Wyatt’s World | Reading To Remember: Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong was famously private and tight-lipped about his very public achievements, so much so that “Reading To Remember” necessarily must focus on the Apollo missions. To that end, here are five books that document the path to the moon.

• A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin (Penguin). Chaikin’s detailed and stirring account is one of the most highly regarded general works on the subject.
• Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys by Michael Collins (Farrar). Collins flew with Armstrong, remaining in orbit around the moon as Armstrong touched down on its surface. His memoir is one of the finest ever written by an astronaut.
• First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James Hansen (S. & S). The biography to turn to for details about Armstrong’s life as well as the history and culture of NASA during Armstrong’s tenure.
• Apollo: The Race to the Moon by Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox (South Mountain). Generally accounted to be one of the best books, along with Chaikin’s, on the Apollo missions. Regrettably, it is now hard to find, so if you hold a copy in your library, make a note to retain it as long as you can.
• T-Minus: The Race to the Moon written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon (Aladdin). A graphic novel that captures the space race in richly detailed imagery.