Product Description

The Soviet-American race to land the first man on the moon was a technical challenge unlike any other in recent human history. Reginald Turnill, the BBC's Aerospace Correspondent, covered the entire story first-hand, and his reports were heard and seen by millions around the world. With unparalleled access to the politicians, scientists and technicians involved in the race to the moon, Turnill got to know all the early astronauts - Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin - as they pioneered the techniques that made the moon landings possible. He became a friend of Dr Wernher von Braun, the German rocket pioneer and mastermind behind it all. This eyewitness account of one of the most thrilling adventures of the twentieth Century is written in a lucid style, packed with action and drama, and is a fascinating read for all those interested in the story of the race to the moon.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #381182 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 476 pages

Review
‘… he recalls with great nostalgia the excitement and intrigue of reporting on the Apollo programme at the height of the cold war. His candid and crystal-clear account does an excellent job of cutting through the spin.’ Hazel Muir, New Scientist

'This is not a book about the science, technology and engineering, that took man to the Moon. It is written from a journalists perspective and is a social and in the broadest sense a political history. It describes the entire story of the Apollo programme from the human perspective, in close-up from one man's view. Reg Turnill gives one of the best personal histories of Apollo that I have come across. … a piece of living history told by someone who was close to these events as they happened, and who recalls them with clarity and enthusiasm. … Good value; a good read.' Richard Taylor, Spaceflight

‘From his enviable vantage point as one of the BBC correspondents closest to the action was one of the nearest to an eyewitness that was possible, and he has produced a wonderful account of the exploration of space by rocket-born men, women and machines.’ Richard Knox, Gnonom

‘It is a fascinating account, by turns personal, thorough, perceptive and recommended.’ Roger O’Brien, Journal of the British Astronomical Association

'Turnill's view of this period is a valuable one that deserves wide attention. This is a fine account of the working life of a high-profile journalist. Certainly today's space journalists will never write memoirs to compete with Turnill's epic tale.' Times Higher Education Supplement

‘Who better to relate how the world saw Apollo than veteran BBC space reporter Reginald Turnill? His memoir combines first-hand detail with a broader sense of how it played globally.’ Astronomy Now

‘This unique eyewitness account of one of the most thrilling adventures of the twentieth century is written in a lucid style, packed with action and drama, and is a fascinating read for all those interested in the story of the race to the Moon.’ Orion

'When I saw the subtitle of this book I was sceptical. … how could someone who hasn't been there write an 'eyewitness' account of landing on the moon? Turns out, Reginald Turnhill offers a fascinatingly unique perspective on the Apollo era - that of a journalist in the press pool at Cape Canaveral when the moon rockets lifted off.' Michael Belfiore, Woodstock, New York

' … any serious fan of lunar literature should buy this book for their collection. Turnill is … the last of a generation of space reporters who can truly say of the lunar landing effort (on the ground, at least) that 'I was there. I saw it happen.' What a fabulous job it must have been.' BBC Sky at Night

About the Author
Now retired from his position as BBC Aerospace Correspondent, Turnill spent his career covering manned space missions.

Customer Reviews

Excellent book; misleading title
The author, title and the CUP imprint led me to believe that this would be a relatively straight history of the Apollo lunar landings told by the BBC's Space Correspondent throughout the programme.

Turnill's book is much broader in scope and more personal than that though. It's really an extended memoir of his involvement with the American space programme, from their earliest satellite launches through to John Glenn's return to space. The centrepiece of the book is the description of the Apollo lunar missions, though, through the viewpoint of media coverage, Turnill's experiences at the Cape, and his personal relationships with many of the astronauts, engineers and mission control staff. A central theme in the book is Turnill's strange relationship with Wernher von Braun.

This is one of the most readable and informative books on the US manned space programme I've ever read - while not being as detailed as Heppenheimer's "Countdown" or Burrows' "This New Ocean" which attempt to tell the whole story of the space age, and broader than Chaikin's "Man on the Moon" which just concentrates on Apollo; Turnill concentrates on the men who built, flew and controlled Mercury, Gemini and Apollo, the way the media reported them, and how von Braun's grand design for the space programme was compromised by the disappointments of budget cuts and the shuttle programme.

The prose is excellent, with Turnill offering a mixture of often amusing anecdotes, straight reportage and interesting background and analysis - he's clearly done a lot of research as well as reminiscence and it's obvious that he's respected by many of the astronauts and engineers.

If you just want a book on Apollo, there are others that have much more detail, but if you want an accessible, readable history of the US manned space programme pre-Shuttle, this is it.

A Good Gripping Book Free of Political Spin
We all know of the Moonlandings but not really about them. With this book you get to look behind the scenes through the eyes of an articulate BBC correspondent that was there for the whole thing.

Not only do you get all the ups and downs of the Moonlandings and the tension that was present, you get an intriguing look into the world of a BBC correspondent and what was really happening without the political spin placed on the events by the governments in question.

If you are interested in astronomy, the Apollo program or just looking for a good read I would recommend this book.

It does get a little tiresome at times though but it is worth the boring jejune bits for the interesting aspects of the space programs.

Over to our space correspondent ...
This book starts with a slightly distracted foreword by Buzz Aldrin, which hardly mentions Mr. Turnill but describes the ex-astronaut's view of future space travel. The book itself goes on to detail the American side of the space race - its missions and personalities - while paying due respect to the Soviet effort and the German rocketeers.

Throughout, the author underpins mission descriptions and transcripts with stories of his experiences as the BBC's Aerospace Correspondent. This is an unusual viewpoint and the battles for air-time in the context of 1960s broadcast technology are often humorous.

The book feels rather self-indulgent at times, even for an autobiography. Mr. Turnill's career was undoubtedly a privileged one but there may be slightly too many hints of self-praise for some tastes.

Not heavily illustrated but some of the black and white photos are interesting and rarely seen.