An Annotated Bibliography of the Apollo Program. J. D. Hunley
Publishers, 1975. Despite its somewhat misleading title, most of this book by a long- time NASA employee who later moved to academia deals with the history of the agency. Chapters 4 and 5 cover the space program during roughly the Apollo period.
Lewis, Richard S. Appointment on the Moon: The Inside Story of America's Space Adventure. New York: Viking, 1969. Perhaps the first book to capitalize on the success of Apollo 11 in 1969, this history appeared within days of the "splashdown."
_____. The Voyages of Apollo: The Exploration of the Moon. New York: Quadrangle, 1974. 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. Tremendous collection of photos, most culled from the Life collection. Covers all manned missions.
Lindbergh, Anne Morrow. Earth Shine. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969. A republication of the article described below and one on East Africa together with some reflections on how the two are linked together.
_____. "The Heron and the Astronaut." Life. 28 February 1969, pp. 1, 14-27. Impressionistic story about Cape Kennedy, the launch of Apollo 8, and what Apollo 11 means for mankind, complete with a number of photographs.
Logsdon, John M., et al. Apollo in its Historical Context. Washington, DC: George Washington University Space Policy Institute, 1990. This edited version of remarks presented at a 1989 symposium includes articles by Logsdon on "Evaluating Apollo"; Walter A. McDougall on "Apollo and Technocracy"; Daniel J. Boorstin on "The Rise of Public Discovery"; and Frank White on "Apollo in a Millennial Perspective." Concludes with a discussion based on questions from the audience at the symposium. Useful for the perspectives offered by the four eminent participants.
_____. "An Apollo Perspective." Astronautics & Aeronautics. 17 (December 1979): 112-116. This brief article analyzes the situation facing the U. S. space program in 1979 in the light of Apollo and concludes that the base of support for a major national investment in space, such as the one that existed for Apollo in 1961 simply did not exist 18 years later and was unlikely to emerge again for a consider- able time in the future.
_____. "From Apollo to Shuttle: Policy Making in the Post Apollo Era." Unpublished typescript, Spring 1983, copy in NASA History Office Reference Collection. This lengthy "Partial and Preliminary Manuscript" is concerned primarily with the "decisions taken during the 1969-1972 period on what the United States would do in space after landing on the moon." However, since these decisions were made in the context of Apollo the author does discuss it as well.
_____. "What Made Apollo a Success? Introduction." Astronautics and Aeronautics. (March 1970): 36-45. This brief article by the NASA deputy administrator at the time and former manager of the Apollo spacecraft program discusses a range of issues involved in Apollo's successes to date, including spacecraft design and development, mission design and planning, flight-crew and flight operations, spacecraft test activities, and management's control of spacecraft changes. Although not entirely free of jargon, this is generally a readable and well- written analysis. It concludes that the preeminent factor in Apollo's success was attention to detail coupled with dedication.
Lutman, C. C. "The Apollo Program." Air University Review. 16 (May-June 1965): 16-21. This short, undocumented article by an Air Force officer who had served in NASA concentrates on spacecraft, guidance and navigation systems, instrumentation and scientific equipment, and operations with emphasis on the fact "that the Apollo program is not aimed solely at the successful completion of a lunar landing but rather is a tool employed to obtain and keep U.S. supremacy in space."
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Apollo Program Summary Report. Houston, TX: Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 1975. 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. Illustrations and appendices supplement the text. 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. Includes transcripts of the Public Affairs Officer's Apollo 11 countdown. Also, "Men In Space," p. 46A.
______. Of a Fire on the Moon. Boston: Little, Brown, 1970. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1970. New York: New American Library, 1971. One of the foremost contemporary American writers, Mailer was commissioned to comment on the first lunar landing. What he wrote was this rather confused and confusing account that is written as a series of almost stream-of-consciousness ruminations about spaceflight. They do provide some insights, most importantly as Mailer with his 1960s countercultural mindset meets its antithesis, a NASA steeped in middle class values and reverence for the American flag and culture. Mailer was forced, grudgingly, to admit that NASA's approach to task accomplishment--which he sees as the embodiment of the Protestant Work Ethic--and its technological and scientific capability got results with Apollo. He rails at NASA's closed and austere society, one where he says outsiders are distrusted and held at arm's length with a bland and faceless courtesy that betrays nothing. For all of its skepticism, for all of its esotericism, the book captures some interesting insights into rocket technology and the people who produced it in Project Apollo, but it is heavy going to extract them from this dense book.
Manno, Jack. Arming the Heavens. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1988. This sparsely documented volume with an extensive annotated bibliography begins the account by tracing the "Nazi legacy" of the space program back to Wernher von Braun and the ballistic missile program at Peenem�nde. The book's thrust is suggested by the concluding paragraph to Chapter 16, "The Space Warriors Return," referring to the presidency of Ronald Reagan and the end it signalled to "U.S. efforts even to pretend that American space activities would be devoted to peaceful purposes. That paragraph reads: "The new arms race in space is but another example--perhaps the last one--of leaders refusing to accept the limits of military power, of trying therefore to bring military solutions to bear on what are global political and social crises. The only real hope for national security in the Space Age lies in international security. Global social and political solutions must be sought for the global social and political problems that lead to war." Many readers may disagree with this approach, but the author presents a reasoned if not scholarly argument in support of it.
Mansfield, John M. Man on the Moon. New York: Stein and Day, 1969. Written by a BBC television producer, this book begins with ancient conceptions of the Moon and continues with theoretical foundations for the space age in the works of science fiction authors and theoreticians. The book's capstone is a discussion of NASA and Project Apollo.
Masursky, Harold; Colton, G.W.; and El-Baz, Farouk. Apollo Over the Moon: A View from Orbit. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration SP- 362, 1978. This is an excellent encapsulation of the Apollo program with striking photography. A large-formatted book, it contains an introduction discussing the objectives, methods, and results of Apollo lunar photography. It follows this with discussions of the regions of the Moon and explanations of individual photographs. Contains a glossary and bibliography.
Messel, H., and Butler, S. T. Editors. Pioneering in Outer Space. London: Heinemann, 1971. This published series of lectures contains historical material on all human space flights up to Apollo 13. The core of the book consists of chapters by G. Hage,