Moonstruck all over again

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon

by Catherine Thimmesh

True story: I was in fifth grade and Ken Barry was bragging over lunch about his Dad this, his Dad that. I don't remember what was so special about his Dad, but I knew my Dad had some sort of weird occupation -- CPA -- whatever that was.

So I went for the old standby.

"Well, my Uncle Sol ... "

"I don't care if your Uncle Sol built the Apollo moon rocket!" Ken said.

"Well, he DID!"

You shoulda seen the expression on his face. Heh.

Sol Boles, a radar and sonar engineer with Grumman Aircraft, was a legend in our family. He had a house full of moon memorabilia, including a real moon rock and a poster autographed by the entire Apollo 11 team. He happened to be in Washington, D.C. one year while we were vacationing and led us through the newly opened National Air & Space Museum -- followed by a small throng who mistook him for a docent.

Uncle Sol would've been pleased with Thimmesh's tribute to the many people who put together the triumphant Apollo 11 mission. She recaptures some of its glow for a new generation with spectacular photos, excerpts from transcripts and interviews from some unusual contributors, including a seamstress who helped make the space suits.

Although I fall in love with Neil Armstrong all over again every time I read about him (I had a big crush on him as a moonstruck six-year-old), it's good to remember we did this as a nation. Everyone played their part in figuring out how to achieve President Kennedy's deceptively simple exhortation "of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

Thimmesh breaks the mission down into its separate challenges, whether it was unexpected alarms or a near-empty fuel tank, and includes photos of many of the contributors in the back.

I love the seamstress, Eleanor Foracker, best:

"We didn't worry too much until the guys on the moon started jumping up and down."

A few caveats: Thimmesh's narration is on the dry side, and sounds a bit book-reportish. You've seen many of the moon pics before and there's always plenty more available straight from NASA's website.

But you'd be hard pressed to find a kid's book more thorough in its presentation of mission minutiae, or one that includes so many voices.

Rating: *\*\*\

Comments

Dry? You've got to be kidding. Details, style, pinache, this book brings it all together and is amazingly accessible and yet technically informative. I absolutely love it!

[Anne]

I went back for another read and while I stand by my remarks that the technical parts sometimes drag, I will soften my stance on her style. I don't know about panache but she does have a "gee whiz" childlike sense of wonder about the whole thing.

Even so, lighten up, buddy. Getting three buds outta me is pretty tough.