Charles Fishman

"One Giant Leap: The impossible mission that flew us to the Moon"

ABSTRACT -- In May 1961, when President Kennedy rallied the country to land astronauts on the Moon before the end of the decade, it was impossible. One hundred months later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were bouncing around on the Moon.

In the 50 years since Apollo, we've lost track of how hard it really was to get to the Moon, how we did it, and the impact the landings had back on Earth. We've also lost track of the power and relevance of the Moon landings for the challenges we face today.

Acclaimed historian and journalist Charles Fishman, author of the New York Times bestseller One Giant Leap, brings that Moon race back to life with fresh research, fresh insights, and a fresh perspective — focusing on the work of the engineers and scientists who made the Moon landings possible.

SPEAKER -- Charles Fishman is the author of One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission that Flew Us To the Moon, the rollicking re-telling of the race to the Moon in the 1960s, and how it shapes the way we live now. One Giant Leap became a New York Times bestseller in its first week.

Fishman has been reporting on space for more than 30 years, starting as a national reporter for the Washington Post in the 1980s, investigating the tragedy of the space shuttle Challenger accident.

In One Giant Leap, Fishman tells the story of the race to the Moon not from the perspective of the astronauts, but from the perspective of the engineers and scientists and factory workers who did the work to get the astronauts to the Moon. One Giant Leap puts the engineering and scientific challenge, and the engineering and scientific achievement, back in the greatest adventure story of the modern era.

Fishman is an award-winning investigative reporter and the author of three previous bestselling books. He has reported on space for The Atlantic, Smithsonian, and for Fast Company magazine, his long-time professional home.

As part of the reporting for One Giant Leap, Fishman flew in zero gravity. He lives with his wife, also a journalist, their two children, and two dogs, in Washington, DC.

Next Week: "Physics in Star Trek", Erin Macdonald, Astrophysicist

Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov