Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon in Bound Together

Nov 02, 2019 Angela M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks

I don’t read very many nonfiction books and I haven’t listened to many audiobooks, but I’m sure that this one will remain one of my favorites in both categories. Before I listened to this book, when I thought of space missions and the moon, I thought of the moon landing and Apollo 11 - the planting of the American flag, Neil Armstrong’s comment “....one giant step for mankind.” While I remember Apollo 8, I had no idea of it’s importance in laying the groundwork for future missions. While I alway I don’t read very many nonfiction books and I haven’t listened to many audiobooks, but I’m sure that this one will remain one of my favorites in both categories. Before I listened to this book, when I thought of space missions and the moon, I thought of the moon landing and Apollo 11 - the planting of the American flag, Neil Armstrong’s comment “....one giant step for mankind.” While I remember Apollo 8, I had no idea of it’s importance in laying the groundwork for future missions. While I always thought that astronauts as a group were brave, I never really thought about their individual stories, their personalities, the affect on their families, especially their spouses, the intense training or what went into preparing for their mission. Even though I knew the efforts of NASA to prepare, plan, build, test and manage from mission control had to be enormous, I never gave it a lot of thought. I didn’t think a lot about the historical context of these space missions. All of that changed in such an impactful way for me while listening to this absolutely amazing account.

I was captivated by the intimate look that I got of the crew - Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, how they grew up and became astronauts, how they met and fell in love with their wives, how their wives were impacted by what their husbands were doing, the sacrifice of family time. The wives of these men deserve a lot of credit and are heroes in their own right. Their personal stories are moving. I was on the edge of my seat as Kurson so skillfully gave me “a sense of being there”. I was surprised that some of the technical and scientific parts were made understandable and interesting and amazed at the scope of things that went into making decisions.

The way the mission is brought into historical context is simply stunning. I hung on every word as the picture is painted of a fractured time in American history with events that I remember- the race to space with Russia, John Kennedy’s dream of landing on the moon, the Vietnam war, civil rights protests, race riots , demonstrations in Chicago, unrest in the country, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. This book doesn’t just tell us about Apollo 8, it tells the story of our nation in 1968.

I loved the Epilogue finding out what the crew did afterwards and where they were in their lives at the time of the 50th anniversary of the mission. I very much appreciated the author’s note in his own voice, how he was inspired to write this book. Kurson’s research is extensive including time spent with Borman, Lovell, Anders , people from NASA, reading a multitude of documents, watching videos and so much more. This is a story of extraordinary men and their families, an extraordinary event in history. The narration by Ray Porter is absolutely wonderful.

Thanks to my Goodreads friend and book buddy, Diane S, whose terrific review led me to this book. ...more

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Sep 23, 2019 Dem rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, adventure, 5-star, science-fiction

Absolutely loved this book. A meticulous, uplifting (pardon the pun) and beautifully written account of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts who made Man’s first Journey to the moon

I knew when one of my friends here at Goodreads whose reviews I respect and love reviewed and rated this book 5 stars that it was one I wanted to get my hands on sooner rather than later and was so happy to have sourced this one on Audible.

I read this along with my husband and we discussed and marvelled over the details eve Absolutely loved this book. A meticulous, uplifting (pardon the pun) and beautifully written account of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts who made Man’s first Journey to the moon

I knew when one of my friends here at Goodreads whose reviews I respect and love reviewed and rated this book 5 stars that it was one I wanted to get my hands on sooner rather than later and was so happy to have sourced this one on Audible.

I read this along with my husband and we discussed and marvelled over the details every day and to be honest I am going to miss the suspense and drama and company of this wonderful book.

Robert Kurson tells the story of the Apollo 8 and its crew and their amazing and riveting first mission to the Moon.

This book reminded me in ways of my reaction to the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption and while both books are totally different, I wondered going into this one did I really want to read a book about Rockets and space and the moon and yet the moment I started listening to this book I was hooked, I enjoyed reading about the men and their families, the challenges that they and their families and NASA faced with this mission. What it meant to Science and the average Joe all over the world. I wasn't very familiar with the Apollo 8 and the Astronauts but obviously knew they flew a very successful mission and yet the suspense created in this account had me totally gripped and at times so anxious for these guys (although I already knew the outcome of the mission).

On finishing this book I was as proud of the Rocket men as every American must have been back on Christmas 1968.

This is my second book by this author. I also enjoyed his book Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship.

Really enjoyed the sense of time and place and the reminders of events and people mentioned in the book.
Above all I loved reading and discussing this one with my husband who is a huge fan of all things space and science and he found this an entertaining and informative read too.

The audio read by Ray Porter and Robert Kurson and was extremely easy to listen to and the narration really added to my enjoyment of this book. ...more

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Sep 14, 2019 Diane S ☔ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lor-2019, 5000-2019

Space, planets, NASA are not usually subjects to which I gravitate .So why then did I not want this book to end, finished it ready eyes and gave it all the stars? Well for one, I'm firmly convinced this author cannot write a bad book, can make any subject interesting. It's also because though this is about Apollo 8, it is also about real men, their wives, families and our country in the tumultuous year of 1968.

Kurson includes the three astronauts backgrounds, their training, their flight, but al ...more

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Sep 15, 2019 Chrissie rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, usa, race, 2019-read, audible-uk, bio, science, politics, relationships

I went into this book with hesitation—spacecraft and rockets are not my usual cup of tea. Understanding so little about them, I feared I would either be bored stiff or totally lost, confused by technical terms that would go over my head. I was neither bored nor confused. The book is directed toward the layman and SO exciting you simply do not want to put it down. Give the book a bit of time. Don’t even consider dropping the book until December 21, 1968, and the launching of the rocket. Durin ...more

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Feb 08, 2020 ☮Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, nonfiction, read-in-2020, hear-hear-on-bt

1968 - A blast from the past. I remember 1968 well for its many tragedies and a pervasive gloominess about the country's future outlook. What I don't remember is how the year ended with the first manned trip to the moon on Apollo 8, set to launch Christmas day. One man even told NASA they dare not launch on Christmas, because it was sure to fail, kill everyone, and ruin the holiday for the entire country from that day forward. But the flight succeeded. Succeeded in ways one couldn't imagine at t ...more

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Jul 10, 2018 Donna rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, biography

I've had this book for awhile and I've been hesitant to crack it open because I thought it might be kind of dry. Thankfully, I didn't find that to be the case at all....not even for a single moment. This book covers the events that led up to Apollo 8 and its voyage in 1968. I also liked that this covered the people involved and that it included a little about their personal lives. I felt connected to them and their family struggles.

Overall, the science info was cohesive and easy to follow along ...more

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Jan 11, 2024 Carrie Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

Fascinating! I listened to the audio version of this book. I wouldn't call myself a space person. I like space but I don't typically read books about space. I like stories though. This chronicles America's orbit around the moon from start to finish. You get a sneak peak into each of the three astronauts who made this journey, their background and their family. Kurson also gives a background on current events during this time. While non-fiction this reads story like, thoroughly enjoyable. ...more

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Oct 08, 2019 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders were all interviewed and cooperated with Kurson on the writing of this book. Kurson also describes the time to help give more perspective. Apollo 8 isn't a mission that isn't talked about very much, but Neil Armstrong made it sound like this mission was more important than even his moon walk. Unlike the mission each man is still married to his first wife and all but one wife (she has Alzheimer's) also gave interviews. Kurson tells us in the epilogue that ...more

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