Roger D. Launius and J. D. Hunley

“ The author of this book tries to make the German emigrees who came to the United States with Wernher von Braun in 1945 the central force behind the success of Project Apollo. Freeman traces all spaceflight ideals and imagination to a German group formed by Hermann Oberth and Willy Ley and including Wernher von Braun, among others, in the first part of the twentieth century, who created the U.S. space program and the "glory" of Apollo. ”

“ This popularly written but not nontechnical account covers the background to the Apollo mission seen as an exploration of the Moon. It then discusses the changes in our perceptions of that heavenly body as succeeding Apollo missions added to our knowledge. Without scholarly apparatus, this is clearly a non- scientist's interpretation of lunar science, but it presents an informed series of perspectives as of the time it was written.
Life in Space. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1983. A look at the U.S. space program from Project Mercury through the Space Shuttle and planetary explorers. ”

“ The author comments on the development of a special faith attached to modern technology in the public mind, and the effect recent disasters, from Three-mile Island to Chernobyl, had on that confidence. This book is not simply a chronicle of accidents, but seeks to look at the process of engineering and its creative aspects apart from its scientific ones. Petroski notes that the design process accepts failure and seeks to test and gradually develop a system, whatever it might be, that has an acceptable level of risk to operate. He cautions that nothing is error free. ”

“ Anderton, David A. Man in Space [also entitled America in Space/The First Decade] . Washington, DC: NASA EP-48, 1968. This pamphlet contains information on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, launch vehicles, test vehicles, astronauts, pressure suits, and space medicine, but it treats each subject in overview fashion. ”

“ It concluded from opinion surveys conducted immediately before and after Apollo 11 that the "U.S. standing in science" and space exploration improved considerably following the successful Moon landing in Great Britain, India, France, Japan, Venezuela, and the Philippines but that opinions of U.S. military strength rose only in Britain, France, and Japan, and there only slightly.
Van Dyke, Vernon. Pride and Power: The Rationale of the Space Program. ”

“ This lengthy report summarizes the principal activities during Apollo and provides references for those seeking greater detail. It is divided into sections on the flight program, science, vehicle development and performance, spacecraft development testing, the flight crew, mission operations, biomedical matters, spacecraft manufacturing and testing, launch facilities and operations, and the lunar receiving laboratory, which initially quarantined astronaut crews and handled lunar samples. ”

“ Knight, David C. Compiler. American Astronauts and Spacecraft: A Pictorial History from Project Mercury through Apollo 13. New York: F. Watts, 1970. This (mostly black and white) pictorial history consists almost entirely of photos, some of them with lengthy captions. It does contain useful biographies of the astronauts and a lengthy glossary of space terms.
Launius, Roger D. NASA: A History of the U.S. Civil Space Program. Melbourne, FL: Krieger, 1994. A short book in the Anvil Series, this history of U.S. civilian space efforts consists half of narrative and half of documents. ”

“ Bruno, Leonard C. "We have a sporting chance": The Decision to go to the Moon, An Exhibition at the Library of Congress, July 16-September 16, 1979. Washington: Library of Congress, 1979. This catalog for the tenth anniversary exhibit commemorating Apollo 11 provides an overview in narrative and photos of the background to the mission that carried out President Kennedy's pledge in 1961 to land Americans on the Moon within the decade and return them safely to Earth. Also included is a retrospective reflection on the mission. A good overview with excellent photographs. ”

“ United States House, Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications. United States Civilian Space Programs, 1958-1978. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981. This more than 1,000-page report has the usual introduction and summary, followed by a list of issues for congressional consideration, a history of NASA and its relation to American space policy, and accounts of "NASA Facilities and Tracking Systems," "Launch Vehicles and Propulsion," "Manned Space Flight Through 1975," and a variety of other topics, most of them unrelated to Apollo. ”

“ Mercury to Apollo-Soyuz. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1988. This 14-page information summery contains brief accounts of projects Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Apollo-Soyuz with appendices about manned spacecraft and launch vehicles.
Fairley, Peter. Man on the Moon. London: Arthur Barker Limited, 1969. Yet another popular, undocumented account published soon after Apollo 11's conclusion, this volume covers not only that mission but the background to it, the Apollo 204 fire, and the missions yet on the agenda. It also discusses the race with the Soviets. ”

“ In so doing, she concentrates on such ancillary stories as the development of the V-2 by von Braun's "rocket team" for Germany in World War II, totally ignoring the contributions of other people and nations to the overall space effort.
Fries, Sylvia D. NASA Engineers and the Age of Apollo. Washington, DC: NASA SP-4104, 1992. This book is a sociocultural analysis of a selection of engineers at NASA who worked on Project Apollo. It analyzes the manner in which different personalities, perspectives, backgrounds, and priorities came together to inform the direction of NASA during the 1960s. ”

“ Washington, DC: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in cooperation with the AIAA Houston Section, 1989. This glossy collection of interviews with 15 astronauts, managers, and others involved in the Apollo program provides some perspective on the events 20 years after the landing on the Moon. Among the interviewees were Eugene Cernan, Aaron Cohen, Maxime Faget, Robert Gilruth, Christopher Kraft, and Donald "Deke" Slayton.
Sullivan, Walter. Editor. America's Race for the Moon: The New York Times Story of Project Apollo. ”

“ Life. 24 November 1967, pp. 31-37. 9 color photos. Story by Ray Bradbury on assignment for Life at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston and his impressions of the Saturn 5 launch.
Brian, William L., II. Moongate: Suppressed Findings of the U.S. Space Program, the NASA-Military Cover-up. Portland, OR: Future Science Research Pub. Co., 1982. As the title suggests, this is a sensationalistic expos‚ arguing that "the true circumstances surrounding the Apollo missions and related discoveries were carefully suppressed from the public." ”

“ Here is a broad lesson...that contemporary society can ill afford to ignore."
Bockstiegel, Karl-Heinz. Editor. Manned Space Flight. Cologne: Carl Heymanns Verlag, 1993. This collection of papers delivered at the Institute of Air and Space Law's international colloquium on human spaceflight in May 1992 is not specifically about Apollo but includes information about Apollo missions and an extensive bibliography.
Booker, Peter Jeffrey; Frewer, G.C.; and, Pardoe, G.K.C. Project Apollo: The Way to the Moon. New York: American Elsevier Pub. ”

“ This popular account without scholarly apparatus provides an early look at the Apollo program and its background. Useful for its perspective on how Apollo in its beginnings looked to one investigator.
"How An Idea No One Wanted Grew Up To Be the LEM." Life. 14 March 1969, pp. cover, 20-27. 8 color photos, 1 color painting, 4 B&W sketches. A fascinating look at the evolution or the Lunar Excursion Module. ”

“ This report probably gives the most complete overview of the program to be found anywhere and may be the best single place for researchers new to Apollo to begin.
Mailer, Norman. "A Dream of the Future's Face." Life. 9 January 1970, pp. 56- 57, 60, 62, 62-63, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74. 2 color photos. Part III of Norman Mailer's Fire on the Moon examines some "philosophical" questions on where society is headed.
______. "A Fire on the Moon." Life. 29 August 1969, pp. cover, 1, 24-42. 4 color photos. Part I of Norman Mailer's personal study of the U.S. space program. ”

“ Does provide the perspective as of nearly the end of the Apollo program.
Peterson's Book of Man in Space. Los Angeles, CA: Petersen Pub. Co., 1974. 5 volumes. In essentially magazine format with lots of photos, this series of articles carries the story of humans in space from accounts of the spaceflight pioneers Robert H. Goddard and Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky through Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.
Petroski, Henry. To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design. New York: St. ”