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The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
by Earl Swift
A "brilliantly observed" (Newsweek) and "endlessly fascinating" (WSJ) rediscovery of the final Apollo moon landings, revealing why these extraordinary yet overshadowed missions—distinguished by the use of the revolutionary lunar roving vehicle—deserve to be celebrated as the pinnacle of human adventure and exploration.
8:36 P.M. EST, December 12, 1972: Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt braked to a stop alongside Nansen Crater, keenly aware that they were far, far from home. They had flown nearly a quarter-million miles to the man in the moon's left eye, landed at its edge, and then driven five miles in to this desolate, boulder-strewn landscape. As they gathered samples, they strode at the outermost edge of mankind's travels. This place, this moment, marked the extreme of exploration for a species born to wander.
A few feet away sat the machine that made the achievement possible: an electric go-cart that folded like a business letter, weighed less than eighty pounds in the moon's reduced gravity, and muscled its way up mountains, around craters, and over undulating plains on America's last three ventures to the lunar surface.
In the decades since, the exploits of the astronauts on those final expeditions have dimmed in the shadow cast by the first moon landing. But Apollo 11 was but a prelude to what came later: while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin trod a sliver of flat lunar desert smaller than a football field, Apollos 15, 16, and 17 each commanded a mountainous area the size of Manhattan. All told, their crews traveled fifty-six miles, and brought deep science and a far more swashbuckling style of exploration to the moon. And they triumphed for one very American reason: they drove.
In this fast-moving history of the rover and the adventures it ignited, Earl Swift puts the reader alongside the men who dreamed of driving on the moon and designed and built the vehicle, troubleshot its flaws, and drove it on the moon's surface. Finally shining a deserved spotlight on these overlooked characters and the missions they created, Across the Airless Wilds is a celebration of human genius, perseverance, and daring.
"Swift details the story of the development of the lunar rover, focusing in particular on three pioneering engineers who made the craft a reality. … Swift ably outlines their achievements in technology and project management, clarifying complex issues in layperson's language. Even those who think they already know plenty about America's space program will find deeper insights here." —Booklist (starred review)
"Full of intrigue. ... The latest by Swift will especially appeal to all those interested in U.S. space programs and anyone seeking a well-written story of action and adventure." —Library Journal
"In his compelling history of the rover's place in the space program, Across the Airless Wilds, Earl Swift writes that, during Apollo 15, 16 and 17, astronauts drove it over 56 miles. … Such are Mr. Swift's narrative talents and the bounties of the source material that the book is a joy to read from beginning to end. … Swift has reminded readers of an endlessly fascinating chapter in space exploration with widespread implications for the future." —Wall Street Journal
"Swift relays the awe-inspiring story of Apollo 17 and the lunar vehicle in a way that makes it all feel brand new. From the sheer human ingenuity of the moon missions to the deeply human figures inside the space suits, this book is a brilliantly observed homage to the human spirit." —Newsweek
"The literature of lunar exploration has tended to focus on the earlier Apollo missions, with scant attention paid to the extraordinary achievements of the later rover expeditions—which were, in many respects, scientifically bolder and taught us a great deal more about our moon. Earl Swift lays out this great unsung saga with verve and magisterial sweep. After reading Across the Airless Wilds, you'll begin to think of NASA's true golden age not in terms of 'one small step,' but as a series of cosmic car rides." —Hampton Sides, author of In the Kingdom of Ice
This information about Across the Airless Wilds was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Earl Swift is the author of the New York Times bestseller Chesapeake Requiem, which was named to ten best-of-the-year lists. His other books include Across the Airless Wilds, Auto Biography, The Big Roads, and Where They Lay. A former reporter for the Virginian-Pilot and a contributor to Outside and other publications, he is a fellow of Virginia Humanities at the University of Virginia. He lives in the Blue Ridge mountains west of Charlottesville.
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