
American Moonshot
John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $43.11
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Stephen Graybill
-
Written by:
-
Douglas Brinkley
About this listen
A 2020 Audie Awards winner - history/biography
As the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing approaches, the award-winning historian and perennial New York Times best-selling author takes a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon.
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.” (President John F. Kennedy)
On May 25, 1961, JFK made an astonishing announcement: his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In this engrossing, fast-paced epic, Douglas Brinkley returns to the 1960s to recreate one of the most exciting and ambitious achievements in the history of humankind. American Moonshot brings together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo projects, which shot the US to victory in the space race against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
Drawing on new primary source material and major interviews with many of the surviving figures who were key to America’s success, Brinkley brings this fascinating history to life as never before. American Moonshot is a portrait of the brilliant men and women who made this giant leap possible, the technology that enabled us to propel men beyond earth’s orbit to the moon and return them safely, and the geopolitical tensions that spurred Kennedy to commit himself fully to this audacious dream. Brinkley’s ensemble cast of New Frontier characters include rocketeer Wernher von Braun, astronaut John Glenn, and space booster Lyndon Johnson.
A vivid and enthralling chronicle of one of the most thrilling, hopeful, and turbulent eras in the nation’s history, American Moonshot is an homage to scientific ingenuity, human curiosity, and the boundless American spirit.
©2019 Douglas Brinkley (P)2019 HarperCollins PublishersYou may also enjoy...
-
Endless Forms
- The Secret World of Wasps
- Written by: Seirian Sumner
- Narrated by: Sumner Seirian
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone worries about the collapse of bee populations. But what about wasps? Deemed the gangsters of the insect world, wasps are winged assassins with formidable stings. Conduits of Biblical punishment, provokers of fear and loathing, inspiration for horror movies: wasps are perhaps the most maligned insect on our planet. But do wasps deserve this reputation? Endless Forms opens our eyes to the highly complex and diverse world of wasps.
-
-
Super interesting
- By Kristen on 2023-11-06
Written by: Seirian Sumner
-
Buster Keaton
- A Filmmaker's Life
- Written by: James Curtis
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 31 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was James Agee who christened Buster Keaton “The Great Stone Face.” Keaton’s face, Agee wrote, "ranked almost with Lincoln’s as an early American archetype; it was haunting, handsome, almost beautiful, yet it was also irreducibly funny. Keaton was the only major comedian who kept sentiment almost entirely out of his work and . . . he brought pure physical comedy to its greatest heights.”
-
-
What a Story!!!
- By James Harris on 2025-02-12
Written by: James Curtis
-
Metropolis
- A History of the City, Humankind's Greatest Invention
- Written by: Ben Wilson
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 17 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a captivating tour of cities famous and forgotten, acclaimed historian Ben Wilson tells the glorious, millennia-spanning story how urban living sparked humankind's greatest innovations.
-
-
Masterful!
- By Pierre Gauthier on 2021-03-29
Written by: Ben Wilson
-
Frostbite
- How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves
- Written by: Nicola Twilley
- Narrated by: Nicola Twilley
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the developed world, we’ve reaped the benefits of refrigeration for more than a century, but the costs are catching up with us. We’ve eroded our connection to our food and redefined what “fresh” means. More important, refrigeration is one of the leading contributors to climate change. As the developing world races to build a US-style cold chain, Twilley asks: Can we reduce our dependence on refrigeration? Should we?
-
-
Fascinating
- By AmberB on 2025-03-02
Written by: Nicola Twilley
-
Enzo Ferrari (Movie Tie-in Edition)
- The Man and the Machine
- Written by: Brock Yates, Stacy Bradley
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Genius? Tyrant? Power broker? Enzo Ferrari is the impressively researched, fully detailed biography of one of the most powerful men of the twentieth century. Brock Yates penetrated Ferrari’s inner circle and reveals everything, from his early days in the town of Modena to his bizarre relationship with his illegitimate son; from his fanatic passion for speed to his brilliant marketing of the famous Ferrari image; from his manipulative but enormously effective management tactics to his own frustrated dreams. Fast, fun, and scandalous, Enzo Ferrari more than lives up to its remarkable subject.
Written by: Brock Yates, and others
-
The Fall of Carthage
- The Punic Wars 265-146BC
- Written by: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching consequences for the history of the Western World, namely the ascendancy of Rome. An epic of war and battle, this is also the story of famous generals and leaders: Hannibal, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who would finally bring down the walls of Carthage.
-
-
It's a basic outline of the 3 Punic wars
- By Duy B. on 2019-03-20
Written by: Adrian Goldsworthy
-
Endless Forms
- The Secret World of Wasps
- Written by: Seirian Sumner
- Narrated by: Sumner Seirian
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone worries about the collapse of bee populations. But what about wasps? Deemed the gangsters of the insect world, wasps are winged assassins with formidable stings. Conduits of Biblical punishment, provokers of fear and loathing, inspiration for horror movies: wasps are perhaps the most maligned insect on our planet. But do wasps deserve this reputation? Endless Forms opens our eyes to the highly complex and diverse world of wasps.
-
-
Super interesting
- By Kristen on 2023-11-06
Written by: Seirian Sumner
-
Buster Keaton
- A Filmmaker's Life
- Written by: James Curtis
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 31 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was James Agee who christened Buster Keaton “The Great Stone Face.” Keaton’s face, Agee wrote, "ranked almost with Lincoln’s as an early American archetype; it was haunting, handsome, almost beautiful, yet it was also irreducibly funny. Keaton was the only major comedian who kept sentiment almost entirely out of his work and . . . he brought pure physical comedy to its greatest heights.”
-
-
What a Story!!!
- By James Harris on 2025-02-12
Written by: James Curtis
-
Metropolis
- A History of the City, Humankind's Greatest Invention
- Written by: Ben Wilson
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 17 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a captivating tour of cities famous and forgotten, acclaimed historian Ben Wilson tells the glorious, millennia-spanning story how urban living sparked humankind's greatest innovations.
-
-
Masterful!
- By Pierre Gauthier on 2021-03-29
Written by: Ben Wilson
-
Frostbite
- How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves
- Written by: Nicola Twilley
- Narrated by: Nicola Twilley
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the developed world, we’ve reaped the benefits of refrigeration for more than a century, but the costs are catching up with us. We’ve eroded our connection to our food and redefined what “fresh” means. More important, refrigeration is one of the leading contributors to climate change. As the developing world races to build a US-style cold chain, Twilley asks: Can we reduce our dependence on refrigeration? Should we?
-
-
Fascinating
- By AmberB on 2025-03-02
Written by: Nicola Twilley
-
Enzo Ferrari (Movie Tie-in Edition)
- The Man and the Machine
- Written by: Brock Yates, Stacy Bradley
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Genius? Tyrant? Power broker? Enzo Ferrari is the impressively researched, fully detailed biography of one of the most powerful men of the twentieth century. Brock Yates penetrated Ferrari’s inner circle and reveals everything, from his early days in the town of Modena to his bizarre relationship with his illegitimate son; from his fanatic passion for speed to his brilliant marketing of the famous Ferrari image; from his manipulative but enormously effective management tactics to his own frustrated dreams. Fast, fun, and scandalous, Enzo Ferrari more than lives up to its remarkable subject.
Written by: Brock Yates, and others
-
The Fall of Carthage
- The Punic Wars 265-146BC
- Written by: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching consequences for the history of the Western World, namely the ascendancy of Rome. An epic of war and battle, this is also the story of famous generals and leaders: Hannibal, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who would finally bring down the walls of Carthage.
-
-
It's a basic outline of the 3 Punic wars
- By Duy B. on 2019-03-20
Written by: Adrian Goldsworthy
-
The Great River
- The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
- Written by: Boyce Upholt
- Narrated by: Gabriel Vaughan
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over thousands of years, the Mississippi watershed was home to millions of Indigenous people who regarded "the great river" with awe and respect, adorning its banks with astonishing spiritual earthworks. But European settlers and American pioneers had a different vision: the river was a foe to conquer. In this landmark work of natural history, Boyce Upholt tells the epic story of human attempts to own and contain the Mississippi River, from Thomas Jefferson's expansionist land hunger through today's era of environmental concern
Written by: Boyce Upholt
-
Mutiny on the Bounty
- Written by: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
-
-
excellent story, masterful narration
- By Justin R Trupp on 2023-08-21
Written by: Peter FitzSimons
-
All Against All
- The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War
- Written by: Paul Jankowski
- Narrated by: Dean Gallagher
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Against All is the story of the season our world changed from postwar to prewar again. It is about the power of bad ideas - exploring why, during a single winter, between November 1932 and April 1933, so much went so wrong. Historian Paul Jankowski reveals that it was collective mentalities and popular beliefs that drove this crucial period that sent nations on the path to war, as much as any rational calculus called "national interest".
Written by: Paul Jankowski
-
Live from New York
- The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests
- Written by: James Andrew Miller, Tom Shales
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine, Paul Woodson
- Length: 28 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When first published to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, Live from New York was immediately proclaimed the best book ever produced on the landmark and legendary late-night show. In their own words, unfiltered and uncensored, a dazzling galaxy of trail-blazing talents recalled three turbulent decades of on-camera antics and off-camera escapades.
-
-
Fascinating book
- By R. Whitlock on 2019-08-17
Written by: James Andrew Miller, and others
-
Entrances and Exits
- Written by: Michael Richards, Jerry Seinfeld - foreword
- Narrated by: Michael Richards
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The man who brought the kavorka to the Seinfeld show through one of the most remarkable and beloved television characters ever invented, Kramer, shares the extraordinary life of a comedy genius—the way he came into himself as an artist, the ups and downs as a human being, the road he has traveled in search of understanding.
-
-
Enjoyable listen
- By Joe G. Horacki on 2024-08-03
Written by: Michael Richards, and others
-
The Six
- The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts
- Written by: Loren Grush
- Narrated by: Inés del Castillo
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots—made up exclusively of men—had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for space flight. Eventually, though, NASA recognized its blunder and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of 8,000 six elite women were selected in 1978—Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon.
-
-
Awesome
- By Lisa on 2023-11-19
Written by: Loren Grush