The Last Man On the Moon

Written by Eugene Cernan

Narrated by Eugene Cernan

This is the story of a unique American hero who came of age as an astronaut during the few dramatic years when man reached the moon. Cernan's career spanned the entire Apollo program, from the tragic fire that killed three of his comrades on Apollo 1, through the moment when he left man's last footprint on the moon as commander of Apollo 17.

This is the inside story of how space was conquered, and at what price. Cernan writes candidly not only about the program, but about the high divorce rate among the astronauts, the loss of family privacy that came with celebrity, and the ever-present shadows of death and failure.

"With the feeling of a story recalled among friends, this is an appealing down to earth account of the last man to walk on the moon…loved the book." —Ron Howard, Director, Apollo 13

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jun 12, 2009
• ISBN: 9781423386483

Eugene Cernan

Eugene Cernan flew in space three times, twice to the moon. He has received numerous honorary degrees, military awards, and civilian honors, ranging from selection to the US Space Hall of Fame to a television Emmy. He is an extremely charismatic spokesman for NASA and the chairman of Johnson Engineering Corporation in Texas. Don Davis was a newspaper reporter and wire-service correspondent before becoming a New York Times bestselling author. He lives in Colorado with his wife, Robin.

Reviews for The Last Man On the Moon

[Jeff Fambrough · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such an awesome look at a wild cowboy of a ride. Gene really did great

[Stuart Kidder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Like so many, I was in awe of the Apollo program. I vividly remember Neil Armstong’s first words but couldn’t tell you much about any subsequent flights.
So to read Geno’s book about him being the last man to walk the moon was inspiring! So much to learn about him, and those amazing men and their amazing rockets!

[steve_walker-348810 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There are a number of astronaut autobiographies out now. And the time scale covered runs from the early days of the Mercury program all the way to the Space Shuttle. This is one of the top ten. Gene Cernan had a long and storied career with NASA, and as the title states, he was the last man to walk on the Moon. Cernan's book details the competition between the Astronauts and, tragically, how the deaths of certain ones effected the outcome of the crew selections for the later Gemini and early Apollo flights. This is a good book to read if you want an idea of what the Apollo days were all about.

[jfe16 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Told by pioneering astronaut Eugene Cernan, this is the story of America’s Apollo program, designed to land man on the surface of the moon. Chronicling the successes, the failures, and the close calls, Cernan puts a personal spin on the story of America in space as he shares his personal thoughts: the fear, the love, the sacrifice demanded from the small cadre of men who aimed for the moon. Here, along with the facts and several pages of pictures, readers will find the feelings and the experience of space flight from the perspective of the last man to stand on the surface of the moon.

Highly recommended.

[stbalbach_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A couple scenes stand out: landing on the moon surrounded by mountains; crashing a helicopter in the water next to boaters; pulled over by a policeman the night before launch. Overall there isn't much here in the way of introspection and lots of bland cliches. I picked this book by random hoping for a good Apollo memoir, will keep trying, it won't be my last.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Eugene Cernan was indeed the last man to walk on the moon, and in this memoir he talks about his life, his career, and his experiences in the Gemini and Apollo space programs. He (and his co-author) convey the grandeur and excitement of his journeys to the moon quite well, and that's something I never, ever get tired of reading, but his reminiscences also have a frank, earthy quality to them that's really rather refreshing.

This is very much a personal memoir, focused primarily on Cernan's own experiences and perspectives, so if you're more interested in a general overview of the space race, there are much better books for that. (I recommend Andrew Chaikin's A Man on the Moon.) But if you want, for example, to read an almost painfully vivid first-hand account of what it's like to get stuck inside a spaceship hatch after making the "spacewalk from hell," this is definitely the place.

[starbuck5250_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Despite the subtitle, this is really Gene Cernan's autobiography. It's a good read - Gene covers much of what made him a pilot and astronaut. He shares his life warts and all. A great read.