"And the Moon came nearer..."
A unique tribute to the defining scientific mission of our time
"MoonFire
is the greatest book I have ever seen. The photography is
unparalleled... It is more than just a book, it is an experience." — David Schonauer, American Photo
It has been called the single most historic event of the 20th century: On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins met John F. Kennedy's call for a manned Moon landing by the end of the
1960s. A decade of tests and training, a staff of 400,000 engineers and
scientists, a budget of $24 billion, and the most powerful rocket ever
launched all combined in an unprecedented event watched by millions the
world over. And no one captured the men, the mood, and the machinery like Norman Mailer.
One of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, Norman Mailer was
hired by LIFE in 1969 to cover the Moon shot. His three-part feature
was the longest nonfiction piece LIFE had published. He enhanced and
extended his reportage with deeper reflection in the brilliantly
crafted book, Of a Fire on the Moon, excerpted here for the first time.
Equally adept at examining the science of space travel and the
psychology of the men involved—from Saturn V rocket engineer Wernher
von Braun, to the crucial NASA support staff, to the three
astronauts—Mailer provides provocative and trenchant insights into this
epoch-making event.
Illustrating this volume are hundreds of the best photographs
and maps from the NASA vaults, magazine archives, and private
collections. Many of them previously unpublished, these images
document the development of the agency and the mission, life inside the
command module and on the Moon’s surface, and the world’s jubilant
reaction to the landing. This edition includes an original introduction
by Colum McCann and captions by leading Apollo 11 experts, explaining
the history and science behind the images, citing the mission log and
publications of the day, and post-flight astronaut interviews.
The book you couldn't get your hands on is finally available as
the first publication in TASCHEN's new series of GOLDEN BOOKS, created
to celebrate the company's 30th anniversary! Originally published as a TASCHEN Limited Edition, Norman Mailer's MoonFire sold out instantly and earned accolades from publications the world over.
About the author:
Norman Mailer was one of the 20th century's greatest
and most influential writers, as well as one of America's most renowned
and controversial literary figures. The best-selling author of a dozen
novels and 20 works of nonfiction, he also wrote stage plays,
screenplays, television miniseries, hundreds of essays, two books of
poetry, and a collection of short stories. A two-time Pulitzer Prize
winner, he lived in Brooklyn, New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts.
About the contributing author:
Colum McCann is the author of seven books, including Let the Great World Spin. He has written for The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, GQ, The Times (London), The Irish Times, and La República.
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