From the publisher: "In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm comes a true tale of riveting adventure in which two weekend scuba divers risk everything to solve a great historical mystery–and make history themselves."

The riveting, behind-the-scenes story of three astronauts who bravely took on NASA’s Apollo 8 mission to the Moon in late 1968. Just a few months before the Apollo 8 launched into space, NASA abandoned its customary slow and methodical approach to space exploration because they were desperate to beat the Soviets in the Space Race. Kurson weaves together the daring and suspenseful journey to the Moon, the impact of the Apollo 8 mission on the families of the astronauts, and the cultural mood in America at the time of the launch.