Moonbound is a graphic novel that tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission, interwoven with snapshots of the scientific, technological, and political background of how humankind got to this point. The mission itself is beautifully explained through illustration. But the real joy is the context provided by the various episodes interspersed:
- Kepler's dream
- Jules Verne's cannon
- Werner von Braun's odious past
- Sergei Pavlovich Korolev's successes
- The First Lady Astronaut Trainees
- The "hidden figures" of NASA
- The relative unpopularity of the space program in its day
I can't think of a single work that better captures the space race, thanks to its breadth of perspective and depth in time.
My main complaint is insufficient fact-checking. I spotted a couple geographic mistakes and multiple orbital mechanic mistakes. It makes me wonder what else is in there, in areas I'm less familiar with.
Don't let me scare you though—it's a well researched book. I would expect nothing less from the author of Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb. Like most graphic novels, it's a very easy and quick read, so I recommend it to anyone with even a little bit of interest in space history.