Apollo 8

The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon

De: Jeffrey Kluger

Narrado por: Brian Troxell

This program includes a bonus conversation with Commander Frank Borman plus archival audio from Apollo 8's lunar orbit and from the cockpit during the mission.

The untold story of the historic voyage to the moon that closed out one of our blackest, bloodiest years with a nearly unimaginable triumph

In August 1968 NASA made a bold decision: In just 16 weeks, the United States would launch humankind's first flight to the moon. Only the year before, three astronauts had burned to death in their spacecraft, and since then the Apollo program had suffered one setback after another. Meanwhile, the Russians were winning the space race, the Cold War was getting hotter by the month, and President Kennedy's promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade seemed sure to be broken. But when Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders were summoned to a secret meeting and told of the dangerous mission, they instantly signed on.

Written with all the color and verve of the best narrative nonfiction, Apollo 8 takes us from Mission Control to the astronauts' homes, from the test labs to the launchpad. The race to prepare an untested rocket for an unprecedented journey paves the way for the hair-raising trip to the moon. Then, on Christmas Day, a nation that has suffered a horrendous year of assassinations and war is heartened by an inspiring message from the trio of astronauts in lunar orbit. And when the mission is over - after the first view of the far side of the moon, the first Earth-rise, and the first reentry through the Earth's atmosphere following a flight to deep space - the impossible dream of walking on the moon suddenly seems within reach.

The full story of Apollo 8 has never been told, and only Jeffrey Kluger - Jim Lovell's coauthor on their best-selling book about Apollo 13 - can do it justice. Here is the tale of a mission that was both a calculated risk and a wild crapshoot, a stirring account of how three American heroes forever changed our view of the home planet.

©2017 Jeffrey Kluger (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Audible edition, audio extras very enjoyable

This audio version of Apollo 8 by Jeffrey Kluger was excellent. While I was already familiar with the history of the Apollo program, I enjoyed the description of the mission to orbit the moon and return to earth with all the added details of the political and cultural occurrences in America during that time putting this historic mission in context with a time of upheaval. NASA personnel were insulated and isolated to a point, but it is well worth considering what was happening all around them. This makes the words of the telegram Borman and crew received on their return all the more poignant and meaningful.

I especially enjoyed the “audio extras” of the actual mission control audio conversations with the astronauts during various portions of the mission, including the Christmas Eve reading, and also the interview of Borman by the author.

A Focus On Apollo 8 and The Risks They Took.

I am a fan boy of the Apollo missions so this is added to my collection of 60's aviation books. I really like the detail that was not included in other books. The book had great insight into the families and their thoughts as well and a more detailed look at the engineers. The Astronauts are the heroes, but it was nice to hear about the heroes behind the heroes. Well written and researched. If you are wondering if you have heard it all about Apollo, I doubt it this will fill in some gaps about this missions and the huge risks taken.

A Great Listen

Jeffrey Kluger has written an amazing book. He covered the space program, highlighting events leading up to the first lunar mission in a captivating and exciting manner. The pace of the book was perfect with Brian Troxell’s narration being the icing on the cake. I highly recommend it. A great listen.

Simply Fantastic

Great audiobook that keeps you listening. I did this on a down and back road trip and it did not disappoint.

A great book to sate some curiosities you never knew you had!

Can you fly with scar tissue on your ear drum?

Why more people didn’t die in the Apollo 1 explosion.

Great Space History for people who like the details.

great book

Remember it well...watched just about all of the coverage as an enamored space fanatic of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. Greived for the Apollo 1 crew and didnt miss a launch of any of the other missions. This book was a great review of the Apollo 8 mission.

Very Solid and Detailed Account

This is a great book that chronicles a mission to the moon that was really thought up on the fly to try to beat the Russians in circling the moon. The Apollo 8 crew was originally slotted for Apollo 9, and they switched to give the moon a try, which gave the crew very little time to train.

The stories of the astronauts--Borman, Lovell and Anders--are very compelling. This is a story that I lived through at age 11 and remember well. Unfortunately, most of our country was not alive at the time. This is a compelling event in history that is worth preserving and re-telling.

Kluger has done an admirable job. The narration is first rate.

Well Written and Well Narrated

Even though it is by a different author, this is basically a sequel to The Right Stuff. If you're interested in the space program, or just in American history, you will enjoy this book. Narration is excellent. At first I was put off by the way the narrator pronounced "Gemini." I always heard and said it as "jemineye," and the narrator says "jeminee." So I looked it up, and NASA at the time said it was pronounced like "jiminy cricket." And there are a lot of old NASA news reels from the time pronouncing it that way. So even though I still think it sounds weird, the narrator got it right.

great book

loved the book very informative great addition to anyone who enjoys early Apollo mission books.

Taken To The Moon

Would you listen to Apollo 8 again? Why?

no, silly question

What other book might you compare Apollo 8 to and why?

The Right Stuff, as it was much more than a tale of mission, or the machines that brought them to the moon, it's also about the men that got them into space and especially they astronauts themselves.

Which scene was your favorite?

When then they told their wives that their Christmas vacations plans needed to be changed, as the guys would be traveling to somewhere out of this world.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Silly question, I would never want to sit that long

Any additional comments?

Great book, a perfect combination of technical and emotional. Beyond capturing the feeling of the times, you really felt like you going for the full ride, and being the first to leave the planet and circle the moon. Well written and well read. Perfect Audible book.