Human Emotions carry over onto the Moon!
598544
I loved this book!!  This is the first book I have ever read about interstellar travel or the moon, although I have always been interested in it. As I read this book, I felt like I was actually training to set up a colony on the moon.  Mr. Rinehart described the actual flight to the moon, which was really interesting to me.  I enjoyed reading about the couples chosen to live on the moon and their interaction with each other.  I liked that he made the people "human" with actual feelings about each other, both good and bad.  The ending was a little sad, but it was true to life.  After reading this, I do know one thing -- I could never live on the moon and leave my family back home, never to see them again.
3241234
This book is a labor of love by two brothers who love science and astronomy and share an unusual curiosity. A lot of people who look at the moon with any interest are probably familiar with a few of the easily observable features of the moon such as the mares ("seas") and the Copernicus and Tycho craters. But did you know that most of the craters on the moon are named? And what are their names? Well, the Cocks brothers decided to find out and this book is the result.
3464429
Their Kind existed once to torment and rule the Emerald Isle with the blackest of terror.  Spilling hot gore under the full moon and cracking human bones to feast on the living marrow, these creatures of the moon were cast out of County Cork for Their wolfish and beastly Goings on! Now the shapechanging clan of the Howler, forced to move their hunting ground to the new world...have Resulted to the fowlest of appetites. these werewolves Hunt in Old Hickory, Tennessee, preserving their eternal youth on the grusome diet of dead human flesh.  During each lunar cycle, when the Moon Rises Full and bright, the Howler's eerie cry shatters the night under "The Moon of the Werewolf"!
If You like those rare Campy books that just pull out all-the-stoppes and follows its own course, then You will like this Werewolf novel about Redemption and the Horrors of Werewolves from Ireland!
467866
I got this book from Amazon (and was thrilled to get a copy as high up as number 216!) because I wanted my kids to have a way of remembering one of mankind's greatest accomplishments. Its hard to believe that it is now over 40 years since we went to the moon, and have yet to go any further. It is also hard to imagine us doing anything like that today, which makes it all the more important to remember what this country was once capable of. This book is a magnificent tribute to the entire Apollo program. The book is immense in size and weight and extremely well made. The photos are outstanding and particularly well printed, the paper is very heavy stock and the book is superbly bound with needle and thread. The plastic box that the book is placed in may be a bit of a gimmick, but it does make it stand out. The icing on the cake is the accompanying framed photo, one of the most famous of all time. It is so well reproduced that it seems to glow, and having it signed by Buzz Aldrin makes it something special. It is great to be able to tell my kids that the person standing on the moon in the photo is the same person who signed the picture on the back "just for them". Given that this edition is limited to just 1957 copies and that Amazon discounts it by 20%, this is a remarkable bargain. I highly, highly recommend it. Grab it while it is still available.
1649349
Al Worden has some things to get off of his chest. And he's been waiting almost 40 years to talk about them. All that plus rockets, spaceflight, and a real behind-the-scenes account of one Apollo astronaut's experience is what you'll get in the delightful "Falling to Earth."

Worden, though not a household name to most Americans, is well known to Apollo buffs the world over as the command module pilot of Apollo 15. Though not one of the twelve humans to walk upon the moon, he has the even rarer distinction of being one of only seven human to orbit the moon solo.

A flood of Apollo books started appearing in the late 1980s, with a wide range of quality and authenticity. On the low end of the scale we have the flimsy, ghost-written "Moonshot" ostensibly related by Alan Shepard to the outstanding "Carrying the Fire" by Michael Collins, long regarded as the pinnacle of the genre. I'm happy to report that "Falling to Earth" is on the high end of this scale.

Worden's account succeeds for one simple reason: his story rings true. You get the feeling that this is a man who's not a trained author, but someone who has poured his heart into writing a direct, vivid and honest account of his life's achievements. He comes across as humble and friendly. I had the feeling that I was having a friendly chat with him in my living room. No pretense, no "right stuff" machismo, just a lot of "this is what happened and I'm proud to say that I was there to be part of it."

Other astronaut bio's have removed the sheen of perfection from the 1960s NASA PR machine, so there's no fresh ground broken there, but...Worden does make some very direct statements about his past colleagues that may surprise some. As you might expect from other tellings, neither Alan Shepard or Chris Kraft come off as likeable guys. Shepard's too full of himself and Kraft's just a cranky bastard. There's also no love lost for Dave Scott. Worden makes clear that he has enormous respect for him as a pilot and astronaut, but they're not buddies by any stretch.

Besides a terrific blow-by-blow account of the Apollo 15 mission, a main theme of this book is the postal cover controversy which engulfed the crew following their return to Earth. This controversy is fairly well known, but it's never been covered in such detail by any of the crew. I had no idea how nasty the whole thing became. Far beyond being a simple PR embarrassment, it summarily ended all of their careers as astronauts. They went from being national heroes to disgraced pariahs with head-snapping speed...all over an error in ethical judgement that in retrospect looks laughably trivial. Most surprisingly, Dave Scott, often portrayed as the most Boy Scout-ish of the astronauts doesn't come out looking so good. By Worden's account, Scott abdicated his leadership role by not coming forward as the initiator of the postal cover deal. If completely accurate, this makes Scott look rather bad indeed. Don't get the wrong idea; this is not a tell-all book used to settle scores, but it does a lot to explain some areas of political intrigue that have been inadequately explored until now.

"Falling to Earth" is successful on multiple fronts. It will be just as interesting to the casual reader as it is to those well versed in Apollo history. There's something for everybody. Al Worden has penned a fine edition to the Apollo canon.
4441653
Any reference to 1969 in pop culture is quick to show a family gathered around their television watching the moon landing. Little do most people know that there was intense marketing preceding the launch and landing. "Marketing the Moon" is a very detailed account of the space program leading up to (and including ) the Apollo program. Any one interested in the history of the U.S. space program or marketing will love this book. Packed full of detailed facts, "Marketing the Moon" is mind-boggling in the concept that the program had to be "sold" to the American public. For insight into how astronaut's wives became celebrities and Americans warmed from the Cold War to become flag waving spectators, this book will provide you the entire background story.
3475966
A great follow up to Heinleins classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Thought provoking on everything from property rights, other than able bodied soldiers, gen-modded dogs, AI being AI, the trouble in creating a libertarian revolution... you name it, its got it. A refreshing entry into Sci-fi and I am hoping for more in the series.
Free Luna!
1705676
lots of details about what really happened those days, it is a real account of how really hard was for men reach moon, I felt the emotions of those men proud of their jobs, I loved the book
3062320
A dream of a ring!!!!!! Love it heart and soul!
Changes colors according to moon phases, moods and interaction with the person
2152339
Steve Bales was a classmate of mine in the M.B.A. program in Houston, and in the few stories he told, he never mentioned his important role in the early Apollo missions. Living in Houston was a great source of pride in those days. later worked on a book with Edgar Mitchell, and I loved having a connection to the Moon missions. Since then I've become a software developer with groups of programmers from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Russia, and every one of them wants to hear stories about what it was like to be from Houston the day that Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon.

Les Pinter
2357083
Love the man , his example and this movie. This culture and way of life has always been under attack from without and within. I think the flags on the moon are a testimony to the  christian nation we once were. These people who loved the Lord were the core of the 1000 year leap.
4104500
Buzz Aldrin's positive outlook on life has literally taken him to the moon and back. You can't help but admire his "can do" attitude and this book of life lessons. Beyond the ideals he lives by, the book is chock full of little vignettes that are entertaining and eye-opening. You'll read about Aldrin's time of the moon in a most personal way and get the insider scoop on some facets of the first moon landing that you've likely never heard before. You've got to look up to the guy, 86 and still going strong. He's got his eyes on Mars and this book would make good reading for the person who is likely alive today who will make the first steps there.
3689948
The Moon comes alive in Moon Power both in light and in shadow. How wonderful to personally connect the expression of my Moon sign with the ancient Moon Goddess Inanna's mythic story. I was inspired to read about Malala Yousafzai who powerfully holds my Moon sign in our modern times. Exploring the deeper meaning of the Moon signs of my family and friends has been instructive! For me, Simone Butler's most rewarding section for each Moon sign is Creating an Altar and doing a Ritual. I love the very specific instructions! Doing a powerful ritual just like an ancient Moon Goddess is made possible with Simone Butler's Moon Power. I recommend her book to those new to ritual and astrology as well as to those who have spent many a night gazing at the Moon in her many phases!
2670139
I liked this book because it made me feel like I was on the moon it was a good book
3295914
Hopefully you've seen "Apollo 13" and the "From The Earth To The Moon" series.  Now, see the real men behind the space helmets and learn more than ever what it was like to fly to the moon.  You simply won't believe how "human" these now aging astronauts are - how emotional their storytelling is, how grateful they are for having the opportunity, and how descriptive they are in their personal recollections.  This is not a film about patriotism or the United States vs. the U.S.S.R.  It is a film about the human spirit and the wonder of exploring space, the moon, and the unknown.  I am touched by each of the astronauts as they tell their stories and I'm sure you will be as well.

What's great about this film is how beautifully it was put together.  It's a wonderful mix of footage from the missions (which looks better than ever) and interviews with the astronauts as they tell their stories. A terrific surprise is the musical score which in a word, is perfect.  If you're a fan of Horner's score for "Apollo 13" you will definitely love this music.

Do yourself a favor and add this dvd to your library.  You won't be sorry.

One side note - The additional interviews with the astronauts in the special features section are great.  Each man goes into a bit more detail into some of the other happenings of not only the Apollo program, but Gemini as well.  My only beef with these extra interviews is that the video/picture did not get the same treatment as the film.  It doesn't look like the editors did any color correcting so don't fret if all the sudden Charlie Duke looks really bright and washed out and Dave Scott looks like he's sitting in a dark room.

The behind the scenes section on the creation of the musical score is lots of fun.  It was great to see how the wonderful orchestrations were composed.
487432
In this updated second edition(seven years of updates!), the authors expand on the "Planet Moon" Project.
We take a long, hard look at existing technologies and systems and visually depict what is possible for humanity to achieve on our nearest celestial neighbor, in the short term. While we base some of these designs on NASA plans, we fully expect multinational private capital and enterprises to drive lunar development. We believe, if we put our hearts and souls into the Planet Moon Project, the Moon could become the next frontier to establish a variety of  peaceful,progressive, international, intercultural and interdisciplinary activities. Opening up such a new dimension in human pursuit will enable the creation of millions of new,imaginative and productive occupations in all walks of life, extending new horizons for human thought and activity. As the world becomes more interconnected and interdependent for resources, the Planet Moon Project, the authors believe, offers the inevitable "breakout" strategy. The only question is...which nation(s) is willing to lead us out of the cradle to our cosmic destiny ?!

So.....please buy the book and look at all the original artwork including those magnificient color plates. No warp drives here, just plain proven hard technology which the authors believe is sufficient to attain these results. Hope Hollywood movie directors use books like these for depicting our future in space.
885192
by: Allen Steele

First and foremost, I am a sci-fi junkie. I love looking to the future and imagining what the world will be like, what the tech will become, how we will live on other planets and each have a private space ship. (I also have other vices, but we will get into those later.) This is the reason I always hit the book department in the dollar stores looking for a fun and affordable read. I am a librarian and love to borrow books, but I have a deep-seated need to own books too and this allows me to satisfy that need and also to find new authors to read.

This time I found Lunar Descent by Allen Steele. The cover showed an astronaut looking at Earth. CHECK! The back of the book had a blurb about working on the moon. CHECK!! That is literally all it took for me to take this book home. The format of the book was really cool. It interspersed 'interviews' set into the further future with the live action of what was happening to bring about all the interest in such a documentary. I grew to love the different characters and they were truly characters that you either loved or loved to hate.

Basically, in the future there are workers on the moon to mine the raw materials to enable more space construction. This includes using the water on the polar region of the moon to supply the oxygen needed in space. Then the company running the operations gets tired of trying to control  the workers and puts the company up for sale which happens at the same time that the polar ice cap begins to run out.  A rare combination of factors occur to allow, well, I'll let you read to find out what happens. Trust me, it is worth it.