Book Report: “Rocket Men” by Robert Kurson

What the Apollo 8 heroes taught me about mission and sacrifice

If you’re a sucker for the space race, as I am, “Rocket Men” (Random House 2019) by Robert Kurson is a great and easy read. The book zeroes in on the voyage of Apollo 8, in which NASA attempts to leapfrog the Russian space program by skipping a couple planned missions and orbiting successfully around the moon—a key final step towards depositing a man on the lunar surface and returning him home.

Spoiler alert: it works. But even knowing the end result did not ruin the suspense of this book, in which Kurson highlights the intensity of the decisions and break-neck pace of the effort, and the relief and celebration experienced at splashdown. Most importantly to this particular story, the author ably intersplices the personalities of the three astronauts who rode atop the rocket: Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders. (I had met Jim Lovell through Ron Howard’s film, Apollo 13, but had no idea he had been around a while, let alone that many of the film’s details—“Mt. Marilyn,” for example—were actually true.) Using hundreds of hours of in-person interviews with the still-living astronauts and their wives, Kurson paints a colorful portrait of what life was like for these three families before and after their heroic mission.

And this is where the book becomes something far greater than an adventure tale. Stories of human achievement are always inspiring to read and see in film. But they oftentimes leave me wondering, “Was it worth it?” Both American and Soviet astro/cosmonauts died during the space race, as each country pushed too fast, unwisely cutting corners along the way. Closer to home, while each astronaut in the Apollo 8 mission was pursing dreams of space flight, their wives were left to raise the kids by themselves, dealing with their own anxieties but unable to discuss them openly, for fear of undermining the public’s confidence. Commander Borman’s wife, Susan, suffered a nervous breakdown following the mission, requiring hospitalization. Sadly, the Apollo 8 crew is the only Apollo team in which each crew member remained married to their wives.

So again the question: Was it worth it? Probably, yes. The technological and political advances that resulted from the race and America’s victory did much to aid the cause of science and democracy—not to mention ending 1968 on a high note, which had been a miserable year of protests and assassinations. As one fan wrote to the crew after their successful return home, “You saved 1968.”

At the same time, we can’t ignore the costs. And it is in this sense that I, as a Christian reader, am left wondering if the mission of my life is worth whatever sacrifices I must make to achieve splashdown. My cause in life is no less important than reaching the moon. Indeed, my assignment to build God’s kingdom on earth through prayer, service and preaching is arguably even more critical to the welfare of humanity. Of course, does that mean I must sacrifice my family’s well-being to see the mission completed? Plenty of preachers have. Famously, Billy Graham practically abandoned his family while preaching on the road, so much so that his children wondered who “that man” was in Mommy’s bed when Billy had returned home for a short stay.

I have to believe that there’s a way to achieve everything we are called to do without making unwise sacrifices. Even Jesus warns his followers that if they are serious about their apostolic calling, they had better remain “eunuchs for the kingdom.” If you’re going to die atop the rocket of God’s kingdom, better to not leave any spouse or children behind to pick up the debris by themselves.

Even Commander Borman seems to have regretted all he sacrificed for the mission. Although he never uses the word “regret,” following his retirement from NASA, the Apollo 8 hero resolves to never leave his wife’s side again. As Susan’s mental health declined and she slipped into Alzheimer’s later in life, Frank accepted as his new mission the responsibility of being there for her in every way necessary. He cared for her as though the very existence of the Republic was on the line. It’s this part of the story, in fact, that was most heart-wrenching for me, and a poignant conclusion to the tale. These astronauts gave up so much to help America win the space race, and the Cold War. Perhaps too much: Susan’s deterioration is a painful reminder of that possibility. But Borman, Lovell, and Anders never forgot the loved ones who helped them get to the moon, enduring all the sacrifices required. Author Kurson boldly supposes that it was the loyalty and support of their wives that allowed the astronauts to endure the unimaginable pressure that had been heaped upon them.

Thus, “Rocket Men” is a story of two sorts of heroes—husbands and wives—loving and supporting one another to the completion of the mission, and beyond. Hence, the best thing I might do to succeed in my own mission to aid the arrival of heaven to earth is simple. It is to love and care for the people in my family who will always be my home base. The sacrifices of faith and church leadership can be great, and some might not be worth taking. But they are nonetheless sacrifices we must make together.

-MRH (1/7/2020)