The Man Who Knew The Way to the Moon by Todd Zwillich, Angelo Di Loreto (Narrator)

4 out of 5 stars  ****

John C. Houbolt, a mid-level engineer at NASA, gets the brass to accept his idea for a Lunar Orbit Rendezvous instead of all other suggestions to put a man on the moon within a distinct timeframe. Werner Von Braun, the ex Nazi rocket designer and ultimate voice on the issue, is in favor of using one rocket ship to land on the moon.

The Man Who Knew The Way to the Moon is a story about man's adventure into space, a time when computers are people, not machines. President John F. Kennedy gives NASA a deadline for the project to pull ahead of the Russians in the space race. John Houbolt is not taken seriously, at first, but a few top engineers look over his figures and see the possibilities.

Houbolt leaves NASA after his ideas succeed and credit for the accomplishments is spread to some of those who, at first, did not believe in him. He finally gets the recognition he deserves from Von Braun as the only one who perseveres under pressure, believing in himself and his figures instead of ignoring what he knows to be right for the sake of agreeing with those who outrank him in status.

It is a book like this that brings to light unsung heroes who would otherwise be forgotten in the pages of recorded history. Thank you, Todd Zwillich, for writing this historical enlightenment.