Moon Shot

Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon is a book written by Alan Shepard and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, two of the original Mercury Seven astronauts. The book was published in 1988. It was turned into a lengthy miniseries that aired on TBS in the United States in 1994. The miniseries was narrated by Barry Corbin and featured interviews with several American astronauts as well as a few Russian cosmonauts. Due to Slayton's death before the miniseries completed production in 1993, the miniseries is dedicated in his memory.

The book is a work of nonfiction describing the history of the Space Race from Sputnik 1 to the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. It includes depictions of many American space missions and several Soviet space missions. Emphasis is placed on Shepard's and Slayton's roles in the events in the craft and behind the scenes, as both were early leaders in NASA's Astronaut Office due to being grounded for medical reasons (Slayton for a heart condition, Shepard for Meniere's disease).

In chaper 2 ("The Beginning"), the authors incorrectly specify that Laika "died painlessly" "days after launch" from oxygen starvation, in direct contradiction of this entry.