Reaching for the Moon

Short History of the Space Race

By: Roger D. Launius

Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright

Length: 7 hrs

Publisher's summary

Fifty years after the Moon landing, a new history of the space race explores the lives of both Soviet and American engineers.

At the dawn of the space age, technological breakthroughs in Earth orbit flight were both breathtaking feats of ingenuity and disturbances to a delicate global balance of power. In this short book, aerospace historian Roger D. Launius concisely and engagingly explores the driving force of this era: the race to the Moon. Beginning with the launch of Sputnik 1, in October 1957, and closing with the end of the Apollo program in 1972, Launius examines how early space exploration blurred the lines between military and civilian activities, and how key actions led to space firsts as well as crushing failures.

Launius places American and Soviet programs on equal footing - following American aerospace engineers Wernher von Braun and Robert Gilruth, their Soviet counterparts Sergei Korolev and Valentin Glushko, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov - to highlight key actions that led to various successes, failures, and ultimately the American Moon landing.

©2019 Roger D. Launius (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Favorite Thing I Listened To All Year

Great history describing the successes and setbacks of putting a man on the moon. A must for anyone interested in science and innovation.

All over the map

I found part of this book very interesting, but part of the book was a lot of the author's interpretation based on selecting facts that fit his point of view. I did get a good laugh at his digs at conservatives and moderates in the book. I laughed out loud on his review of the Apollo 13 movie.

Overall I liked the technical and historical facts parts of the book and just ignored his political comments. I am glad I did not pay for the book. I have listened and read better books on Apollo and the US space program.