The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space

…. from Mike Collins’ masterpiece, but as revelatory about the Apollo program, it’s astronauts, and it’s meaning for humanity.Above all, Gene Cernan comes across as insightful about much more than technology.“Thank you” to him for having written and shared his experiences.

Good account of events both technical and political. Took few hours spread over 5 days. Moves along nicely. Impact on marriages sad but it happens necessary for full account of work.

Another excellent Astronaut book. Eugene Cernan and Don Davis wrote a great book.We see Gene's happy early childhood. Gene is a good student and with financial difficulty gets to go to college and goes in the Navy and becomes a Naval Aviator. He eventually gets his wings of gold and is carrier landing qualified. He is so grateful for the financial help from his parents to go to college. Gene's father is so proud of Gene's accomplishments but passes away before Gene walks on the moon.He marries his sweetheart Barbara and they raise a fine family. Barbara was Gene's rock and put up with many lonely nights and stuck with him and supported his intense lifestyle a long time. Later after Gene retires and still does not spend much time at home Barbara has enough and they divorce. Later Gene meets Jan who will be his second wife and they have kids. They live on a 400 acre ranch and raise cattle and horses and enjoy life with the grand kids.I've read almost all the astronaut books. Very little is said about the astronaut Roger Chaffee who never got a space shot and was killed with Gus Grissom and Ed White with the Apollo 1 fire. In The Last Man On The Moon we learn a little more about Roger Chaffee who was Cernan's friend and neighbor.Gene gets into NASA and has a stellar career with a Gemini flight and the second US spacewalk. We learn that working in space is extremely difficult and if not done properly with rest and hand holds/footholds for leverage much exertion is used. No one knew what to expect and poor Gene had to fight a unwieldy umbilical life line/snake. Too much exertion, bulky spacesuit and fogging visor so he could barley see and he didn't even get to try the Air Force multimillion dollar jet pack and had to dump it. Valuable lessons learned and information for Buzz Aldrin to do a better spacewalk next time. Gene also goes around the moon and tests the LM with Tom Stafford and gets very close to the moon.Gene was also the back up commander for Alan Shepard's Apollo 14 flight and eventually becomes friends with the Ice Commander. Later on Apollo 17 he is the commander and does land on the moon with the scientist/LM pilot Jack Schmitt (Dr. Rock) with CM pilot Evans orbiting the moon.They actually had a small nuclear power device with them and the moon rover.( The nuclear device is extremely interesting. Read about DR. Zuberin's Mars Direct approach to get to Mars 5 stars and using a nuclear reactor on Mars) So many experiments and rock samples taken by Gene and Jack. A hugely successful mission. Gene writes his daughters initials in the moon dust( where it will last for centuries) and tells her he is going to bring home a moonbeam for her. He names a crater for his wife, one for his daughter and one for his father. Gene really loved his family.We see some of Gene's mistakes like crashing a helicopter he was joy riding too close to the water looking at bikini girls. Gene almost gets killed ( drowned and burned alive). A narrow escape. At least Gene was honest with Deke the head astronaut ( who wanted to cover Gene with a failed engine story) and tells him he screwed up. All is forgiven and he still gets to go up. Also a few weeks before his Apollo 17 moon landing shot Gene pulls a ligament playing softball and almost loses his chance to walk on the moon. Luckily the flight surgeon secretly helps Gene with ligament rehab and a prostate problem Gene had.Gene retires as a Navy Captain as he didn't want a desk job/Rear Admiral position and he was too senior to be a captain of an aircraft carrier. He also retires from NASA as he didn't want to get involved with the shuttle program.Gene tells us it was a shame that we didn't go back to the moon and eventually go to Mars but eventually we must and will. Its in the human spirit to explore. He hopes someday some of the young students in classrooms that he talks to will grow up and be astronauts to the Moon and Mars.I wont ruin the wonderful ending of this great book. Ill just say Gene is holding his grand daughter and both are commenting about the moon and there is a wonderful ending. Read it to find out.This was a very enjoyable book and Don Davis is to be commended telling Eugene Cernan's story and showing us Gene as a real human being with strengths, faults and weaknesses like we all have. Eugene Cernan a real American space hero.

Gene Cernan’s autobiography about his Naval service and then time working at NASA is sublime. The reader is privy to the inner workings of an incredibly ambitious guy. He’s chosen to be an astronaut right out of the fleet after two cruises flying Scooters (the A-4 attack bomber off of aircraft carriers). Cernan never went to test pilot school and yet he flew on Gemini, including a space walk, and then two Apollo flights, 10 & 17.Cernan is a fine writer. He pays attention to detail (Naval aviation trailing 101) and engages the reader in both the mechanics of space flight preparation and space flight itself but also the nuances of family life during these challenging years. Huge kudos to Cernan for the credit he gives to his wife Barbara (Mrs. Astronaut) and the incredible sacrifices she made during his time at NASA. Although the marriage ended after the space flight years, it’s clear that he admired and was grateful to Barbara for her support during such trying and tense times—scary space walk on Gemini, around the moon on 10 but no landing and the climax of Apollo 17 when her husband lived on and walked on the moon for three days. I hasten to add that Cernan’s consideration of his daughter, Tracy (Punk), was very touching, too.Details of Cernan’s flights and how he got each is fascinating. The competition between and among the astronauts was intense and Gene Cernan rose like cream to the top of the group, even though he was a third group candidate and not a qualified test pilot.The book has myriad details about the last Apollo trip to the moon. The selection of the crew, their preparation and training, the flight out and descent to the lunar surface, the days of exploration and the blast off of Challenger back to rendezvous with America and the return voyage home are all presented beautifully. There’s lots of humor, plenty of insights, a bunch of scary moments and events all leading up to the most successful lunar excursion of the Apollo program. All of this, in Gene Cernan’s voice and with his sensibilities about the entire adventure. A super good read!I met Gene Cernan at the Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola in 2011, the 100th anniversary of Naval aviation. You see, my grandfather was the 68the Naval aviator. I followed in his footsteps and was also a Naval aviator. Be that as it may, I had the chance to speak personally with both Neal Armstrong and Gene Cernan at that gathering. I showed each my grandfather’s wings of gold crafted at Tiffany’s with both his name and mine inscribed on the back. Both were impressed. I was touched that Gene congratulated my grandfather and me on our accomplishments. His humility and humanity glowed. What a lovely man, a terrific Naval aviator and an extraordinary astronaut. He died way to young but we can all be proud of what he did on this planet and on the moon.

Not sure where to start. I have already seen the documentary twice and there is just something about this old timer that is so likeable. I didn’t hesitate in buying and reading this book even though I had seen it on tv and glad I didn’t! As sad as it sounds I feel like I have some sort of connection to this man with his words what he and the other astronauts did for human exploration is nothing short of incredible and just thinking about the challenges and what they put down to make it happen is astonishing! I loved this book and I will read it again in a heartbeat! Knowing that Geno is no longer with us reading the last chapter pretty much bought a tear to my eye. If you like space you’ll love this book. What an incredible read and incredible person. Thank you for writing this book!

An absolutely fantastic read. I was a child of the space race and have always been enthralled by it. The recent anniversary has rekindled my passion and lead me to this book. Reading it has given me a whole new insight into the parts of the story I was unaware of. Wonderful.As an aside, one of the things that saddens me greatly is the seemingly unavoidable chatter of the conspiracy theorists attached to every related item I ever watch or read. I wish I could buy each and every one of them a copy of this book in the hope that such an honest, human, warts and all account might cause even just a few to realise how phenomenal an achievement it actually was. It would surely be impossible to write such a heartfelt account without having lived every moment.

You simply won't believe how far through the book you need to get before he gets to the moon. Description of being on the moon in a nutshell: went to the moon, did some stuff, left. Lots of details on how he got to be on Apollo 17. Still worth a read, but I was hoping for more on the human experience of being on the moon

Cernan does not hide his views about the plans of the missions and his fellow astronauts, I found this aspect of the book very interesting. His descriptions of the situations the astronauts faced and had to deal with are in some cases a little scary. I have read several books about the moon trips and feel that this is one of the best. I'd rate Michael Collins book as the best.

To an outsider, Gene Cernan was perhaps the most eloquent and personable of all the Gemini / Apollo astronauts. This candid account of his experiences during NASA’s golden era is thought provoking and reaches deep into your soul. You join him on his ride starting as the pilot who hero worshipped the first astronauts to venture into space, to eventually standing shoulder to shoulder with them and commanding his own lunar mission, Apollo 17. Captivating and visceral, the accounts are literally out of this world. What keeps you turning the pages is his candour and humility, accepting that he might never be able to reconcile his achievements with ordinary day to day life. Despite being the superstar astronaut he was, above all else, human.An absolute gem of a book. Prepare the tissues for the last chapter!RIP Gene, you are an inspiration.