Reviewed on Richard and Judy on 1 March 2006. Reading this makes you wonder how the moon-walks ever happened at all. It also makes you realise what extraordinary men these nine privileged people are. Andrew Smith sought them out to discover not only their reaction to the moon-landings, but also how they have fared over the years. It’s a wonderful collective biography.
A revised and updated edition of the classic work to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the first moon landing 'It left me spellbound ... belongs to the same tradition as Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff'Sunday Times 'Fascinating. A wonderful book' David Bowie Spellbinding ... A wonderful collective biography written with deftness, compassion and humour' Observer ________________________ The Apollo Moon Programme has been called the last optimistic act of the twentieth century. In Moondust, Andrew Smith set out to find and interview the nine remaining Moonwalkers in order to learn how their lives, and ours, were irrevocably changed by this surreal expedition.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the first moon landing, Smith's powerful and gripping account of the most courageous adventure of the last century is re-released with a new chapter, detailing his fascinating interactions with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Edgar Mitchell and Alan Bean in the years since publication.
With thought-provoking meditations on the dramatic recent upswing in cosmic exploration, including astonishing encounters with the would-be astronaut-settlers of the Mars One project and the scientists leading the search for life in our solar system, this is an indispensable update to the definitive classic. ________________________ 'Fascinating and disturbing. We know what happened inside the Apollo spacecraft, but what went on inside the astronauts' minds? Did any of them really recover from their strange journey? Extremely thought-provoking' J.G. Ballard
‘Smith’s mix of reporting and meditation is highly entertaining, and this superb book is a fitting tribute to a unique band of twentieth-century heroes’ GQ
‘A moving and thorough account of America’s last great act of optimism’ Guardian
‘Fascinating and disturbing. We know what happened inside the Apollo Space Craft, but what went on inside the astronauts’ minds? Did any of them really recover from their strange journey? Extremely thought-provoking’ J. G. Ballard
Author
About Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith is English although he was born in New York and lived in California until he was in his early teens. He watched the moon landings on TV in his San Francisco home.
He has written for the Melody Maker, the Face, the Sunday Times, and the Observer where he has written on the KLF, death row, Damien Hirst, Jeff Bezos, Bianca Jagger and much much more. He currently lives with his family in Norfolk.
