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Summary: A sincere account of what it was to be an astronaut.
Review: I found Cernan's book tremendously interesting. For one, it is a very personal and sincere account of his time with NASA. Secondly, he writes in a simple way which allows the technical parts of the subject not to bother the reader. Thirdly, his story also focuses on his family, in particular his wife, and it us saddening to learn that notwithstanding the important support he had from his wife, Barbara, throughout his time on Gemini and Appolo missions, the marriage did not last. Lastly, but perhaps more important, his telling of his struggle during his first "space walk" as well as other accounts in the book, allows us, ordinary humans, to grasp what it really meant and to what extreme pressures, both physically and emotionally, were the astronauts really exposed to. I could not drop the book until I read it fully.For anyone who is interested with the subject, this book is a must!!!!
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Summary: EXCELLENT BOOK......CERNAN MADE A HIT!
Review: Gene Cernan did a superb job at telling his story. The book was easily understood and not written in technical NASA jargon. Cernan has been to the moon, and he took me with him. My autographed copy of Cernan's book is definately one of my most prized possesions.
Rating: 
Summary: major disappointment
Review: In the small portion of the book that actually talks about the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan spends an inordinate amount of time on mean-spirited personal attacks on his fellow crewmate Harrison Schmitt. The only reason I read the book was that I was hoping it would cover the Apollo 17 mission in detail. This book is a complete waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: The Last Man on the Moon is just a wonderful book about an unparalleled adventure. Yet as inspirational as it was I also found it sad. 30 years ago telephones had dials, records were made of vinyl, a color TV was considered high tech and men walked on the moon. What has happened to us? Have we lost our nerve?
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Summary: He's right about Buzz....
Review: First, I loved the book, and it was refreshing to read about the trials and tribulations of Gemini IX and Apollo X. You hear and read a lot about Apollo 11 and 13, but there was plenty of adventure on the other missions as well.Some readers have bashed Gene for his negative comments regarding several other astronauts, notably Buzz Aldrin. I don't think he is being unreasonable. By ALL accounts, in varying degrees of candor, Buzz was a royal pain. He wasn't quite right. I remember seeing him on television a couple of years ago hawking his new science fiction book - it was the most embarrassing thing I have ever seen. And Buzz's involvement with the National Space Society is also... not quite right. He seems to live in the world of the fantastic, among people who dream a lot, but have great difficulty translating their ideas into reality. One reason it is hard to get the public behind space programs is that guys like Buzz scare people. He has the technical mind, but his understanding of how to motivate the people who COULD get the money for Mars projects, etc., is lacking. Gene ponders several times the fact that he is STILL the last man on the moon, and may be so for years to come. He doesn't offer his slant on how to get back to the moon. And perhaps that isn't his job. But it CERTAINLY isn't Buzz's job! You can't get people to Mars by whipping the wispy tendrils of society into a fury. You've got to bring the public into the picture. The mass population will determine if we go or not. They are the ones who need to be coaxed and coddled into understanding why. I think people like Gene do a lot more for that cause by offering their down-to-earth perspective. The general public can relate to that. Gene, and the other astronauts have every right to criticize Buzz. Frankly, I'm glad to see somebody cutting him down to size. And did you see his goofy tie at the Apollo 11 30th anniversary presentation hosted by Al Gore....
Rating: 
Summary: Cernan's story is finally told
Review: As one who devours every book on space, I always wondered why Gene Cernan, one of the most verbal of the early astronauts, had never written a book. Finally, he has. And although it didn't delve into the personalities of those he worked with as much as I had hoped, I was still fascinated by his story. He is candid about his successes and failures, and I learned a few new things about those Apollo days. But I think the best part is the significance he gives the the ordeal of the astronaut wives. They were expected to be the picture of pride and polish, but suffered through an unimaginable hell as their husbands chased the stars. I don't think even Cernan realized the depths of his wife, Barbara's despair until after they split and until he wrote this book. Gene Cernan has always been one of my favorite astronauts because of his gregariousness and the easy way he has worn the "hero" mantle. His book is an easy and pleasurable read.
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Summary: A very fine book
Review: I have read a lot of books about the space program and I consider this to be the best I have ever read. Eugene Cernan depicts the horrendous Gemini 9 spacewalk, the Apollo 10 cursing, competition for seats on Gemini and Apollo flights, and the Apollo 17 moonwalk beautifully. As for the reader who gave the book 2 stars, I'd have to say he was being way too critical. Cernan describes the flight of Apollo 17 in a few pages? I believe he describes the mission in chapters 28, 29, and 30-depicting the lunar rover and ALSEP deployment, Jack Schmitt finding orange soil, and his feelings as he left the surface of the moon, among other things. It was a great book.
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Summary: Hope
Review: What most of us fail to understand these days is just how fantastic what we as a nation and as a planet did 30 plus years ago. Gene Cernan tells his story and reminds us of how wonderfull the experiance was. We have forgotten how to find wonder in our universe these days, Gene Cernan's book, much as Tom Hanks' FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, reminds us of a time when there was hope for the future. Thanks Gene.
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Summary: Another Disappointing Astronaut Autobiography
Review: Gene Cernan is one of America's most experienced and successful astronauts. His three missions were among the most ambitious, successful and exciting of all time. He spent more time, along with partner Harrison Schmitt, than any other man walking on the moon. It was, therefore, with great disappointment that I read this book. What I expect from a book by an astronaut is to really feel and understand what the unique experiences they went through were like. With the notable exception of Mike Collins' autobiography almost none of the astronauts books really provide this. Only 12 men have ever stood on the moon and yet they have not really conveyed what this and other aspects of spaceflight were like in their autobiographies. His dismisses his epic Apollo 17 flight in a few pages and spends more time talking about the politics of crew selection, giving crude descriptions of his wife's figure and other trivia. Also there is a lack of illustrations showing the alien environment he explored so well. In a more positive light, he reveals for the first time the real dangers the Gemini spacewalks entailed and gives a good description of the problems Ed White encountered in Gemini 4 and his own nightmarish experience in Gemini 9.
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Summary: Simply amazing
Review: I am 13 years old and have recently become mezmorized by Apollo. I have read Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jefferey Kluger, which depicted Apollo 13 tremendously. I then went on to read A Man on the Moon, by Andrew Chaikin, and this read was the ultimate for me, it gave me all the information on Apollo. I considered myself the master of Apollo. But when I picked up this book, it gave me the inside scoop from one of Nasa's great astronauts of the time. Cernan told in great detail all about the race against the Russians and against JFK's challenge. I felt like I was Cernan in those times, he even went as far as telling about the affects on his personal life, it was the best book I have read and i could not put it down, anyone slightly interested with Apollo or anyone who wants to fill their heads with knowledge, this is your book, simply amazing.
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