Moondust

John F. Kennedy described what would become the Apollo lunar missions of the 1960s and 1970s as challenges that Americans choose to accept "not because they are easy, but because they are hard." They have been called the last optimistic acts of the twentieth century. Twelve astronauts actually walked on the moon, and to date are the only people in human history to have made this incredible journey.

In Moondust, journalist Andrew Smith tracks down the nine surviving astronauts to learn their stories. The result is a thrilling blend of history and memoir, rekindling the hopeful excitement of a unique time in American history, and captures the bittersweet heroism of those who risked everything to hurl themselves out of the known world -- and who were never again quite able to accept its familiar bounds.

Andrew Smith has worked as a critic and feature writer for the The Face, The Sunday Times, the Guardian, and the Observer. Born in the United States, he now lives in Norwich, England.

"Splendid "-- Arthur C. Clarke, author 2001: A Space Odyssey