In the Shadow of the Moon

A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969

By: Francis French, Colin Burgess

Narrated by: Gary L. Willprecht

Length: 18 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In the Shadow of the Moon tells the story of the most exciting and challenging years in spaceflight, with two superpowers engaged in a titanic struggle to land one of their own people on the moon. Drawing on interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts, their families, technicians, and scientists, as well as rarely seen Soviet and American government documents, the authors craft a remarkable story of the golden age of spaceflight as both an intimate human experience and a rollicking global adventure. From the Gemini flights to the Soyuz space program to the earliest Apollo missions, including the legendary first moon landing, their book draws a richly detailed picture of the space race as an endeavor equally endowed with personal meaning and political significance.

©2007 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"French and Burgess present a first-rate, detailed, and very personal account of the space race to the moon…. Strongly recommended." ( CHOICE)

"This book has everything you ever wanted to know about the astronauts that paved the way for the first Moon landing." ( Liftoff)

" In the Shadow of the Moon truly captures the spirit and culture of those who won the race to the Moon." (Dave Scott, commander of the Apollo 15 mission)

Germini to Apollo Landing

Any additional comments?

I received the audiobook version for free from the narrator in exchange for a honest review. The narrator did a fine job on a 18hr non-fiction book that is very interview-centric. His tone variation enhance the listening experience. It could be difficult to voice for so many different interviewees but he handled it well.

A very good book on the history in human space flight. It is a long one considering it covers only the Gemini and early Apollo flights between 1965-1969. The events and the technicality are already well documented in many places, so the major differentiator of this book is its focus on the people. Many of its interviews look at what the astronauts went through from a personal stand point, both in the space and on earth.

I just realized this is the second book of a long series on human space flight (Outward Odyssey). I like the series' approach and already have my hands on the first and third books, which talk about early space flight and post-Apollo 11 era. Looking forward to read them.

Good book on space, really good listen

I’ll admit I have a lot of interest in space programs, and both the historical and current progress made in space exploration. Therefore the description of the book grabbed me right off the bat. I have read a number of space related books, both paper and audio, and this ranks high in that list. A lot of interesting facts, anecdotes, and stories that let you learn the different personalities of the mission teams, particularly the flight crews. I knew a lot of the problems encountered in the space program from the engineering side of things beforehand, but learned a lot more about them from the flight crew perspective in this book. I would love another book or if this turned into a ‘space-set’ of books covering unmanned missions and their mission control side in the same vein as this one – but I guess that shows how much I enjoyed the presentation of this book.

Narration on a book like this which includes facts, interviews, and papers can be tricky. The narrator here had, for me, the perfect voice quality, tone, intonations and pacing. There are both explanatory passages, stories, and interview excerpts throughout the book, which I had no trouble distinguishing. I especially appreciated the change in voice made when reading a quote which not only distinguished it from the rest of the section, but overall made for a very nice listening experience. I would definitely recommend listening over eye-ball reading the book.

I’d recommend to all, and especially to people interested in space, or history, or human/personality-interactions in team settings.

I received a review copy of this book for my honest opinion.

A Wonderful & Comprehensive Space Story

Narrator in this audiobook was easier on the ears than Into the Silent Sea. I came away with a much better understanding of our race to the Moon after listening. Great detail provided on the Russian program, some of which was new to me. Recommend this one to anyone who has an interest in learning about manned space flight and the programs of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo and the corresponding Russian program.

If you thought you knew it all, there's more here.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to any NASA history geek.

What did you like best about this story?

The true depth that the authors went into. Most books focus 80/20 mission/crew. This was far more balanced, even leaning more towards the crew angle. It also truly examines what went on, as opposed to what seemed to go on. (Such as why Wally seemed cranky on Apollo VII, and the real reasons behind his behavior, as well as the fact that his "crankiness" was seriously over-hyped and made out to be far worse than the transcripts show it to have been.)

Which character – as performed by Gary L. Willprecht – was your favorite?

Given the subject matter and his style of narrating, that's not really applicable. I do love his narration though.

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

The description of the pain felt by those who knew the crew of Apollo 1. Also, the landing of Apollo 11 still gives me goosebumps

Any additional comments?

I've read "Moon Shot", "Failure is not an Option", and "A Man on the Moon", to name a few. Yet I still learned a great deal about that era from this book.

Great book

I really enjoyed listening to this book and was engaged from the start - because of the subject matter and the performance. The book is very original and makes you look forward to listening to it again. I would wholeheartedly recommend listening to this book (rather than reading it) as the narrator's voice adds so much more than if you read it yourself!

Interesting book for space afficionados

I thought this was a really interesting book, and I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about the space program during the '60's. I had no idea of the different problems or situations that they had in the space program. It was interesting to learn about the different personality types that become astronauts, and how they interacted. If you are interested in space, or just enjoy non-fiction, I recommend giving this book a try. I listened to the Audible version and enjoyed the narration.

Captivating!

One of the best books on the space program. Insightful which keeps you one the edge of seat from beginning to end.

Outstanding

Where does In the Shadow of the Moon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Growing up during the late 50s and 60s I was very interested in the space program and remember watching every flight. This book brought back a lot of memories from the glory years of space flight. A very good job combination of historical facts and the person life of the people involved. Many behind the scene facts about early years of space flight.

What did you like best about this story?

I especially liked the information given about the Russian space program.

A Thorough Coverage of Many Mission Teams

I have a great interest in the space program, being a child of the 60's. I admit I was born in 69 on the Apollo 11 launch date, but always had the memory of my mother telling me often that she was making me watch the moon landing at the hospital. So I always had a fascination for the era which persists to this day. Listening to audiobooks on the subject, particularly the Apollo program, is a favorite pastime of mine. I was fortunate to be able to get a free copy of this from the narrator, but it was on my list of books to purchase eventually.

Of all the audiobooks on the subject I've listened too, I did find that I learnt a lot on this book on the crews that I didn't know. The book covered well the manned Gemini and Apollo mission up to the Apollo 11. I note that one of the authors (Francis French) has a separate book covering an earlier period (Into That Silent Sea), also available on Audible. This book also spends a little time on an aside covering the Soviet space program.

Primarily the focus of this book is the crews only, in often times their backstories, and their mission.I don't think that the publisher description of the book is clear enough in this regard. It did touch on other aspects, but not many. The unmanned missions weren't discussed, nor were many of the ground staff and technical and engineering aspects. It was a book about the astronauts. In that respect though I felt it did a very admirable job covering it. I would personally however love to find a book that covers the Apollo program itself in wider detail, with more stories on the engineering such as the Saturn V, the LEM development, the CSM development, etc. There might be one but I've not found it - if anyone has a recommendation, let me know!

Gary Willprecht's narration was excellent, and was easy listening. Enough differentiation was put into characters dialog to distinguish it from the text narrative of the book as well.

In all a recommended addition to the series. I'd be glad to read the next book, if the authors produce one covering the all of the missions after Apollo 11.

A good chronology of men going to space.

It is mostly a retelling of well known history, with the occasional bit of unknown facts and quotes from astronauts. Many quotes from other books. Worth the listen.