Over the past forty years, the idea of travel to the moon has become blasé.  While a movie like Apollo 13 can inspire some passion, most of the time NASA seems to be regarded with a "what have you done for me lately" kind of attitude.   However, there was a time when the whole world watched as American astronauts achieved the almost inconceivable, playing starring roles in arguably the most astounding technological achievement in human history.

In Earthrise, historian Robert Poole tells the photographic story of Earth, explaining how photos of the planet from space have played a pivotal role in changing humanity's view of itself and its home planet.  He focuses the tale on two celebrated photographs, each so exceptional that they've been given special names.   Earthrise was taken by astronaut Bill Anders on Christmas Eve, 1968, as Apollo 8 orbited the Moon, carrying the first earthlings to ever visit the satellite.  He and his colleagues were caught by surprise as the pretty white and blue planet appeared to rise above the lunar horizon and his quickly shot, color photo caused an instant sensation upon their return.  The second photo, The Blue Marble, was taken by Harrison Schmitt while traveling to the Moon in Apollo 17 in 1972 and was the first portrait of Earth catching the planet fully illuminated with Africa, Madagascar and Antarctica easily visible.   It was destined to become even more famous than Earthrise and is the picture everyone thinks of when they think of Earth viewed from space.   It would go on to be the single most frequently reproduced image in human history. 

Poole provides a brief history of humanity's "view" of the planet before anyone had actually seen it.  He then moves on to the details of the Apollo program, providing the perspective of many of the participants, doing a nice job of presenting the astronauts' point of view and how significantly their view of humanity was changed by their unique vantage point.  The last section of the book outlines how Earthrise and The Blue Marble were vital catalysts for the emerging environmentalism movement, most clearly represented by the introduction of the first Earth Day in 1972.    He does an impressive job of explaining how The Blue Marble - the most prominent product of the most technologically laden endeavor in human history - ironically came to be the symbol for the entire ecology movement, which at its core was completely anti-technology.   Earth's first portrait allowed humanity to recognize the planet's frailty and motivated millions to make an effort to protect her.

Poole's narrative is a well-researched, thoroughly documented 200 page quick read and he includes 32 glossy black and white photographs that add a crucial visual element.   His prose is a bit lacking in drama and emotion, but he makes up for this with meticulous detail.  The best sections are his fascinating descriptions of Apollo 8 and all of the technological tricks that went into the attempts to photograph the Earth from space, whether from orbiting spaceship, unmanned satellite or military rocket.    In the last three chapters, his history of the environmental movement drags a bit, partly because all of the ‘70s enthusiasm for "saving the world" seems rather lame and naïve in hindsight.    My 21st century negativity left me feeling depressed given that humanity seems to have squandered the last few decades, postponing the necessary Earth-friendly changes that were obvious almost forty years ago.   

In Earthrise, Poole convinced me that the Apollo mission and its photographically inspired aftermath were about more than collecting moon rocks or beating the Soviets.  The delicate and beautiful images of our mother planet, as well as the passion and effort that went into the manned moon mission had a powerfully transformative effect on humanity.   The book even gave me some enthusiasm for the crazy idea of sending humans to Mars.  It seems that humans are often at their best when exploring the great unknown.



The author includes a small website (www.earthrise.org.uk) that features several of the photos discussed in the book in a more easily appreciated full-color format. 

I checked this out at my neighborhood library, having basically ignored the place for the past decade.  Many thanks to laurashrti for inspiring me to visit and also for sponsoring the 2009 National Library Week Write-Off. 

Recommended: Yes