Product Description

In 1999, Andrew Smith was interviewing Charlie Duke, astronaut and moon walker, for the Sunday Times. During the course of the interview, which took place at Duke's Texan home, the telephone rang and Charlie left the room to answer it. When he returned, some twenty minutes later, he seemed visibly upset. It seemed that he'd just heard that, the previous day, one of his fellow moon walkers, the astronaut Pete Conrad, had died. 'Now there' s only nine of us,' he said. Only nine. Which meant that, one day not long from now, there would be none, and when that day came, no one on earth would have known the giddy thrill of gazing back at us from the surface of the moon. The thought shocked Andrew Smith, and still does. "Moondust" is his attempt to understand why.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #171742 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
'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 'Smith's mission - gloriously realised in this spellbinding book - is to seek out the last nine and discover how the decades have treated the only humans to have walked on another world a wonderful collective biography written with deftness, compassion and humour' Observer

Mark Ellen in WORD MAGAZINE
Moondust is an inspired idea, immaculately executed: witty, affectionate, completely captivating.

METRO NEWSPAPER
**** [Negotiates] the confusion of late 20th Century world politics, 1960's counter-culture, conspiracy theories... and Nasa's own colourful history.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating and moving
I have a friend who knows everything there is to know about the Apollo programme and I asked him if he'd read the book. Naturally he had, but he didn't like it. In his view there were far too many observations and recollections by the author and not enough hard facts.

I have to disagree. 'Moondust' is an unashamedly subjective evocation of the Space Age that is both extremely interesting and often very poignant. Whether you remember the Apollo missions or not, it is facinating to read about an era that felt as if it was the dawn of a new 'Space Age' (indeed, many people quiet reasonably assumed that if we could land a man on the moon in 1969, we'd have bases there by 2001).

In 'Moondust' author Andrew Smith has interviewed many of the surviving astronauts who went to the moon and instead of asking the obvious question - 'What was it like to be on the moon?' - he is more interested in how they coped with returning to their lives on earth, knowing that the highpoint of their lives was probably behing them.

That said, 'Moondust' has many fascinating facts about the Apollo missions, ranging from some humorous accounts of the difficulties in going to the loo in zero gravity to a description of how pilots often had to assume manual control to stop their craft from crashing into the lunar surface. But for me, the most memorable thing I learned was that NASA only paid the astronauts a few dollars a day while they were in space and actually deducted bed and board from their pay cheque!

When I discovered that this book was included in Richard and Judy's Book Club it seemed an odd choice, but now I've read it I can understand why. This is a fascinating, very readable book that most people should, I think, be able to enjoy.

Fascinating - a real page turner
If anyone wants to re-awaken their interest in the Apollo moon landings then this book is a must read. I found it easy to follow, written with emotion and a dash of humour. It's full of stories from the astronauts who the author meets on his travels across the US. Nothing really new is revealed, but it gives an insight about what the Apollo programme was all about and how it changed the lives of the men who took part. The only thing missing I felt was some photographs perhaps of the astronauts then and now, or even of the moon landings themselves just to remind us of the pure magic of it all.

The most intriguing aspect of the book is the mystery surrounding the "first man on the moon", Neil Armstrong. I feel I can understand a little better about why he remains so distant. When my sons asked me what it was like to watch it all live on TV back then, I feel as daunted by that question as the astronauts must feel themselves when asked what it was like to "stand on the moon". Something not easy to put into words because it's a moment in time that passes so quickly and difficult to take in. This, I feel, is what most of the "moonwalkers" find the hardest question to answer. Moondust raises those un-answerable questions.

A fantastic read, Mr Taylor - A fascinating, intriguing book that really makes you think!

Enjoyable Astronaut-centric approach
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - having read Andrew Chaikin's 'A Man on the Moon' a few months earlier.

Smith's book gives a real sense of the people involved, and the way in which he weaves stories of the various missions contributes to a holistic view of the whole program.

I'm not sure how much I would have enjoyed this without Chaikin's book, as that supplied the factual underpinning that allowed me to enjoy a more free form approach.

Anyway no point theorizing - this book gives a good alternative perspective and contains lots of information that you might not find elsewhere ( e.g. Aldrin refusing to photo Armstrong on the moon ! ). His sense of wonder at the entire project is infectious, and his diagnosis of type A maledom a lesson some of us might do well to take to heart.

This book never flags, and is never dull.