Despite its title, this book does not deal with astronautics: the conquest of the Moon is merely a starting point for a social essay. In Geneva in 1970, Émile Kunz, a physiotherapy practitioner turned essayist, delivers a moralistic indictment of what he sees as the decadence of Western society and Switzerland's retreat: the erosion of neutrality before large economic blocs, the malaise of youth, drugs, the loosening of morals, the devaluation of academic degrees, and the weakening of the army. Dedicated to "young Swiss, future Europeans", the book appeared in a first edition from Perret-Gentil.