Across the Airless Wilds

April 26, 2021
Journalist Swift (Chesapeake Requiem) chronicles the work of the engineers, geologists, project managers, and astronauts who took lunar rovers to the moon in this detailed history. Rovers were a key development in space exploration, Swift writes, and they “redefined lunar exploration, space science, and NASA’s expectations of what could be achieved.” Swift describes the far-reaching vision of ex-Nazi Wernher von Braun, “the conceptual father of lunar mobility,” who foresaw the use of lunar vehicles in 1952, well before the start of the Space Race. He also tells of how the United States Geological Survey built testing grounds for the vehicles by using dynamite to create a cratered landscape similar to that of the moon, and surveys the impact rovers had on the final three Apollo missions: astronauts were able to conduct “real science, far from the safety of their lunar module” on “exploration measured in miles, not minutes.” Though things starts slowly and the early sections are full of dry technicalities, the narrative picks up steam as the rovers are developed and sent into space (the depictions of lunar travels are a particular highlight). Space buffs will definitely want to check this one out. Agent: David Black, David Black Literary.

July 9, 2021

In his latest work (after the best-selling Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island), Swift explores one of the innovations of the United States' NASA programs: the lunar rover. While Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon inspired the world, the mission of subsequent lunar landings could not have been accomplished without the mobility that the lunar rovers provided the astronauts, this book maintains. With a reporter's eye for detail, Swift offers a deep dive into the technical challenges of rapidly developing a vehicle capable of handling a terrain and atmosphere largely unknown to humankind. This carefully researched book captures first-person accounts of the engineers, project managers, and other behind-the-scenes technologists who solved problem after problem to bring the lunar rovers to life. The narrative is full of intrigue, and Swift brings readers along as NASA staff rush to meet tight deadlines and even tighter budgets, all while dealing with public attention and, sometimes, scrutiny. Relying on a range of primary and secondary sources, the book also includes several photographs of lunar missions, along with copious and fascinating notes to accompany the text. VERDICT 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.--Beth Dalton, Littleton, CO

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2021
An overlooked achievement in the initial series of moon landings gets a well-deserved spotlight. Though the later landings are often overshadowed by the first, journalist Swift shows us their significant accomplishments. He reminds readers that during the first three landings, the moon walkers literally walked, wearing clunky spacesuits that limited their mobility and kept them close to the lander. Each of the final three missions arrived with a truly extraordinary vehicle, a superlight, four-wheeled, battery-powered rover capable of carrying two astronauts over an area the size of Manhattan. A footnote in thick histories of space travel, the rover was designed with the primitive technology of the time, blew through its budget, and threatened to overshoot its deadline by months. Still, it changed everything about the missions. In the enthusiasm following the 1962 announcement of Apollo, NASA assumed that Americans would go to the moon, stay, and explore. Swift delivers a long, often hair-raising description of the technical marvels--transporter, fliers, mobile laboratories, and even jetpacks--that planners considered, many of which would require a separate rocket launch. By 1967, in an ominous forecast of what was to follow, Congressional budget-cutters had regained their influence, and all were cancelled. Recognizing that astronauts wouldn't accomplish much on foot, engineers proposed a miniature vehicle, folded up and stored under the lunar lander. Work did not begin until 1969, months after the first landing, and the contract required completion in 18 months. This was not nearly enough time. Nothing (schedule, budget, weight, design) went as planned, and Swift describes the mad scramble that followed. This section contains more technical details than readers require, but few will give up, and their reward is a happy ending. The vehicles worked beautifully, and the three final missions produced an avalanche of findings that would have been impossible without them. An expert account heavy on technical details but still a pleasurable reading experience.

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Starred review from May 15, 2021
The final series of moon landings of NASA's Apollo program did not capture attention in the same way the initial moon landing did, and they lacked the drama of the near disaster of Apollo 13. But the last flights' attempts to substantially increase scientific knowledge about the moon's geologic structure nevertheless made them significant. No longer were the astronauts to simply walk around on the moon; they needed to travel greater distances. Accomplishing this involved overcoming enormous engineering difficulties to manufacture vehicles that could navigate unknown features of the lunar surface. Journalist Swift (Chesapeake Requiem, 2018; Auto Biography, 2014) details the story of the development of the lunar rover, focusing in particular on three pioneering engineers who made the craft a reality: Wernher von Braun, M. G. Becker, and Ferenc Pavlics. All of them immigrants, they fled war and revolution to contribute to America's spaceflight success. Swift ably outlines their achievements in technology and project management, clarifying complex issues in layperson's language. Even those who think they already know plenty about America's space program will find deeper insights here. Includes photographs and bibliographic notes.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.