His translation of these highly technical issues into solid understandable and, frankly, beautiful prose is amazing. So it seems only fitting that Norman Mailer—the literary provocateur who altered the landscape of American nonfiction—wrote the most wide-ranging, far-seeing chronicle of the Apollo 11 mission. Born in 1923 in Long Branch, New Jersey, and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2009. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less. Unable to add item to List. “Of a Fire on the Moon” aims at a similar confrontation with the brave new world of technology, but Mailer finds himself frustrated at every turn. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Praise for Of a Fire on the Moon “The gift of a genius . Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. OF A FIRE ON THE MOON by Norman Mailer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 11, 1970 Mailer accepts a big assignment to the American mainstream and finds himself at a loss. In the UK, it was published with its original article title, A Fire on the Moon. One of the best non-fiction books---ever. The book was received in dirty condition, the print was so small it was illegible, and the book was published in the UK with UK spellings, which is not what I expected for a book about the USA space program. . (Prices may vary for AK and HI.). A classic chronicle of America’s reach for greatness in the midst of the Cold War, Of a Fire on the Moon compiles the reportage Mailer published between 1969 and 1970 in Life magazine: gripping firsthand dispatches from inside NASA’s clandestine operations in Houston and Cape Kennedy; technical insights into the magnitude of their awe-inspiring feat; and prescient meditations that place the event in human … Please try again. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. And it is thoroughly enjoyable. Steven Achilles Brown was born in Utah in 1949 and grew up in New Jersey. For many, the moon landing was the defining event of the twentieth century. So it seems only fitting that Norman Mailer—the literary provocateur who altered the landscape of American nonfiction—wrote the most wide-ranging, far-seeing chronicle of the Apollo 11 mission. I did not read "Of a Fire on the Moon" until years after the conclusion of the Apollo Moon landings between 1969 and 1972. . Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. For many, the moon landing was the defining event of the twentieth century. Mailer seeks the pure evanescence of flame in his prose, approaching the altar of the upright rocket as it stands like a Madonna in the night. Furthermore, Gervase writes, "From the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot coals and sparks. Of a Fire on the Moon (ISBN 0-316-54411-6, OCLC 101602) is a work of non-fiction by Norman Mailer which was serialised in Life magazine in 1969 and 1970, and published in 1970 as a book. We all know that there was a second fire on the moon – the LEM engine worked, and it sent Armstrong and Aldrin up to their rendezvous with Collins. . To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. . a twentieth-century American epic--a Moby Dick of space." His style is original, recognizes issues and details only great authors are able to. Norman Mailer has always represented to me not only the essence of the American Spirit in the second half of the 20th Century, but also as its greatest wordsmith. Mailer discusses justifications and morality. He includes a great deal of actual transcript of conversations between the astronauts and mission control. From Poverty to Progress: How humanity overcame the constraints of geography by inn... UNTETHERED: A Woman's Search for Self on the Edge of India--A Travel Memoir. Mailer’s Fire on the Moon was one in a series of his reporting books, whether as ‘Mailer’ or ‘reporter’, where he either loses or gains an ego: The Armies of the Night,Miami and the Siege of Chicago, and the Fire on the Moon, where he becomes ‘Aquarius’. $7.95. Cold technology would not always prevail, but, it did for a while, and Mailer’s book charts it breathlessly, dramatically. He describes the boredom and nausea in his soul, the time waiting around or shuttling back and forth to press presentations, meeting the moon-bound astronauts before they fly, wading through their clipped, laconic answers to get to the fight between good and evil, the battle between God and the Devil. Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2017. Of a Fire on the Moon is a description of the Apollo 11 mission and is Mailer at his journalistic best. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. Mailer, a well known author wrote in totally different way and styele vs. my anticipation. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2017. A Fire on the Moon is a plea on behalf of the unverifiable, of metaphysics (or a novelist's idea of metaphysics, that is to say, "the fiction of unspoken evidence") over physics. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. It was during this time that Mailer was having success with books that were accounts of current events, often inserting his own character into the narrative. A most unsatisfactory purchase. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Project Apollo (U.S.), Space flight to the moon, Astronauts Publisher New York : New American Library Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks; americana Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Internet Archive Language English Not quite what I had expected but it gives new insight to an event that has always facinated me. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! 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