Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything

by Martin W. Sandler Narrated by Scott Lange

Overview

A nation in need of hope, the most powerful rocket ever launched, and the first three men to break the bounds of Earth: Apollo 8 was headed to the moon.

In 1957, when the USSR launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth, America's rival in the Cold War claimed victory on a new frontier. The Space Race had begun, and the United States was losing. Closer to home, a decade of turbulence would soon have Americans reeling, with the year 1968 alone seeing the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy as well as many violent clashes between police and protesters.

Americans desperately needed something good to believe in, and NASA's mission to orbit Earth in Apollo 8 and test a lunar landing module was being planned for the end of the year. But with four months to go and the module behind schedule, the CIA discovered that the USSR was preparing to send its own mission around the moon — another crucial victory in the Space Race — and it was clearly time for a change of plan.

Martin W. Sandler unfolds an incredible chapter in U.S. history: Apollo 8 wouldn't just orbit Earth, it would take American astronauts to see the dark side of the moon.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

11/26/2018
The Apollo 8 mission unfolds within the broader context of history in this expansive photo-filled volume that focuses as much on the journey into space as it does the events unfolding back on Earth. Sandler provides an overview of world events preceding the mission, including the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the space race, and social and political protests. First-person descriptions from the astronauts recount their lift-off, their first viewing of the Earth rising, and their journey to the dark side of the moon. Beyond the vivid minute-by-minute details of the voyage itself, the volume explores the colossal impact of the mission on the American psyche. For many, Sandler explains, the images of Earth from space served as “a symbol of the Earth’s fragility, a reminder of just how small and insignificant the Earth’s place in the universe truly is.” Ages 10–up. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

The book is abundantly illustrated with archival photographs, and a highlight of this informative, engaging text is Sandler's discussion of the iconic Earthrise photograph and how it "became a symbol of the Earth's fragility, a reminder of just how small and insignificant the Earth's place in the universe truly is." In its 50th-anniversary year, a compelling account of the historical significance of a lesser-known space mission.
—Kirkus Reviews

Sandler captures Apollo 8’s significance on many levels with astonishing details and storytelling...Stunning photographs, including the now iconic Earthrise, bring this awe to a new generation.
—Booklist

Sandler traces mankind’s curiosity about the moon from ancient mythology to the 1960s. Full-color photographs enhance nearly every page and offer readers a greater understanding of this revolutionary mission. An out-of-this-world exploration of the space race—and a must-have for most nonfiction collections.
—School Library Journal

Sandler deals equally well with technical and personal narrative threads, explaining the challenges of navigation and reentry and attending to the very different personalities crammed into the tiny command capsule...He also pays serious attention to the cultural impact of the mission, whose photographs of Earthrise inspired a fresh way of looking at the home planet and of appreciating its fragility, thus advancing not only the space program but also the ecology movement.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Beyond the vivid minute-by-minute details of the voyage itself, the volume explores the colossal impact of the mission on the American psyche. For many, Sandler explains, the images of Earth from space served as “a symbol of the Earth’s fragility, a reminder of just how small and insignificant the Earth’s place in the universe truly is.”
—Publishers Weekly

Just as the crew’s photographs and telecasts brought their discoveries into American homes, this book fulfills a similar mission for readers born decades later.
—Washington Post

Sandler’s account is riveting. The stark connections to where we are today are deeply disturbing.
—The Booklist Reader

School Library Journal

09/01/2018
Gr 5 Up—Climb aboard the mission to the moon that paved the way for the future of space exploration. In 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into Earth's orbit, the space race had begun and the United States was losing. In response, NASA was created and, by 1961, President John F. Kennedy made exploring space a priority. Many missions, both manned and unmanned, were launched in the years that followed. In 1968, the three men onboard Apollo 8 were quite literally going where no man had ever gone before: around the moon. Sandler's work is full of detailed research and descriptions of the space race and provides readers with the context needed to understand why Apollo 8 was such a momentous event. The main narrative is broken up with profiles of significant individuals and concepts. Sandler traces mankind's curiosity about the moon from ancient mythology to the 1960s. Full-color photographs enhance nearly every page and offer readers a greater understanding of this revolutionary mission. VERDICT An out-of-this-world exploration of the space race—and a must-have for most nonfiction collections.—Kevin McGuire, Woodland Hills School District, PA

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

Scott Lange’s earnest narration of this audiobook about the first manned mission to circle the moon emphasizes the place it and the men who carried it out have taken in history. Lange’s forthright presentation serves Sandler’s goal in making clear the importance of the Apollo 8 mission by presenting it in context with the Gemini and Mercury missions, as well as giving an explanation of the 1960s Space Race. The detailed account of the mission itself incorporates many quotes from the astronauts, their wives, and personalities of the day. Listeners will be greatly moved by Lange’s emotional descriptions of Earthrise and the crew’s Christmas Day reading. E.J.F © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2018-07-24

In one of the most turbulent years in modern American history, the Apollo 8 mission to the moon served as a desperately needed morale boost for Americans.

Sandler explains the historical significance of the mission in the broader context of the Cold War space race and the tumultuous events occurring in the United States. In 1968, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, riots in major cities across America, and growing protests against the Vietnam War left Americans needing something good to believe in. NASA's mission to orbit the Earth in Apollo 8 and test a lunar landing module was scheduled for the end of the year, but this changed when the CIA discovered the Soviet Union planned to send its own mission around the moon. That would be another crucial victory for the USSR in the space race that began in 1957. Sandler describes how NASA decided Apollo 8 would be the first manned trip around the moon and offers a detailed chronicle of the difficult mission and the crew who successfully completed it. The book is abundantly illustrated with archival photographs, and a highlight of this informative, engaging text is Sandler's discussion of the iconic Earthrise photograph and how it "became a symbol of the Earth's fragility, a reminder of just how small and insignificant the Earth's place in the universe truly is."

In its 50th-anniversary year, a compelling account of the historical significance of a lesser-known space mission. (photos, source notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169556865
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	10/09/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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