The exciting and inspiring true story of Apollo 8, the first crewed spaceship to break free of the Earth's orbit and reach the moon, by the best-selling author of Apollo 13. What's more exciting that spaceships and astronauts? How about a spaceship carrying the first astronauts ever to see the moon first hand - on Christmas! The year was 1968, and the American people were still reeling from the spacecraft fire that killed the Apollo 1 crew a year earlier. On top of that, there were rumors that the Russian cosmonauts were getting ready to fly around the moon. NASA realized that they needed to take a bold step - and that they needed to take it now. They wanted to win the space race against Russia and hold true to President Kennedy's promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. So in a risky move, a few days before Christmas of that year, they sent Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders to the moon! This book about the exciting and inspiring true story of Apollo 8, the first crewed spaceship to break free of Earth's orbit and each the moon, tells the story of these three brave men, the frantic rush to get their rocket ready, and the journey that gave the American people - and the world - a new look at the planet we live on and the corner of space we inhabit. Filled with the science and training required to put a person into space, and every detail of what it's like to live in a spaceship for days on end (including what happens when astronauts need to use the bathroom), this book is sure to leave kids clamoring for a spot on the next mission to outerspace.

Author Biography

Jeffrey Kluger is the author of several books, including Apollo 13 (originally published as Lost Moon) and The Sibling Effect. As a science editor and senior writer for Time for more than two decades, he has written over forty cover stories for the magazine. He lives in New York City. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffreykluger. Ruby Shamir (www.rubyshamir.com) worked at the White House for three and a half years, two of which she served in the First Lady's office. Later, she led Hillary Rodham Clinton's New York Senate office. Ruby Shamir now works as a writer and literary researcher in the Bronx, NY, where she lives with her husband and three children. Follow Ruby on Twitter @ruby_shamir.