Sex on the Moon (30 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I am grateful to Thad Roberts for opening up his life to me over the many months it took to research the facts of this amazing story; it simply could not have been told without his generosity and his honesty. Likewise, I am indebted to Matt Emmi, for guiding me into Thad’s world, and to Bill Flagg, Eric James, and of course Niel Robertson—from Vegas to Silicon Valley to NASA, Niel really is my ace in the hole.

I am indebted to Bill Thomas, the most amazing editor one could ever ask for, and the team at Doubleday/Anchor, especially Melissa Danaczko, Todd Doughty, and Russell Perrault. I am also incredibly grateful to Eric Simonoff and Matt Snyder, the best agents in the business. Again, many thanks to my Hollywood brother Dana Brunetti and the brilliant Kevin Spacey, as well as Scott Rudin, Mike De Luca, Amy Pascal, Doug Belgrad, Elizabeth Cantillon, and all the wonderful folks at Sony. I would also like to thank my secret weapon—Jeff Glassman—and his associate Michael D’Isola. Many thanks to Barry Rosenberg, Megan Cassidy, and to my brothers and their families.

Furthermore, this book could not have been written without the generous help of numerous inside sources, especially the immensely affable Axel Emmermann, Gordon McWhorter, and many others who have asked to remain anonymous. I have always been fascinated by NASA, and I did my best to capture the wonder, beauty, and genius of an institution that I respect and admire. I hope we, as a nation, continue to generously support this amazing group of scientists; we have all greatly benefited from each step forward, be it the first moon landing, the shuttle program, or the quest for Mars.

As always, I am grateful to my incredible parents, and to Tonya, Asher, and of course, Bugsy—simply put, you guys make it all worthwhile.

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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Epub ISBN 9781446492772

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Published by William Heinemann 2011

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Copyright © Ben Mezrich 2011

Ben Mezrich has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Thad Roberts for permission to reprint his personal letters.

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