The greatest adventure of the 20th century came with a deadline - Before this decade is out. John Kennedy's words in 1961 burned in the minds of the astronauts training to land on the moon. Through their eyes, revealing previously unknown personal details, Andrew Chaikin chronicles the Apollo missions from their disaster-plagued beginnings, through their spectacular climax to their premature end. From flamboyant prankster Pete Conrad to scientist Jack Schmitt, who had to prove he was made of the right stuff to go to the moon, memorable characters abound. With consummate ease, Chaikin makes technological details accessible to the lay person and gives each aspect of the moon voyage, from a Saturn V lift-off to the euphoria of a moon walk, a minute-by-minute feeling of excitment.