Review of Apollo 13: A Successful Failure by Laura B. Edge

"Houston, we've had a problem."

On April 13, 1970, the three astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft were headed to the moon when a sudden explosion rocked the ship. Oxygen levels began depleting rapidly. Electrical power began to fail. Astronauts James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise were about to be stranded in the inky void of outer space.

The mission to the moon was scrapped. Now, Apollo 13's only goal was to bring the crew home. With the damaged spacecraft hurtling towards the moon at roughly six thousand miles per hour, there was little hope of success. But the astronauts and mission control were fully prepared to do whatever it took to return the crew to Earth.

This space disaster occurred at the peak of the United States' Space Race against the Soviet Union. But for four days in 1970, the two nations put aside their differences, and the entire world watched the skies, hoping and praying the astronauts would return safely. As missions to Mars and commercial space flight become a reality, the time is now to be reminded of our common humanity, of how rivals can work together and support each other towards a shared goal. Because no matter what happens or where we travel, we all call Earth home.

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**My thoughts**
My formative years were in the 1980s, so the space shuttles were a big deal. It was a like a party every time one took off, up until that fateful Challenger explosion that marred our childhood memories. But even then, we ate up all of the information we could about the history of the space program. And then in the 1990s, the movie Apollo 13 came out, once again lighting a desire to know more.

This book is great. It opens with that fateful moment leading to the famous words, "Houston, we have a problem." And then it goes into the history and the importance of the space program leading up to this mission. Following that is an account of the rest of the Apollo 13 ordeal, reading almost like a novel. You can almost feel the action and are glued to the pages to find out what is going to happen next. I love that in a nonfiction book.

And then it gets into the aftermath of the trip, including the investigation into what had happened and the last missions to the moon. It's hard to believe it has been almost 50 years since we last touched down there.

So many photographs illustrate the stories, which are one of my favorite things to see. Give me the real photos and not just illustrations. They really make the history come alive. 

And then for those who want more, you can refer to the resources, bibliography, and suggested further reading sections with both books and websites.

I loved reading more about this famous story and learning more than I had known before. I think space afficionados from upper elementary and older will also enjoy it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.