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Sunday, November 2, 2014

Apollo 13

Hi all
This week, I have started my book for the book project, Apollo 13. It was originally entitled Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13.
It is the non-fiction account of the 13th Apollo mission, written by Jim Lovell, a member of the crew, and the commander of the mission, as well as Jeffrey Kluger, a writer at Time magazine. 
I am currently on page 40/378 pages. I just started the book earlier this week, so I didn't have much reading time, especially with the football tournament (and we won 1st place :D)
This is the story and the retelling of the failed Apollo 13 mission, starting from quite a time before the journey, and leading up to the mission and the failure and the whole series of catastrophic events that ensued. 
I am still reading the beginning of the book, which is about the lead up to the mission, and some of Jim Lovell's history. He was trained as an astronaut after he retired from being a captain in the navy,. He was on the journey of two of the Gemini flights, numbers 7 and 12, and he also was the command module pilot for the first manned Apollo journey, Apollo 8. He is one of three people who have flown to the moon twice, and the only one to have flown twice, but to never have landed. 
So far in the book, we have been told about Jim Lovell's previous history when it comes to astronautical travel, as well as some of the happenings in the history of space travel. The book takes place throughout the last 1960s when space travel was developing rapidly. The Americans had a goal to reach the moon by 1970, as the late president, John F Kennedy, had wished to achieve. There is also the competition with the Soviets, which is part of the inspiration for the Apollo 8, in which Jim Lovell was a member of the crew.
The crew of Apollo 13
I think that the book is very interesting, and it is definitely out of my comfort zone. It is taking me quite a while to read, and it is really a new experience, reading such a long non fiction book. One of the best parts about the book is that in a way, it is written like a novel, so it is quite good, and even enjoyable.

2 comments:

  1. Your book sounds really interesting. Also, I am sure I can ask you in person bet Eh. Why were they competing against the Soviets? Also Congrats on the win!

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  2. Sound really cool and interesting... Interesting that Jim actually never landed on the moon but flown twice... Hope you enjoy it and that it'll get more exiting and enjoyable for you.

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