The Moon

An intimate portrait of the Earth's closest neighbour
Not only is this a good book about the Moon, it is also refreshingly different. Even when covering familiar material, Morton finds a way to be original. For instance, he retells the story of the Apollo missions with clever use of dialogue spoken on the Moon itself. As well as being a good Moon primer, this is also, inevitably, a book about Earth. For the Moon has long functioned as an empty vessel into which we pour our ambitions and animosities. That was true of the Apollo missions. These were always more of an expression of Earth-based politics than Moon-based science. And it is likely to be true of future voyages.

Although Morton can't find a single rational justification for returning to the Moon, he nonetheless trembles with excitement about the prospect of doing so. Like many others before him, he has fallen victim to the Moon's sirenic lure.