way his books tend to become movies, the choice of Casey Affleck to be the reader, though, is suspect and honestly is kind of lacking. I go back and forth on whether it was a good choice. He's NOT a good reader and mostly delivers a throaty stumbling read, but on the the other hand, you can't help but associate his voice with the book's subject and THAT at least is immersive/an interesting characterization, but the voice does get old.

National Disaster

The story is real. The end result of a very misguided set of choices based on personal pride from 4 unlikely contacts. The story does not end well for the participants as the heist has created a irreplaceable loss to our country and the distinguished scientist who's personal notes belong to with 30 years of detailed research all gone. I would agree that the reader is less enthusiastic than the majority of others I have listened too. You wonder if something else was going on at the time of the recording that caused him to narrate with very little effort. The book has merit for the historical content.

I decide to actually purchase the hard cover copy and read it myself. A better choice in this case.

Cant put this book down

Unbelievably great book. It weaves together science, history, religion, society, romance, crime and prison in a singlw novel you will never forget.

Don't let the narrator ruin it for you

Very interesting story. Unfortunately, I'll have to think twice before purchasing anything else narrated by Affleck.

A 'Page-Turner'

This is a fun suspense-thriller made more interesting because it's non-fiction. Before buying the book I read several reviews critical of the narration. While I don't disagree with these reviewers, I saw the narrator in a different light and, with the exception of perhaps two short moments, I thoroughly enjoyed his telling of the story. The narrator sounds a bit like Bill Clinton (in tone and accent) and I imagined that Thad (the "hero"), given his personality, spoke like that, too. So, in a way, even though the story was narrated from the third person, I could imagine that it was Thad telling the story. All-in-all, it was an interesting and absorbing listening experience and I highly recommend the book (although you may want to sample the narration first).

Good Story; Terrible Reader

What didn’t you like about Casey Affleck’s performance?

Terrible narration. Reader speaks in half tones like a teenager; has no breadth control and swallows the end of his sentences. Affleck should never be employed as a professional reader. His vocal limitations are a distraction from the story. Just because Affleck is in movies doesn't mean he has training. His narration was a real disservice to the book and the author.

Great story but horrible narration

Would you listen to Sex on the Moon again? Why?

I would listen to it again, as long as it was with another narrator. The Kindle text synthesizer has a more engaging voice than the narrators...

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Casey Affleck?

Nick Sullivan or somone with a similar voice would have made a much better match, but basically anyone but the current narrator would be bettter.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story in itself is quite full of moments all through, but sure the moments for the handover are of course the most intense.

Any additional comments?

It's a shame such an interesting story gets destroyed by such a boring narration, but nonetheless, very much worth a read. If you manage to overlook the narration and concentrate on the story you're in for a treat.