[Burrows98] Burrows, William. This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age. Random House (New York): 1998.

This massive work covers space exploration from Kepler to John Glenn's return to space on the space shuttle. Burrows is a former science correspondent for The New York Times and other publications and has written several award-winning books on space exploration. Burrows is especially adept at connecting the goings-on at NASA with the prevailing political circumstances.

[Chaikin94] Chaikin, Andrew. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts. Penguin Books (New York): 1994.

Chaikin's book is the current definitive history of the Apollo project. Taken from hundreds of hours of interviews with astronauts and controllers and founded upon more than ten years of research, this is a must-have for anyone seriously interested in the United States space program.

[Collins88] Collins, Michael. Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space. Grove Press (New York): 1988.

Apollo 11's command module pilot Micheal Collins gives the history of the space program from a personal point of view. It is easy to tell, reading this book, that Collins is speaking of friends and beloved colleagues.

[Mellberg97] Mellberg, William F. Moon Missions: Mankind's First Voyages to Another World. Plymouth Press (Michigan): 1997.

A survey of the manned and unmanned missions to the moon undertaken by the United States and the Soviet Union.

[Zimmer98] Zimmerman, Robert. Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8. Random House (New York): 1998.

Discusses the early Apollo program and the importance of the first circumlunar flight. Zimmerman places the events in an appropriate historical perspective by also recounting contemporary events.

[Cernan99] Cernan, Eugene and Davis, Don. The Last Man on the Moon. St. Martin's Press (New York): 1999.

Although plagued with a few factual errors in the interest of hyperbole, Cernan is more introspective than many other astronaut-authors. He does not shy away from offering criticism where he feels it is warranted.

[Collins74] Collins, Michael. Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys. Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux: 1974.

Considered by most to be the finest astronaut memoir ever written.

[Kranz00] Kranz, Gene. Failure Is Not an Option. Berkeley Publishing Group (New York): 2000.

NASA ARCHIVES

[Platoff93] Platoff, Anne. "Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Placing a Flag on the Moon." NASA Contractor Report 188251. August 1993.

A detailed history of the plans to raise the U.S. flag on the moon. Includes drawings and photographs.

[Light99] Light, Michael. Full Moon. Alfred A. Kropf: 1999.

Michael Light was giving unprecedented access to the newly created master transparencies, of which he scanned several dozen electronically at near film resolution. Along with text by Andrew Chaikin, they are the highest quality Apollo prints available in the mass market.

[Allday00] Allday, Jonathan. Apollo In Perspective: Spaceflight Then and Now. Institute of Physics Publishing: 2000.

An excellent single-volume text on the science of lunar and interplanetary space travel, with emphasis on the Apollo moon landings and how they extended prior art and led to the current state of the art.

[Sutton01] Sutton, George P. and Biblarz, Oscar. Rocket Propulsion Elements. 7th ed. Wiley and Sons: 2001.

The standard introductory textbook for the science of rocket propulsion and rocket engine design and manufacture.

[ANR:LM] World Spaceflight News. Lunar Module Reference. Part of the Apollo News Reference series. Progressive Management: 2000.

A reproduction of 1960s technical documents from Grumman describing the lunar module and its systems and specifications in great detail. Includes many drawings and diagrams.

[Kelly01] Kelly, Thomas J. Moon Lander: How We Developed the Lunar Module. Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series, Dominick Pisano et al., eds. Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, D.C.): 2001.

Chief engineer Tom Kelly gives an engaging and personal first-hand account of the development of the lunar module. Although sometimes written in the terse and technical style of an engineering document, Kelly's treatment of Apollo figures as friends and fellow human beings places the reader in the thick of the action.

[Bate71] Bate, Roger R., Mueller, Donald D., and White, Jerry E. Fundamentals of Astrodynamics. Dover Publications (New York): 1971.

The first practical textbook for astrodynamics, emphasizing the mathematical and geometrical principles behind actual expected problems in satellite operations and interplanetary travel.

[Hall96] Hall, Eldon C. Journey to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Guidance Computer. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Reston, Va.): 1996.

This short book discusses the evolution of electronics and computer technology during the early 1960s and its influence on the design and construction of the computers carried aboard the Apollo spacecraft. There are many references to papers published by the computer designers documenting their innovations.

[Szebehely67] Szebehely, Victor G. Theory of Orbits. Academic Press (New York): 1967.

One of two standard references for orbital mechanics. This is intended as an advanced working text for actual space scientists. Translunar orbits are covered in depth as a special case of the restricted gravitation problem of three bodies.

[Szebehely89] Szebehely, Victor G. Adventures in Celestial Mechanics: A First Course in the Theory of Orbits University of Texas Press (Austin): 1989.

One of two standard references for orbital mechanics. This is the easier to understand, intended for the general student with a working knowledge of physics and calculus.

[Benson78] Benson, Charles D., and Faherty, William B. Gateway to the Moon: Building the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex. University Press of Florida: 1978.