Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite

On June 21, 1969, a Saturn V rocket powering the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed two men on the moon. Over fifty years later, many people have not known this, or if they have, refused to believe it. It is for this reason that author Erwin Kostomai decided to write Were They On the Moon in 1969? In the earlier part of the book, he takes us step by step along the history of the development of the facilities and research that would propel a rocket into orbit, then dock with other craft in outer space, and finally push on and land on the moon itself. While America was making progress toward this achievement, so too were the Soviets in what became known as 'the space race.' In the second half of his book, Kostomai lists all the conspiracy theories that have been put forward to prove the whole mission, lasting over ten years, was a hoax. These include but are not limited to the faked film showing men walking on the moon, the computers at the time that were not up to such a task, the position of the shadows, the dangers of radiation, and several more denouncements. At every stage, the author explains why these conspiracies are false and gives plausible rebuttals, backed by scientific facts, diagrams, and photographic evidence. Even the Russians congratulated and acknowledged the achievement.

Were They On the Moon in 1969? by Erwin Kostomai is a fascinating book. I love to learn from reading and he includes so many new facts. Who knew that 135 countries received moon rocks from various missions and that a Japanese spacecraft took pictures of the equipment left behind on the moon’s surface? From the first Soviet satellite in 1957 to the 4,000 engineers and scientists in the project, NASA alone had 10,000 employees in 1960. Were they all complicit? No. This book has incontestable proof that the moon landings were a fact and that no less than six flights carried men who walked on the lunar surface. Filled with lots of interesting illustrations, this book is a great mine of information and a reminder that “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” was actually spoken and was only the beginning of our quest to find another planet to inhabit to preserve our species. I recommend this as a must-read to remind ourselves what man can achieve. I really enjoyed this book.