Recounts the bold but dangerous mission to secure America's position as the first nation to reach the moon, revealing the dangers endured by its crew and the ways the mission brought renewal to a country ravaged by assassinations and war. "In August 1968, NASA made a bold decision: in just sixteen weeks, the United States would launch humankind's first flight to the moon. Only the year before, three astronauts had burned to death in their spacecraft,...

"Forty years ago, Buzz Aldrin became the second human being to set foot on the moon. The flight of Apollo 11 made Aldrin one of the most famous people on the planet, yet few people know the rest of the story. In this book, Aldrin not only gives us a first-person account of the lunar landing that came within seconds of failure, he also opens up about his more personal trials - and eventual triumphs - back on Earth. Aldrin returned home to an Air Force...

In 1969, as her own family is falling apart, ten-year-old Mamie finds comfort in conducting a one-sided correspondence with the least famous astronaut heading toward the moon on Apollo 11.