Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Apollo 8 was, in my opinion, the most audacious spaceflight ever achieved, possibly even more significant than the first moon landing itself. Apollo 8 was a flight full of firsts: it was the first flight to send astronauts away from the earth's influence, the first to send men to another world, and it was the first time human beings saw the earth as a whole with their own eyes. In a market full of Apollo books, this flight was long overdue for a book-length account of its own, and the task was finally done with Robert Zimmerman's book, thirty years after the flight.I own both the hardcover and paperback versions, and I recommend the hardback for those willing to spend the extra money. The hardcover presents a number of illustrations not found in the paperback, including several color photos (compared to the paperback's photo section, which is entirely black and white). And Zimmerman's attention to detail regarding several of the photo descriptions is quite commendable. The author does a thorough job helping to solve the mystery of just who took the "earthrise" photo, which has become one of the most famous images in the history of photography. For years the astronauts treated the question with a certain aloofness, as if the question should remain unanswered. Until this book, the photo had been left credited vaguely if at all. Indeed, even Andrew Chaikin's lauded "A Man on the Moon" devotes less than a page to this subject and leaves the question (i.e. Why have both Borman and Anders claimed credit over the years?) hanging in the ether. Here, Zimmerman pieces together the sequence of events and details that leave no doubt as to the origins of the two most particular earthrise photos. No book-length account of Apollo 8 would be complete if this was overlooked, and it makes the book worthwhile almost by itself. Shortly afterward, Zimmerman addresses the subject which gives the book its title: the Christmas Eve reading by the crew, in lunar orbit, from the bible's Book of Genesis. He recounts Frank Borman's dilemma in searching for a Christmas message appropriate for a worldwide audience, while also capturing the significance of the flight's achievement. The fact that these men chose to read words from the bible, completely unbeknownst to NASA, is an ultimate expression of free will during one of the most important events in human history. Even though the author occasionally gets carried away while advocating religious freedom elsewhere in the book, his description here is one of the book's key moments. The book has some flaws, and often it's when Zimmerman seeks to provide context outside of the mission. He uses the divided Berlin as a backdrop for the Cold War in the 1960s, so Apollo 8 finally becomes a symbol of freedom in contrast to the walls that communism built around itself. The comparison makes sense, but Zimmerman returns to Berlin again and again, when I felt the point was already made. Another story tells of a U.S. Air Force helicopter pilot during the Vietnam war who eventually becomes a space shuttle astronaut. His story would make a nice magazine article, but honestly, I can't recall that it has anything at all to do with Apollo 8. And there simply isn't enough coverage of important pre-launch and post-splashdown activities, which is inexcusable. In fact, more detail should have been provided about other technical aspects of the flight, as well. The entire sequence between liftoff and earth orbit, for example, is summed up in only two pages. There's just too much time spent establishing context and significance with not enough care devoted to the entire flight. I'm sure Zimmerman's motivation was to create a very readable account of the flight for a general audience, which it is, indeed. But the result is a less authoritative work than it could have been. Zimmerman's book fills a major void, and it's a defining work on this historic spaceflight by default, because it is the only account of its kind. It's worth reading, even if hardcore aficionados will be left wanting.
Rating: 
Summary: An incredible journey
Review: I happened to pick up this book after reading a biography of Christa MacAuliffe, which was the first book I've ever read on the space program. After completing it, I was very interested in reading more. I found Mr. Zimmerman's book to be an excellent choice for a reader like myself, who loves to read non-fiction, but was not looking for a scientific textbook. The author described the space mission in detail, while weaving in world and national events, as well as the personal backgrounds and family lives of the three astronauts. His description of the feelings of the wives prior to and during the flight was especially realistic for me, as I could imagine exactly how they felt during those long and lonely hours while their husbands were far away and and out of touch. Having it all happen during the holiday season made it even more significant for those that were left behind. Although I was a young adult in 1968, my memories are vague. I'm sure I followed the flight of Apollo 8 at the time, but memories of these space missions have all run together over the years. I was deeply saddened by the recent tragedy of the Columbia Space Shuttle. However, after reading Mr. Zimmerman's book, I was well aware of the dangers and the risks involved in training for and carrying out space travel, and how much effort goes into a successful mission, especially one with the historic implications of Apollo 8. This book was very well written, and educational as well as enjoyable to read. The photographs and captions were an excellent illustration of what the astronauts actually saw on their incredible journey beyond our earth. Hard to believe they traveled so far, but the book makes it all so vivid and realistic. I now have a clear understanding of the significance of Apollo 8 to all future missions to the moon.
Rating:
Summary: A Behind the Scenes View
Review: I thought that, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8: The First Manned Flight to Another World, was an excellent read. Zimmerman has chosen to describe the Apollo mission that really set the stage for the more famous Apollo 11 mission in the first attempt to leave orbit, travel to the moon and most importantly leave the moon and return to earth - all of which were very uncertain maneuvers at the time. Zimmerman clearly shows how these many technical difficulties were approached (in some cases, with little more than a hope and a prayer). He also includes a very revealing look at the personal struggles going on within the hearts and minds of the astronauts and their families. I found the book to be well written, very informative and I recommend it often.
Rating:
Summary: Apollo 8 with a world and private perspective
Review: I was a young adult during the Apollo 8 mission. I thought I knew all about it. Wrong! Mr. Zimmerman's accurate and extremely well documented reports of the world events as well as the people close to the mission helped me live it again. I also learned much of what I didn't know that was not publicized at the time. The very personnal accounts of the people close to the mission revealed just how much tension there really was. Some may not like the mixing of global and social events within the documentation line (it is not a "story"!) but I found it most enlightening. To pull all events together that had an impact requires considerable writing skill and Mr. Zimmerman obviously has that. Seeing Apollo 8 in a global perspective showed me just how important it really was, far more than it seemed at the time.
Rating:
Summary: Space history at its best!
Review: In Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8: The First Manned Flight to Another World by Robert Zimmerman, the reader comes to understand the comprehensive and far ranging significance, importance, value, and necessity of space exploration, development, and travel. Space is many things to many people, ranging from a government program, to excitement and adventure, to scientific exploration, to business opportunities and more. In Genesis, Zimmerman shows us how Apollo 8 paved the way for all humanity to learn from its history and begin the process of moving off Earth. The author accurately reports on the significance of the timing and the Cold War influences of Apollo 8 . While most space history books reporting on Apollo 8 do so factually and accurately, Zimmerman goes much deeper. He correctly identifies Apollo 8's broad ranging impact on our space program, society, and our nation's history. Zimmerman properly reports on the historical nature of the flight and the Christmas reading/message of the Apollo 8 crew . Zimmerman also recognizes the power represented by the actions of the Apollo crew that Christmas eve in 1968. That subtle power has contributed to our humanity, national space program, and our movement towards becoming a space-faring society. While some may be uncomfortable with Zimmerman's multi-dimensional and historical assessment of Apollo 8, I find his approach to this unique historical event in all history to be compelling! Reading Genesis has certainly enabled me to connect our place in space with our worldliness and spirituality. I see no reason to separate this historical event from these personal relationships and our future. This is an excellent book which I strongly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A book about the riskiest space mission ever
Review: Just about every American alive in 1968 must remember sitting before the television set on Christmas Eve, watching an eerie wedge of the lunar surface slip past as the Apollo 8 astronauts read the first few verses of Genesis. Apollo 8 may be the riskiest but most dramatic space flight ever undertaken. The first manned flight of a Saturn V, it would go to the moon without the backup of a lunar module and count on flight hardware tested only once before returning to earth and entering the atmosphere at an unprecedented 25,000 miles per hour. Zimmerman expands the story of Apollo 8 to book length by providing an extensive background to the mission, focusing on the politics and current events of the time and the stories of the astronauts. He appears to have a fascination with the depredations of the Soviet Union, particularly the Berlin Wall. He also spends a surprising amount of verbage discussing the astronauts' religious beliefs and choice of churches. This perhaps provides background to the choice of reading matter on that historic Christmas Eve, which he also goes into significant detail on, explaining how the astronauts decided what to do. There's some annoying sloppiness in the book, phrases which are more impressive than accurate: The Saturn V would in fact fit inside a football stadium since even though it's slightly taller than a regulation football field is long; most stadiums I've seen have extra space beyond the end zones. And it's an overstatement to say that "To everyone on earth, ... [the] Apollo command module had now been reduced to three trebly voices on the radio," since the spacecraft could still be tracked both visually or with a radio telescope. He also seems to claim that Apollo 8 was the climax of the space program and that interest waned thereafter, somehow forgetting the billions who watched and listened to Apollo 11. He relates the controversy (led by Madalyn Murray O'Hare) over the reading of Genesis and comes squarely down on the side of the astronauts, to the point of expressing irritation about Aldrin's subsequent inability to mention giving himself communion after landing on the moon on Apollo 11. He settles a few arguments, including who took the classic "Earthrise" picture. (It had to be Anders, who had the color camera. Borman took a similar one and claims he took the famous one but apparently didn't realize he had the black-and-white camera at the time.) Overall, it's a good if not great book, best when it's expanding on the mission, less significant when it's trying to interpret history.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing mission
Review: Robert Zimmerman's book about the Apollo 8 mission takes the reader back to another time. It is hard to understand the context of the mission today, but Zimmerman relates world events that happened while Borman, Anders, and Lovell circled the moon. While sometimes effective, I also found this jumping around to other world events distracting at times. That is why I gave this book a 4 star rating instead of 5. Of course I understand why the author did this. He was attempting to put the mission into perspective in relation to what was going on in the world in the late 60s. I think this book shines when it focuses on the mission itself. This was a heroic mission flown by heroic men. Without Apollo 8 there would have been no Apollo 11. It is hard to remember when man flew to the moon but this book will help you remember. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Irrational, historically myopic American triumphalism
Review: This is one of the most disappointing books about the space program I've ever read. Zimmerman turns one of the seminal technological triumphs in the history of the human species--the first lunar voyage, performed by the astronauts of Apollo 8 in December, 1968--into a quasi-spiritual event that somehow proves that God helped America win the Cold War against the Soviets. The book reads like a gloating celebration of American power and religious piety over Soviet impotence and atheistic error. While the Cold War context for the Apollo program is an important topic in any well-researched and written history of the American space program of the 1960s, Zimmerman goes way overboard. He sees the flight of Apollo 8 purely in terms of the Cold War, which he in turns treats as part of some kind of spiritual warfare between atheistic communism and the God-fearing forces of capitalism and democracy. His is a gross oversimplification of both the Cold War and the Space Race. In sum, this book is not worth reading if you are a serious student of the history of the space program. If you're looking for a good historical account of the flight of Apollo 8, sans the religious and political ranting and chest-thumping, I'd recommend Andrew Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon," and Lovell and Kluger's "Lost Moon."
Rating:
Summary: The 60's Revisited
Review: This was a very well written book. Personally, I've always been interested in astronomy and space flight whether they were American or Soviet space missions. The 60's were a time of tension and revolutionary fervor. Many aspects of life all around the world underwent profound change; the effects of which can still be felt today. It was upon this backdrop that Robert Zimmerman explained the story of Apollo 8. In 1961, President Kennedy called upon the science community to devise the necessary methods to "land a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth before this decade is out." From that moment onward, the space race began in earnest. Zimmerman did a fabulous job explaining the technical achievements that made Apollo 8 possible while keeping the reader glued to the pages by providing detailed accounts of the political climate of the time. With each progression of the story, the personal lives of the major players are revealed as well as the circumstances of the day. Premier Khrushchev led a vigorous space campaign to outdo the Americans in the race to the moon. The story is interspersed with detailed descriptions of the erection of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Vietnam War and the social upheaval in the cities of America as a result. All the while, there was a segment of American society that was dedicated to fulfilling President Kennedy's dream of a moon landing. Apollo 8 was the first major step toward that goal. This was the first time that a manned mission left the influence of the Earth to enter the Lunar environment while traveling at tremendous speeds. The "Earthrise" photograph still enjoys popularity today as it was originally captured by Bill Anders onboard the spacecraft. This was a very well written book and is highly recommended. Of course the very title of the book places its primary focus on the mission of Apollo 8 to orbit the moon; it also provides insight into other pertinent areas of interest. The currently unfoding story of the international space station and the space probes visiting the celestial bodies of the solar system owe, in large part, their existence to the success of the Apollo 8 mission which is described in very interesting detail.
Rating:
Summary: The 60's Revisited
Review: This was a very well written book. Personally, I've always been interested in astronomy and space flight whether they were American or Soviet space missions. The 60's were a time of tension and revolutionary fervor. Many aspects of life all around the world underwent profound change; the effects of which can still be felt today. It was upon this backdrop that Robert Zimmerman explained the story of Apollo 8. In 1961, President Kennedy called upon the science community to devise the necessary methods to "land a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth before this decade is out." From that moment onward, the space race began in earnest. Zimmerman did a fabulous job explaining the technical achievements that made Apollo 8 possible while keeping the reader glued to the pages by providing detailed accounts of the political climate of the time. With each progression of the story, the personal lives of the major players are revealed as well as the circumstances of the day. Premier Khrushchev led a vigorous space campaign to outdo the Americans in the race to the moon. The story is interspersed with detailed descriptions of the erection of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Vietnam War and the social upheaval in the cities of America as a result. All the while, there was a segment of American society that was dedicated to fulfilling President Kennedy's dream of a moon landing. Apollo 8 was the first major step toward that goal. This was the first time that a manned mission left the influence of the Earth to enter the Lunar environment while traveling at tremendous speeds. The "Earthrise" photograph still enjoys popularity today as it was originally captured by Bill Anders onboard the spacecraft. This was a very well written book and is highly recommended. Of course the very title of the book places its primary focus on the mission of Apollo 8 to orbit the moon; it also provides insight into other pertinent areas of interest. The currently unfoding story of the international space station and the space probes visiting the celestial bodies of the solar system owe, in large part, their existence to the success of the Apollo 8 mission which is described in very interesting detail.
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