JAMES DONOVAN
When the alarm went off 40,000 feet above the moon's surface, both astronauts looked down at the computer to see 1202 flashing on the readout. Neither of them knew what it meant, and time was running out....
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. One of the world's greatest technological achievements-and a triumph of American spirit and ingenuity-the Apollo 11 mission was a mammoth undertaking involving more than 410,000 men and women dedicated to winning the space race against the Soviets. But the landing almost didn’t happen.
Set amid the tensions of the Cold War and the upheavals of the sixties, and filled with first-person, behind-the-scenes details, Shoot for the Moon is a gripping account of the dangers, the challenges, and the sheer determination that defined not only Apollo 11, but also the Mercury and Gemini missions that came before it. From the shock of Sputnik and the heart-stopping final minutes of John Glenn's Mercury flight to the deadly whirligig of Gemini 8, the doomed Apollo 1 mission, and that perilous landing on the Sea of Tranquility-when the entire world held its breath while Armstrong and Aldrin battled computer alarms, low fuel, and other problems- James Donovan tells the whole story.
Shoot for the Moon is both a sweeping and intimate celebration of one of humankind's most extraordinary feats of exploration.
“The best book on the Alamo . . .
Donovan has a splendid sense of historical narrative.”
—Houston Chronicle
For almost two centuries, the last stand at the Alamo has been recognized as a defining moment in America’s history. On February 23, 1836, a Mexican army thousands of soldiers strong attacked a makeshift garrison of about 200 Texas settlers—among them, Davy Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis—holed up in the abandoned mission on the outskirts of San Antonio. The Texans refused to surrender, and for almost two weeks, the immense force lay siege to the fort, bombarding its occupants with a constant barrage of artillery fire. Then, in the predawn hours of March 6, the Mexican troops unleashed a final devastating assault. What happened next would become legend.
In The Blood of Heroes, bestselling historian James Donovan, drawing upon fresh primary sources in American and Mexican archives, offers an authoritative and thrilling account of this epic battle. Beginning well before the siege, he tells the fascinating story of the settling of the Texas wilderness, the rise of the Mexican dictator Santa Anna, and the crucial roles played by pioneers such as Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin amidst the growing storm of despotism and discontent that led them to fight valiantly for independence.
The Blood of Heroes is a masterful work of scholarship and storytelling—and a stirring tale of courage, redemption, and glory in the American West.
“The Custer battle has never been as vividly and comprehensively told as in A Terrible Glory.”
—The Dallas Morning News
Selected by American Heritage as a Notable Book of the Year
In June of 1876, on a hill above a winding river called the Little Bighorn, George Armstrong Custer and all 210 men under his direct command were annihilated by nearly 2,000 Sioux and Cheyenne. The devastating loss caused an uproar, and public figures pointed fingers in order to avoid responsibility. Custer, who was conveniently dead, took the brunt of the blame.
The truth, however, was far more complex. A Terrible Glory is the first book to relate the entire story of this endlessly fascinating battle, and the first to call upon all the vital new forensic research of the past quarter century. It is also the first book to bring to light the details of the army cover-up--and unravel one of the greatest mysteries in US military history.