La Lune

Des premiers astronomes aux vols Apollo

Pierre Couperie, Claude Moliterni (co-author)
Year1969
PublisherÉditions S.E.R.G.
PlaceParis
LanguageFR
Rating★★★★☆ (4/5)
AudienceGeneral, Student
LevelIntermediate
Keywords
Apollo ProgramMoonselenography
ThemesLunar Exploration

A large-format illustrated volume published in the year of Apollo 11, La Lune surveys the history of humanity's knowledge and conquest of its satellite. An essay by historian Pierre Couperie (École des hautes études) condenses "2,500 years of observation and hypothesis", from Antiquity to modern astrophysics. It is followed by sixty-seven astronomical documents (1600-1969) and fifty documents on the space conquest, each extensively annotated, and by a threefold chronology (astronomy, astronautics and the imaginary) backed by a substantial selenographic bibliography.

📖 Editorial Review

Published in the Apollo 11 year amid a flood of opportunistic Moon albums, this S.E.R.G. volume stands out for the quality of its documentary apparatus. Two professional historians weave together astronomy, astronautics and the cultural imaginary. …