EARTHRISE

A member of the Apollo 14 mission and the sixth person to walk on the moon chronicles his life experiences leading up to that defining event and how it changed him forever afterward.

With an assist from Mahoney, Mitchell discusses his first solo airplane flight as a young teen, experiences as a Navy combat pilot, his time in Roswell, N.M., amid nuclear testing and the rumored UFO crash, and becoming a NASA astronaut. Following the disastrous Apollo 13 mission, there was plenty of anxiety amid the Apollo 14 mission, but the crew completed all they set out to do and returned safely to Earth. Mitchell returned profoundly moved, the experience prompting him to become a lifelong spiritual seeker. Readers will appreciate his wonderfully detailed account of his astronaut training, spaceflight and moon landing, describing everything from the practical—eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom in space—to the mystical, life-changing experience of gazing at the Earth from afar. The book includes informative sidebars and transcripts of NASA recordings from the Apollo 14 mission.

This fascinating insider account of astronaut training and the transformative experience of traveling to the moon will especially appeal to readers with an interest in astronomy and space travel.