posted 11-07-2008 09:05 AM               

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing, TASCHEN has paired Norman Mailer’s seminal text with spectacular photography — from the archives of NASA, LIFE magazine, and many other sources — to create a unique tribute to the defining scientific mission of our time.

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 Many of them previously unpublished, these images document the development of the agency and the mission, life inside the command module and on the Moon’s surface, and the world’s jubilant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.

• Hardcover
  
• Publisher: Taschen (July 20, 2009)
  
• ISBN-10: 3836511797
  
• ISBN-13: 978-3836511797
  
• List price: $1,500

posted 11-07-2008 09:10 AM               

According to Wikipedia, Taschen published the second most expensive book in publishing history, the $12,500, 75 pound, 700 page GOAT (Greatest of All Time), a tribute to Muhammad Ali which Der Spiegel called "the biggest, heaviest, most radiant thing ever printed in the history of civilization."

posted 03-10-2009 06:16 AM               

A larger-than-life edition befitting the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing, pairing the iconic writing of Norman Mailer with the surprisingly intimate photographs of Ralph Morse, limited to 1969 copies. It has been called the single most historic event of the 20th century. On July 20, 1969 three men, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins heeded the call of President John F. Kennedy to land a man on the moon. Two men captured the men, the mood, and the machinery: Mailer and Morse. Given access to America space program, Morse spent fifteen years using inventive photography to explain the astronauts and the space flights to LIFEs readers. Selected from over 10,000 photographs from the LIFE vault, utilizing state of the art digital technology to restore the original photographic materials to the highest standards. The results of this effort create unparalleled intensity and range in the colors, and exquisite tone and density within the duotone images. Printed on archival-quality paper.

I was approached by the publisher to supply a certain photo and asked if I could get a copy of the book. Then I googled it and found out about the price... I was told I could probably get an (unsigned) copy anyway, but now they are first going to ask NASA for the photo.

posted 04-02-2009 06:01 PM               

Further, according to the Business Standard out of India, only 20 copies of this book are to be released, each to be packaged with a piece of a moon rock.

A coffee table book, Moonfire that chronicles the entire journey of Apollo 11 and its occupants - astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins landing on the moon - will be auctioned in Mumbai next month.

However, the book will not come cheap -- the base price would be no less than Rs 4 lakh.

Moonfire's claim to fame is that there are only 20 copies available in the world, of which a single copy will be brought into India. Moreover, a certified piece of moon rock - weighing around 30 grams - will be provided in a decorative ornamental casket along with the book.

The astronauts had returned to earth with around 5 kg of moon rock, and the piece to be given away is an original one.

posted 04-05-2009 07:00 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by GoesTo11:
...wouldn't such an offering require a heretofore unheard-of, and potentially very controversial, arrangement between the publisher and NASA?

---

Each of the goodwill gifts however, was no more than a gram, so if each of the 20 books comes with a 30 gram sample, we can rule out those as being the source.

Note that the article doesn't say that the lunar material included with the book was returned by astronauts, only that the Apollo crews brought back 5 kg (which is wrong; 842 pounds, or about 380 kg of moon rock was retrieved by Apollo in total).

posted 06-30-2009 11:47 AM               

New Book Release Taschen: MoonFire

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing, Taschen has paired Norman Mailer's seminal text with spectacular photography -- from the archives of NASA, LIFE magazine, and many other sources -- to create a unique tribute to the defining scientific mission of our time.

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 of people 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 the magazine had ever 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 from inside the command module and out on the Moon's surface, and the world's jubilant reaction to the mission's success. This new edition includes an original introduction by Colum McCann and captions by leading Apollo 11 experts which explain the history and science behind the images, citing the mission log, post-flight interviews with the astronauts, and publications of the day.

• Limited Edition of 1957 copies, No. 1-1957. Each copy includes a Plexiglas-framed, numbered, ready-to-hang, archival-quality photographic print, produced using the revolutionary new Skia printing technique, and signed by Buzz Aldrin
  
• XL format, includes 4 foldouts. Presented in a custom box with a plexiglass convex window.
  
• Original photographic materials restored to the highest standards.
  
• Print dimensions: 32.5 x 40 cm (12.8 x 15.7 in.)

The Lunar Rock edition of twelve copies numbered 1958-1969 will also include a certified piece of Moon meteorite - the rarest mineral on Earth - encapsulated in a special design by Marc Newson.

posted 06-30-2009 11:48 AM               

Numbers 1 through 1,957 will be priced at $1,000, while the final 12 copies (numbered 1,958 through 1,969) will come with a certified fragment of moon meteorite. Taschen has not yet priced the 12 "Lunar Rock" editions, but will base the price according to the meteorite size. Those volumes will come with cases designed by Australian designer Marc Newson, who recently designed aluminum champagne coolers for Dom Perignon. Public relations manager Creed Poulson said the meteorite editions "will be the most expensive books we have ever done." Publisher Benedikt Taschen told PW, "We are confident that the 1,969 copies will sell out very quickly."

posted 07-03-2009 11:14 AM               

It's great to hear your thoughts on the upcoming MOONFIRE. We just had a copy come through our PR department and the book is absolutely stunning in person! This may be one of the nicest books we've ever done. We're all very excited here at Store New York to spread the word about MOONFIRE... please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about the book. We've just recently started taking pre-orders at the store and they're coming in quite fast!

posted 07-10-2009 08:50 PM               

Sorry I can comprehend the book costing that much without something really, really spectacular about it.

posted 07-13-2009 11:40 AM               

Funny thing is that on the Apollo 11 disc that RetroSpaceImages has produced there are at least 100 and maybe more images that I had not seen before. No, not even I. And yet nobody bothers to put these in a book.

posted 08-26-2009 11:06 AM               

I guess you can tell I'm at home waiting for delivery - UPS called yesterday saying this package would arrive today and requires a signature. The only other time that's happened to me is getting my passport from the Canadian government.

posted 08-26-2009 12:52 PM               

When I first read this book, over a decade ago, I found it nearly impenetrable. A few years later, I picked it up again and, with a little more patience and a broader perspective, I was rewarded. That said, I have never been a fan of Mailer as a writer or a personality, and "Of a Fire on the Moon" was definitely freighted with the flaws that weighed down his other work: Egotism, overly dense and often self-indulgent prose, and all the stylistic and ideological baggage of the era. However, Mailer was also a brilliant (if cynical) observer of humanity and human endeavors, and "Of a Fire on the Moon" contains some of the most perceptive and vivid observations of the space program and its personalities I've ever read. For example, his account of witnessing the launch itself and his impressions of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins gleaned from a single press conference are compelling, spot-on, and by themselves worth plowing through most of the book's less relevant exposition.

posted 08-26-2009 01:33 PM               

For the undecided (or poor!) I'd merely point out that copies of the original book, signed by Mailer, are available for anything between $100 and $300. Add on Aldrin's signing fee, if you felt the need, and you'd have a very nice collectable.

posted 08-26-2009 06:29 PM               

The Aldrin signature on the rear of this print is 7.25" (185mm) in width, a large example in my experience. The "container" for the book is a plastic marketing construction, maybe the porthole is dumb or maybe it's like a fancy wood box for a limited edition old bottle of whiskey.

Overall I think this is a worthwhile and unique piece and if friends don't mind showering twice and irradiating themselves before donning special clothes I'll let them view me holding the book thru a special window J. Katzowitz is building for me.

Seriously used versions are already selling at a premium even as a few last new ones are available at list or discounted prices.

posted 08-27-2009 06:52 PM               

It is large. I am reminded of the Seinfeld episode where Cramer wants to create a coffee table book that is actually a coffee table.

It is hard to be critical about this book, because they pulled out all the stops to create a masterpiece. It does suffer the same issues as any bound publication does when enlarging a photograph across the binding fold, but the publisher counters that with numerous fold out photos.

The quality is marvelous. The plastic protective storage case is quite necessary, because you cannot put this book in many standard bookcases due to the book's size. I am glad for it, since it will protect the book from damage.

As Gary said previously, people are going to have to be briefed on how to handle this volume. It is quite heavy and so large that if not properly handled the spine could break doing severe damage to the book.

posted 05-04-2010 08:03 AM               

WOW! If you have been collecting books remembering the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, this one ought to be on your bookshelf.

A large coffee-table sized book, 350 pages, beautifully illustrated (I don't recall having seen pictures of the Command Module burning up in the Earth's atmosphere). It's probably one of the best Apollo 11 at 40 books and I would compare it to Andrew Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon" three-volume box set. A truly impressive work. I wouldn't have minded pitching a few extra dollars for a slipcase, though!

posted 05-04-2010 10:06 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by cspg:
And for $26.39! No it's not a typo! Unbelievable.

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I have the limited, boxed edition (copy #157), and it's spectacular, but at 17" x 14" and over 30 lbs. it's a little unwieldy to be read at leisure.

The wide-release edition is 13.5" x 11" with a dust jacket with art similar to the original release. The actual cover is a beautiful wraparound photo of the Apollo 11 CSM against the lunar surface. (The gold Taschen "30th Anniversary" art shown on the Amazon page is a cardboard insert that comes off with the shrink wrap.)

posted 02-16-2019 09:05 AM               

This 50-year anniversary edition includes an 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 postflight astronaut interviews.

• Hardcover: 348 pages
  
• TASCHEN (May 26, 2019)
  
• ISBN-10: 3836571137
  
• ISBN-13: 978-3836571135
  
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 12.8 inches