About the Book
"THRILLING. ... Up-end[s] the Apollo narrative entirely." --The Times (London)
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.
One of The Wall Street Journal's 10 Best Books of the Month
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.
About the Author :
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 Hell Put to Shame, 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.
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
"Such an enjoyable book. ... A clear and compelling story. ... Ingenious. ..Up-end[s] the Apollo narrative entirely so that every earlier American venture into space was preparation for the last three trips to the moon. ... [A] detailed, thrilling account. ... Swift conveys the baffling, unreadable lunar landscape very well, but Across the Airless Wilds is above all a human story, and a triumphant one at that." - The Times (London)
"In his meticulously researched and masterfully written new book, Across the Airless Wilds, Earl Swift tells the story of the lunar-vehicle program from its inception in the mind of ex-Nazi Wernher von Braun to the three rover excursions." - Road & Track
"Remarkable. ... The informative and fascinating narrative shines a spotlight on these often-overlooked yet crucial missions and introduces you to some of the captivating characters who helped to make it all possible. Across the Airless Wilds is a true celebration of human brilliance and technological advancement." - All About Space
"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's attention to historical detail in setting the scene for the events he covers in Across the Airless Wilds is what helps to make the book so compelling. It's well-researched, well-written, and revelatory. - Forbes
"Nearly obscured by earlier Moon landings - especially Apollo 11 - Apollo missions 15, 16 and 17 had the most significant scientific and exploration return of all their predecessors. Their astronauts stayed longer on the Moon and went further to collect samples and conduct experiments - courtesy of the remarkable lunar roving vehicle, LRV. These lunar excursions 50-or-so years ago in fact mark the apogee of human exploration - no humans have been as far from the Earth since. Earl Swift's new book Across the Airless Wilds examines the triumph of these missions and of their LRVs, the engineering marvel that made the difference." - Cosmos
"50 years ago this month, American automobile culture landed on the moon. A book by Earl Swift looks at NASA's Lunar Roving Vehicles, and how they really opened up the moon for the later group of Apollo astronauts." - New York Times
"For the origins and history of the Apollo lunar rover, there is no better guide than Earl Swift's beautifully written book. It details two decades of rover concepts, followed by two frantic years of building one for Apollo on a ridiculous schedule and an inadequate budget. But it paid off in three spectacular landings that used the rover for science--Apollos 15, 16, and 17. Swift also profiles the people who accomplished this feat; they are as fascinating as the machine itself." - Michael J. Neufeld, Senior Curator, Space History Department, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and author of Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War
