Rating: 
Summary: It was written accurately, on a children's level, and fun.
Review: "Moon Shot" is a great book for children interested in NASA and the Space Program, and yet it's written by two of the greatest astronauts in America. I am a sixth-grade student who is writing a research paper on Apollo 13, the fatal moon mission, and I received a lot of easy-to-understand, comprehensible information from this source. Not only do Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton capture every important moment in space with accuracy, but they write in a way that keeps people interested in the topic without boring them with tons of facts.
Rating: 
Summary: Needs a Broader Scope
Review: Deke Slayton and Al Shepard's book is a fine, well-written overview of the American space program. It unfortunately misses in several ways.First, the book can't decide if it's an autobiography or not. It's "the inside story," but it concentrates on Shepard's two flights and Slayton's overrated Apollo-Soyuz mission. The plot is skewed towards the authors, which doesn't make sense considering it's written in the third person. I found this third-person narrative approach irritating. I almost felt as if the ghostwriters chose to describe the events in this manner so they could feed the astronauts' egos further. Apollo books often come face-to-face with the astronauts' infamous cockiness, but this book makes no attempt to hide it. Shepard described himself as a "leading test pilot, astronaut, explorer, adventurer, master of wings and rocket fire, and hero to millions." All this may be true but you're not supposed to say it about yourself. It also needs more character development. It doesn't go beyond saying that Slayton and Shepard were friends. I got tired of being told outright of the friendship. I wanted to be told about it, not of it. I felt like I wanted to know the authors better, especially since they were the focus. On top of that, several crucial people such as Ed Mitchell (Shepard's lunar module pilot) are just names here- they are not given any substance. It also concocts stupid commentary for narrative purposes. For example, to get across a point the book may recount a "conversation" between Slayton and Shepard that is so corny as to be all but useless. This is a subtle, but unfortunate problem with this book. The final downfall of this book is its unwillingness to discuss the other Apollo missions. Apollos 15 and 16 are passed over in a paragraph-- and Apollo 17 got a whole page because the future of the program needed to be stressed to segway into Slayton's Apollo-Soyuz mission. Most importantly, this book fails to convey the magic and wonder of spaceflight. It fell victim to poor writing-- the descriptions of being on the moon were too often reduced to cliche. Here's what's good about this book. It does tell the "inside story" of the Apollo missions-- and does faithfully describe the missions. It serves as a decent, quick-read overview of Apollo. For the complete, longer story read Andrew Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon." For a more specific, personal, and readable story of a specific mission, read Gene Cernan's "Last Man on the Moon." But don't read "Moon Shot."
Rating:
Summary: Superficial and disappointing
Review: First, so you know, I'm a lifelong fan of the space program. I was five years old when Apollo 11 landed, and, like many of that age, caught a feverish interest in space travel and the people who actually did what I dreamed of doing. I'm not saying that to claim a special expertise on the topic, but to confess that I'm far from impartial when reviewing a book like this. The fact is, I'd probably find Frank Borman's grocery list or John Young's dog's veterinary records intensely fascinating. More's the pity, since I can't say the same for Moon Shot. Other reviewers have noted that the authors seem to have been unable to make up their minds whether they were writing a history of the space program, or a joint autobiography. Because of this, it fails at both. The coverage of the space program is haphazard, focusing on the authors' accomplishments while ignoring many other significant people and events. As a biography, Moon Shot leaves much to be desired, giving little information on Shepard's or Slayton's backgrounds, reasons for becoming astronauts, etc. If you're looking for an astronaut autobiography and a detailed account of part of Project Apollo, Jim Lovell's book, Lost Moon, does a much better job of putting both in one package. Moon Shot does not go in depth into what it does cover. Instead, the major parts of each event are duly recited, and the narrative goes no further. Worse, the book breaks no new ground, either. When I bought Moon Shot, I expected that, since I would be reading recollections of people who directly participated in Project Apollo, I would be treated to unusual viewpoints and to information not readily available elsewhere. But, at no time while reading the book was I surprised. There was nothing in Moon Shot which made me say to myself, "Wow, I didn't know that." Moon Shot suffers from having been published at about the same time as Andrew Chaikin's masterpiece, A Man On The Moon. At first glance, Moon Shot looks weak and inept by comparison to Chaikin's thorough historical account. This is unfortunate and unfair. While it may not be clear what the authors intended Moon Shot to be, it seems obvious that Shepard and Slayton never planned to write something on the scale of A Man On The Moon. But, even if one accepts Moon Shot for what it is - light coverage of selected parts of the authors' experiences in the space program - the book still falls short. In the world of Moon Shot, there are no serious rivalries, no harsh animosities among the astronauts, and everyone happily performs above and beyond the call of duty every day. Shepard's well-known hostile managerial style as head of the astronaut office is represented here as little more than occasional grumpiness. John Glenn's behind-the-scenes efforts to knock Shepard out of the first manned Mercury flight after the selection had been made are barely mentioned. Don't get me wrong - I have no desire to bash legends. But neither do I want to read saccharine and be told it is history. And the fact is, Moon Shot often reads more like a NASA press release than like a well-balanced account of the facts. In summary, the only positive thing I can say about Moon Shot is that it has two heroes' names on the cover. Sadly, both men passed away soon after Moon Shot was published. Too bad they didn't write a better, well deserved epitath for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Superficial and disappointing
Review: First, so you know, I'm a lifelong fan of the space program. I was five years old when Apollo 11 landed, and, like many of that age, caught a feverish interest in space travel and the people who actually did what I dreamed of doing. I'm not saying that to claim a special expertise on the topic, but to confess that I'm far from impartial when reviewing a book like this. The fact is, I'd probably find Frank Borman's grocery list or John Young's dog's veterinary records intensely fascinating. More's the pity, since I can't say the same for Moon Shot. Other reviewers have noted that the authors seem to have been unable to make up their minds whether they were writing a history of the space program, or a joint autobiography. Because of this, it fails at both. The coverage of the space program is haphazard, focusing on the authors' accomplishments while ignoring many other significant people and events. As a biography, Moon Shot leaves much to be desired, giving little information on Shepard's or Slayton's backgrounds, reasons for becoming astronauts, etc. If you're looking for an astronaut autobiography and a detailed account of part of Project Apollo, Jim Lovell's book, Lost Moon, does a much better job of putting both in one package. Moon Shot does not go in depth into what it does cover. Instead, the major parts of each event are duly recited, and the narrative goes no further. Worse, the book breaks no new ground, either. When I bought Moon Shot, I expected that, since I would be reading recollections of people who directly participated in Project Apollo, I would be treated to unusual viewpoints and to information not readily available elsewhere. But, at no time while reading the book was I surprised. There was nothing in Moon Shot which made me say to myself, "Wow, I didn't know that." Moon Shot suffers from having been published at about the same time as Andrew Chaikin's masterpiece, A Man On The Moon. At first glance, Moon Shot looks weak and inept by comparison to Chaikin's thorough historical account. This is unfortunate and unfair. While it may not be clear what the authors intended Moon Shot to be, it seems obvious that Shepard and Slayton never planned to write something on the scale of A Man On The Moon. But, even if one accepts Moon Shot for what it is - light coverage of selected parts of the authors' experiences in the space program - the book still falls short. In the world of Moon Shot, there are no serious rivalries, no harsh animosities among the astronauts, and everyone happily performs above and beyond the call of duty every day. Shepard's well-known hostile managerial style as head of the astronaut office is represented here as little more than occasional grumpiness. John Glenn's behind-the-scenes efforts to knock Shepard out of the first manned Mercury flight after the selection had been made are barely mentioned. Don't get me wrong - I have no desire to bash legends. But neither do I want to read saccharine and be told it is history. And the fact is, Moon Shot often reads more like a NASA press release than like a well-balanced account of the facts. In summary, the only positive thing I can say about Moon Shot is that it has two heroes' names on the cover. Sadly, both men passed away soon after Moon Shot was published. Too bad they didn't write a better, well deserved epitath for themselves.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but far from being the best
Review: I enjoyed this book for many reasons: good covering of the Mercury Program, interesting description of the Russian Star City, Slayton on the Apollo-Soyuz mission , etc. In general, it brings excitement and wondering about the whole US space history. However, I have read dozens of books on this subject and I must say that it's far from being the best of the bunch. I was more than annoyed that the authors describe themselves in the third person. It just a bit childish. After reading this book, we might have the impression that Shepard and Slayton were the big heroes in the space program. Well, if you read more about space exploration history, it might be true for Slayton but Shepard has been extremely critized in the past for, among other things, his attitude toward scientists during the moon exploration. So, if you want a good overview of the space program in general, this book is probably ok. However, like some others, I would rather recommend "A man on the moon" or Aldrin's "Men from Earth" for a more extensive and accurate coverage.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting book...
Review: I enjoyed this book immensely when I first read it back in 1994. It was the first book I had ever read about the space race. It sparked enough of an interest that I continued to read other books about the space explorers of the 60s and 70s. Of all those books the best one by far is "A Man on the Moon" by Andrew Chaikin. Moon Shot is of course skewed towards the authors Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton. I was not surprised by this, afterall they were telling the story based on how they experienced it. Yes there are discrepancies regarding different events when compared with descriptions told in other books. This again is not unexpected. If you have 10 people watch something happen and then ask each of them what happened you will end up with 10 different versions. I particularily enjoyed the parts of the book that dealt with Deke's experiences. I had never heard of him until I read this book and I found his story to be very interesting and inspiring. He's proof that determination can overcome any obstacle. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for another perspective on the space race. Yes it is slanted towards Shepard and Slayton, but that doesn't keep it from being interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Good account of Apollo 14, but better overall books elsewher
Review: I must agree somewhat with one of the early reviewers that essentially trashed this book...the only real value that I got was the detailed account of the Apollo 14 mission and , to a lesser degree, the Apollo-Soyuez mission in 1975. Shepard's "great friendship" with Deke Slayton that is gone into in almost sickening detail here is re-buked in "Deke!", a book written by Slayton alone and published at almost the same time! Even the video version (titled the same "Moonshot") is weak and you can definetly get better accounts of the program elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Have a blast with this fantastic book!
Review: I'm a typical space nut, and to me, any space book is a good space book. I read this book all in one day and I was not disappointed. It gave me a lot of information about the Russian's race to the moon, and I learned stuff that I never knew before.
The part about Slayton in Russia is particularly funny. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this book for yourself. You won't be sorry!
The only disadvantage is that there are a lot of cuss words in it, which should have been censored out before the book was published. Oh well!
Rating:
Summary: Moon History
Review: The book is well presented and the photo cuality is very good. The events are very well described and you get a good idea of what was like to be there at that time.
Rating:
Summary: They Don't Make Astronauts Like These Guys Anymore!
Review: There was a time when astronauts didn't have to be pointy headed scientists or politically correct public relations diplomats. Moonshot captures the rough and tumble, fiercely competitive early days of the Cold War space program better than most. The real space business was much more rugged and and cruel than the public relations machine of NASA told us. The "perfect specimens" selected for the Original Seven astronaut corps were far more human than they would have wanted to admit. This account of the struggles and accomplishments of America's early astronauts tells us as much about how we have changed as a people, as it does about orbital rendezvous, astronaut training, and landing on the moon. The technical aspects of spaceflight are in the book, but so is human drama and intrigue. The story of the dramatic comebacks of Alan Sheperd and Deke Slayton offers the kind of inspiration so many people are looking for today
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