Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts who made man's first journey to the Moon

Fifty years ago, Christmas 1968, Man first orbited the Moon. This book tells the inside story of that epic journey.

In early 1968, the Apollo programme was on shaky footing. President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline to put a man on the Moon was in jeopardy, and the Soviets were threatening to pull ahead in the space race.

By August 1968, with its back against the wall, NASA decided to scrap its usual methodical approach and shoot for the heavens. With just four months to prepare, the agency would send the first men in history to the Moon.

Focusing on three heroic astronauts and their families, this vivid, gripping narrative shows anew the epic danger and singular bravery it took for Man to leave Earth for the first time - and to arrive at a new world.



'In 1968 we sent men to the Moon. They didn't leave bootprints, but it was the first time humans ever left Earth for another destination. That mission was Apollo 8. And Rocket Men, under Robert Kurson's compelling narrative, is that under-told story.'
-Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Space Chronicles: facing the ultimate frontier

'With Rocket Men, Robert Kurson tells the tale of Apollo 8 with novelistic detail and immediacy, expertly capturing the urgency and suspense behind the mission that gave America the lead in the Space Race.'
-Andy Weir, New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Artemis

'Rocket Men is a timely and thrilling reminder of a heroic American achievement - three dashing astronauts and the first rendezvous with the moon. It has it all - suspense, drama, risk and loving families. We could use those days again.'
-Tom Brokaw