A review by lizziepagereads
One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon, by Charles Fishman
3.0
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️✨
3.5 stars. This is not your typical Apollo history - it isn’t a recitation of facts that everyone who reads space history knows. Rather, it focuses on the tech that powered Apollo, including a highly technical account of the computer systems used to fly to the Moon. It provides examples of how to enter commands and requests using verb/noun combos. It details the rope coding systems used when software WAS hardware (i.e., pre-silicon chip). Most of the missions themselves, Mercury, Gemini, through Apollo, are covered in less than a handful of pages.
While I tend to prefer historical over highly technical accounts of America’s moon shot, the conclusion Fishman presents is worth the time it takes to get there: the most obvious and important result of the US space program during the 60s was creation of a market for integrated circuits and the foundation it laid for the acceleration of the digital age.
3.5 stars. This is not your typical Apollo history - it isn’t a recitation of facts that everyone who reads space history knows. Rather, it focuses on the tech that powered Apollo, including a highly technical account of the computer systems used to fly to the Moon. It provides examples of how to enter commands and requests using verb/noun combos. It details the rope coding systems used when software WAS hardware (i.e., pre-silicon chip). Most of the missions themselves, Mercury, Gemini, through Apollo, are covered in less than a handful of pages.
While I tend to prefer historical over highly technical accounts of America’s moon shot, the conclusion Fishman presents is worth the time it takes to get there: the most obvious and important result of the US space program during the 60s was creation of a market for integrated circuits and the foundation it laid for the acceleration of the digital age.