Earthrise How man first saw the Earth

by Robert Poole.Earthrise, Earth Rise, Earth, Gaia, Apollo, Apollo 8, Apollo program, Apollo programme, Moon, landing, Moon landings, Robert Poole, Earth Day, Whole Earth Catalog, In the shadow of the moon, for all mankind, Blue marble, pale blue dot

The most important result of the space age was that mankind first saw the Earth. At Christmas 1968 the crew of Apollo 8 became the first people to journey to the Moon, and the first to behold the whole Earth. Their photo, 'Earthrise', changed mankind's view of itself. From the first pictures of the curved horizon to the modern eco-renaissance, Earthrise tells for the first time the story of the twentieth-century discovery of the Earth.

* Did Earthrise really take the astronauts by surprise?
* Was it the first picture of the Earth – and if not, what was?
* What effect did Earthrise have on the astronauts?
* What effect did it have on the world?
* How much does the rise of environmentalism owe to the space programme?

Earthrise recreates the extraordinary moment when mankind saw the Earth for the first time. At the apex of human progress the question was asked ‘where next?’ and the answer came: ‘home’. Apollo returned to Earth and environmentalism took off. Earthrise was the defining moment of the twentieth century. Here, for the first time, is a short history of the whole earth.

Robert Poole is reader in History at the
university of Cumbria’s Lancaster site.

For a "Living on Earth" interview with the author click here

Yale University Press interview with author, click here (see episode 22)

My main field of interest is British history in the (very) long eighteenth century, but sometimes historians do their most interesting work when they bring their experience to bear on a different field with which they have some personal connection. In my case this is the history of the first space age (1957-72), in which I grew up, and of the environmental movement, with which I’ve had a modest involvement ever since. Not many environmentalists are also space enthusiasts, and fewer still are also historians. I happen to be all three, and the result is Earthrise.

My next projects: a book on the Peterloo massacre of 1819, The English Uprising (See History, April 2006, and Past and Present, August 2006 here) and something on the film 2001: a Space Odyssey, a sort of companion piece to Earthrise (see History Today, January 2001 here).