This is the second post celebrating the 50th anniversary of a big event to happen in 1969. I’m sharing some books and DVDs that focus on the Apollo 11 moon landing that happened on July 20, 1969. There are even more library materials on this topic than the few I’ve listed below. Check out this list for more suggestions!
On July 16, 1969 the Apollo 11 spacecraft, manned by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, launched from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex. Apollo 11 landed on the moon four days later July 20, 1969. This was the first mission to land men on the moon and the first return of samples from another planetary body.
Books
“Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions” by Nancy Atkinson
In July of 1969, three astronauts set off on an historic mission to land on the moon. Now, 50 yeas later, a new book celebrates the achievement of the Apollo missions, detailing an incredible period of science and engineering history. “Eight Years to the Moon” tells the unique personal stories of over 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program possible. The eight years from President Kennedy’s challenge in 1961 to the first Moon landing in 1969 are filled with stories of the dedication and perseverance it took to overcome the challenges, hurdles and conflicts of doing things that had never been done before. The stories are fun, heartwarming and heartbreaking, and they provide a glimpse into the lives of some of the hundreds of thousands of people who made it possible to land humans on the Moon.
“Shoot for the Moon: The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11” by Jim Donovan
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, a moment forever ingrained in history. Perhaps the world’s greatest technological achievement — and a triumph of American spirit and ingenuity — the Apollo 11 mission, and the entire Apollo program, was a mammoth undertaking involving more than 410,000 men and women dedicated to putting a man on the Moon and winning the Space Race against the Soviets. Seen through the eyes of those who lived it, “Shoot for the Moon” reveals the dangers, the challenges and the sheer determination that defied not only Apollo 11, but also the Mercury and Gemini missions that made it possible.
“Picturing Apollo 11: Rare Views and Undiscovered Moments” by J.L. Pickering
July 16, 1969. Nearly one million spectators flocked to Cape Canaveral to witness the largest rocket ever built send three Americans to the Moon. Four days later, two of those Americans step on the lunar surface. The extraordinary achievement is celebrated around the world. Images capturing these incredible moments fill the pages of “Picturing Apollo 11,” and unprecedented photographic history of the space mission that defined an era. Through a wealth of unpublished and recently discovered images, this book presents new and rarely seen views of the people, places and events involved in planning, accomplishing and commemorating the first Moon landing.
DVD
Apollo 11
Wiki/Reviews
From director Todd Douglas Miller comes the cinematic event 50 years in the making. Crafted from a newly discovered trove of 65mm footage, and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings, the film takes viewers straight to the heart of NASA’s most celebrated mission, the one that first put men on the moon, and forever made Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin into household names.
In the Shadow of the Moon: Remember When the Whole World Looked Up
Wiki/Reviews
Between 1968 and 1972, the world watched in awe each time an American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon. Only 12 American men have walked upon its surface and they remain the only human beings to have stood on another world. Now for the first time, a combination of archival material from the original NASA film footage, much of it never before seen, and interviews with the surviving astronauts tells the story of the Apollo space program.
