Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So. A little more than half a century ago, we were already going to the moon, regularly.

The fact that Apollo 13 is commemorated by a near-tragedy, where a good portion of their spacecraft was blown away, back when their spacecraft were really nothing more than tin foil held together with duct tape, is not an indictment of poor planning, but of weight necessity and massive limitations. Indeed, a McGuiverism.

This is rather amazing. After all, this is true history. A time where pride and guts fed a whole nation's imagination, even if it was beset with small-time concerns politics, still filled us with imagination and ambition.

This non-fiction, far from being proof that we shouldn't have attempted it, is proof that when there is a will, there CAN be a way. And these three astronauts got home.

Remember that.

Almost 55 years ago, people could still be awed and amazed. Now, at least to me, I'm amazed we haven't torn ourselves to pieces. We need some serious ambition and pride in our lives. And I don't mean sacrificing a bunch of poor people to raise yet another rich-person's monument to hubris--but doing something truly amazing for ALL of us.

Of course, to do that, we need to make sure we're all healthy enough to put our hearts and minds into the project, but that's neither here nor there.

It was a different time.

But let's not forget that we MIGHT get back to the dream.





Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

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