The Soviet-American race to land the first man on the Moon was a technical challenge unlike anything in modern human history. BBC Aerospace Correspondent Reginald Turnill covered the story, and his reports were heard and seen by millions worldwide. With unparalleled access to the politicians, scientists, and technicians involved in the race to the Moon, Turnill knew all the early astronauts—Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin—as they pioneered the techniques that made the Moon landings possible. He became a friend of Dr. Wernher von Braun, the German rocket pioneer and mastermind behind the technology. Turnill's unique eyewitness account of one of the most thrilling adventures of the twentieth century is clearly written and is packed with action and drama, making this a fascinating read for all those interested in the story of the race to the Moon. Reginald Turnill started work in Fleet Street at the age of 15, and by 19 he was covering the national news as a Press Association staff reporter. After joining the BBC in 1956 he covered the launch of Sputnik 1 and found it so exciting that he made space reporting his speciality. As the BBC Aerospace Correspondent, Turnill spent the rest of his career covering all the manned space missions as well as planetary missions like Mariner, Pioneer, Viking, and Voyager. Since leaving the BBC staff, Turnill has continued to broadcast and write on space, and he created the first spaceflight directory. Turnill is the only non-American to have been presented with NASA's Chroniclers Award for contributions to public understanding of the space program.
Foreword Buzz Aldrin; Growing up with space - sources and acknowledgments; 1. The context: a twentieth-century Faust; 2. Preparing for manned spaceflight; 3. Gagarin puts Russia ahead; 4. The Moon and how to get there; 5. The seven story begins; 6. Glenn gets there first; 7. Sequels to the seven story; 8. Space travel: learning the rules; 9. Overtaking the Russians; 10. Apollo's bad start; 11. Lassoing the moon; 12. What makes an astronaut?; 13. Final rehearsals; 14. The eagle soars; 15. The eagle swoops; 16. First steps - and where they led; 17. The moonrocks - and Mars!; 18. Second steps on the moon; 19. The thirteen story; 20. Last men on the moon; 21. Apollo's inconclusive findings; 22. Epilogues to Apollo; 23. John Glenn's Apollo postscript; Bibliography; Appendices; Index.
Anonymous
Posted October 30, 2002
This is a superb, perhaps the definitive history of the manned Moon landings. Reginald Turnill covered these events as a journalist---he was space correspondent of the BBC---and as a result his book is more readable and interesting than any academic accounts I have read. His verbatim interviews with such figures as Wernher von Braun make this a historical document. There is one terrifying story of an early Moon landing plan. A man would be landed there and given, presumably, his own habitat. And there he would wait until the technology was ready to rescue him and bring him back! I can't imagine that anyone would volunteer.Adrian Berry
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Overview
The Soviet-American race to land the first man on the Moon was a technical challenge unlike anything in modern human history. BBC Aerospace Correspondent Reginald Turnill covered the story, and his reports were heard and seen by millions worldwide. With unparalleled access to the politicians, scientists, and technicians involved in the race to the Moon, Turnill knew all the early astronauts—Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin—as they pioneered the techniques that made the Moon landings possible....