\"And the Moon came nearer...\" A unique tribute to the defining scientific mission of our time \"MoonFire is the greatest book I have ever seen. The photography is unparalleled... It is more than just a book, it is an experience.\" - David Schonauer, American Photo It has been called the single most historic event of the 20th century: On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins met John F. Kennedy"s call for a manned Moon landing by the end of the 1960s. A decade of tests and training, a staff of 400,000 engineers and scientists, a budget of $24 billion, and the most powerful rocket ever launched all combined in an unprecedented event watched by millions the world over. And no one captured the men, the mood, and the machinery like Norman Mailer. One of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, Norman Mailer was hired by LIFE in 1969 to cover the Moon shot. His three-part feature was the longest nonfiction piece LIFE had published. He enhanced and extended his reportage with deeper reflection in the brilliantly crafted book, Of a Fire on the Moon, excerpted here for the first time. Equally adept at examining the science of space travel and the psychology of the men involved-from Saturn V rocket engineer Wernher von Braun, to the crucial NASA support staff, to the three astronauts-Mailer provides provocative and trenchant insights into this epoch-making event. Illustrating this volume are hundreds of the best photographs and maps from the NASA vaults, magazine archives, and private collections. Many of them previously unpublished, these images document the development of the agency and the mission, life inside the command module and on the Moon"s surface, and the world"s jubilant reaction to the landing. This edition includes an original introduction by Colum McCann and captions by leading Apollo 11 experts, explaining the history and science behind the images, citing the mission log and publications of the day, and post-flight astronaut interviews. The book you couldn"t get your hands on is finally available as the first publication in TASCHEN"s new series of GOLDEN BOOKS, created to celebrate the company"s 30th anniversary! Originally published as a TASCHEN Limited Edition, Norman Mailer"s MoonFire sold out instantly and earned accolades from publications the world over. About the author: Norman Mailer was one of the 20th century"s greatest and most influential writers, as well as one of America"s most renowned and controversial literary figures. The best-selling author of a dozen novels and 20 works of nonfiction, he also wrote stage plays, screenplays, television miniseries, hundreds of essays, two books of poetry, and a collection of short stories. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he lived in Brooklyn, New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts. About the contributing author: Colum McCann is the author of seven books, including Let the Great World Spin. He has written for The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, GQ, The Times (London), The Irish Times, and La Republica.