Rocket Men

“With Rocket Men, Robert Kurson tells the tale of Apollo 8 with novelistic detail and immediacy, expertly capturing the urgency and suspense behind the mission that gave America the lead in the Space Race.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Artemis“Rocket Men is a riveting introduction to the [Apollo 8] flight… . Kurson details the mission in crisp, suspenseful scenes… . [A] gripping book.”—The New York Times Book Review“Kurson’s first-rate account of this remarkable spaceflight starts by reminding us what a gamble it was, a revelatory wake-up nudge for anyone who thinks moon flights were routine… .  There are many pieces to the Apollo 8 story, but Kurson brings them together effortlessly.”—USA Today“Rocket Men is close-to-the-bone adventure-telling on a par with Alfred Lansing’s Endurance and Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. It’s as close to a movie as writing gets.”—Mary Roach, The Washington Post“Kurson tells the behind-the-scenes story of Rocket Men with the pace of a thriller and the sensibility of a screenwriter… . With his focus on the astronauts’ young families, Kurson holds readers rapt to the heartwarming finale.”—Vanity Fair“Engrossing … Kurson builds suspense around a mind-bendingly complex and dangerous journey.”—Associated Press“Spectacular … [Rocket Men] carries on in great style through 350-some pages of ‘daring, adventure, risk-taking’ and so much more… . Kurson’s portraits of the men, as well as their wives, their families and space-program colleagues, are intimate and artfully drawn.”—Chicago Tribune“Refreshing … The book will bring long-deserved attention to a mission that has been overshadowed… . Apollo 8’s success not only salvaged the space program but also managed to relieve the pessimism regarding the future into which the country had plunged.”—Lincoln Journal Star“Apollo 11 grabbed the glory, but Apollo 8 was the mission that proved humans could travel to the Moon, and its crew (Jim Lovell, Frank Borman and William Anders) captured the landmark photo of Earthrise over the lunar horizon. This is the story of their mission, told in cinematic detail.”—NBC News “An account of what could be America’s most stunning achievement: Apollo 8 and the world’s first journey to the Moon. This is a great story… . The best book I’ve read this year.”—Jim Bridenstine, administrator of NASA“In 1968 we sent men to the Moon. They didn’t leave boot prints, but it was the first time humans ever left Earth for another destination. That mission was Apollo 8. And Rocket Men, under Robert Kurson’s compelling narrative, is that under-told story.”—Neil deGrasse Tyson “A timely and thrilling reminder of a heroic American achievement … It has it all—suspense, drama, risk, and loving families. We could use those days again.”—Tom Brokaw “Flat-out terrific … The tale is told with the care and clarity, and the heart-banging drama, that Robert Kurson’s legion of readers have come to expect from him.”—Scott Turow “Kurson presents not only the challenges, risks, ambition, and success of Apollo 8, but a story of human spirit.”—Nicole Stott, NASA ISS and space shuttle astronaut

Robert Kurson earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin and a law degree from Harvard Law School. His award-winning stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Esquire, where he was a contributing editor. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Divers, the 2005 American Booksellers Association’s nonfiction Book Sense Book of the Year; Crashing Through, based on Kurson’s 2006 National Magazine Award–winning profile in Esquire of the blind speed skier, CIA analyst, and entrepreneur Mike May; and Pirate Hunters. He lives in Chicago.