From the Earth to the Moon: Direct in 97 Hours 20 Minutes: and a Trip Round It.

Verne, Jules [Walter Cunningham; Frank Borman; Charlie Duke; Dee O'Hara; Gerry Griffin]

Published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1906

About this Item

Later edition of Verne's classic novel. Octavo, original publisher's orange cloth decorated in gilt, tissue-guarded frontispiece, illustrated with twelve black-and-white plates inserted throughout. Boldly signed on the half-title page and facing page in black felt tip by three Apollo astronauts and two members of the support staff: "Frank Borman Apollo 8 CDR"; "Dee O'Hara Astronaut Nurse"; "Walt Cunningham Apollo 7 LMP"; "Charlie Duke Apollo 16 LMP"; "Gerry Griffin Apollo Flight Director Mission Control." Jules Verneâ s From the Earth to the Moon exhibits striking parallels to the real-life Apollo program, particularly Apollo 8, the first U.S. manned mission to orbit the Moon. Like Verne's fictional launch, the actual mission was carried out by a three-man crew, launched from Floridaâ "a location chosen after the dismissal of Brownsville, Texas, much like the novelâ s own geographic deliberations. Apollo 8 lifted off in December and concluded with a splashdown and recovery in the Pacific Ocean, mirroring Verneâ s imaginative depiction of a lunar voyage that anticipated many of the missionâ s logistical realities. In very good condition. A unique piece of aeronautical history. Jules Verne is widely held as â one of the two founding fathers of science fictionâ "the other being H.G. Wellsâ (Clute & Nicholls, 1275). Written almost a century before the flights of the astronauts, Jules Verne's prophetic novel of man's race to the stars is a classic adventure tale enlivened by broad satire and scientific acumen. From the Earth to the Moon is â the first interplanetary novel to focus on the technical and organizational preparations for the voyage, using the actual blast-off as a climax, introducing thereby a new narrative realismâ ¦ And a Trip Around It continues the story by describing the experiences of the intrepid voyagers as they observe the Moon en passant before a slingshot effect hurls them earthward again. The couplet is one of the definitive foundation stones of the science fiction genreâ (Barron:II:1180).

Seller Inventory # 148759

Bibliographic Details

• Title: From the Earth to the Moon: Direct in 97 Hours 20 Minutes: and a Trip Round It.
• Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York
• Publication Date: 1906
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • First Edition