Of a Fire on the Moon by Norman Mailer

First published: 1970

Type of work: History

Time of work: 1969

Locale: Cape Kennedy, Florida, and Houston, Texas

Principal Personages:

• Norman Mailer, (Aquarius), a journalist assigned to cover the first manned mission to the moon
• Mike Collins, ,
• Buzz Aldrin, ,
• Neil Armstrong, and
• Pete Conrad, astronauts
• Gene Kranz, the mission’s flight director

Form and Content

In 1969, Norman Mailer was assigned by Life magazine to report on the first manned landing on the moon. Mailer worked as journalist, visiting the space centers at Houston, Texas, and Cape Kennedy, Florida. He interviewed the astronauts and other important figures in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); studied the technical reports, publicity releases, and transcripts of the voyage; and attended various briefings and press conferences held for the media. As in The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, the Novel as History (1968), however, he also covered the moon shot as a novelist, attempting to divine the psychology not only of the astronauts but also of the machines they handled and of the administration that guided them into space and into the public’s awareness. In the end, Mailer produced a comprehensive portrait of his personal reaction to this historic event while also giving full value to the experience of the event itself.

Of a Fire on the Moon is divided into three parts: “Aquarius,” “Apollo,” and “The Age of Aquarius.” As the titles of the sections suggest, the book begins by introducing its narrator, Norman Mailer, who dubs himself “Aquarius” because he was born under that astrological sign and because in this period of his life he sees himself as surrendering his personality to a time in history that may well redefine human nature and the nature of the world. Known for explicitly projecting himself onto the events he reports, Mailer suggests that in this book he suffers a loss of ego before the enormity of the moon shot. This is a historic voyage that may mark either a new beginning for the human race or possibly an ending, depending on how it responds to the new technology. Part 2 concentrates on the astronauts, on their moon voyage, and on their technological environment at NASA. Here Mailer commits himself to detailed descriptions of the science and engineering of the flight while speculating on how the human psyche has been affected by the rigid demands of a technological environment. Part 3 (much shorter than its predecessors) puts the primary focus on the narrator and suggests his need to encompass the moon shot with his own personality, to make it—as he so often says of the astronauts—an “instrument” of his will.

Each part of the work is presented in a mixture of styles. There are long passages of philosophical speculation, in which Mailer indulges his penchant for the long sentence, mining every bit of evidence for its significance and ending with shrewd insights and a host of unanswerable questions. There are also long, riveting sections of narrative in which he captures the drama and the risk involved in getting to the moon. Sometimes he is bored by the official information put out by NASA, or by the astronauts’ efforts to avoid all emotion, and presents extracts from transcripts of their talk. He does not neglect the incredible volume of technical detail. Trained as an engineer at Harvard University, Mailer reveals considerable fascination with the way engineers and scientists worked together in reaching President John F. Kennedy’s goal of sending men to the moon by the end of the 1960’s. Mailer has numerous observations on the way he and the rest of the press cover the moon shot, and he tries to record the space launch from every conceivable point of view.

Critical Context

Of a Fire on the Moon appeared at the very end of the 1960’s, at a time when technology was coming under attack, when serious questions were raised about the advisability of spending billions of dollars on space exploration when the needs of millions of Americans were not being served by the government or the big corporations involved in NASA programs. At the same time, as Mailer points out, technology promised an easier life. There would be “spin-offs”—all kinds of new products developed out of space exploration that would benefit the domestic economy. A large segment of the public also looked upon the astronauts as heroes—although a new kind of conservative, carefully spoken figure who had almost nothing in common with the characters of science-fiction moon voyages.

Mailer took it upon himself to describe and to embody the contradictions of his culture, giving the space program a sympathetic hearing while also criticizing it and asking hard questions. At least since his ground-breaking book Advertisements for Myself (1959), Mailer had taken on the role not only of the political pundit but also of the novelist open to every trend in the national psyche. Covering political conventions, prizefights, demonstrations, and other public events, Mailer turned himself into a character, often describing his reactions in the third person as Henry Adams did in his autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams (1907).

Of a Fire on the Moon is a transitional book in the development of Mailer’s literary persona. It marks a gradual shift away from his emphasis on himself to an immersion in the lives of others. Beginning with his biography Marilyn (1973) and culminating in The Executioner’s Song (1979), he has moved from journalism to “novel-biography” and “true-life novel.” Each of these books—starting with Of a Fire on the Moon—takes Mailer toward the realization that his ego, which is very much present in Miami and the Siege of Chicago: An Informal History of the Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1968 (1969), must be jettisoned. Of a Fire on the Moon is an important achievement, balancing an ingenious imagination against the space program’s impressive technological and organizational accomplishments. Reading Mailer’s book results in a deep appreciation not only of space exploration but of the adventurousness of the author’s prose as well.

Bibliography

Adams, Laura. Existential Battles: The Growth of Norman Mailer, 1976.

Bailey, Jennifer. Norman Mailer: Quick-Change Artist, 1979.

Begiebing, Robert J. Acts of Regeneration: Allegory and Archetype in the Works of Norman Mailer, 1980.

Hollowell, John. Fact and Fiction: The New Journalism and the Nonfiction Novel, 1977.

Manso, Peter. Mailer: His Life and Times, 1985.

Mills, Hilary. Mailer: A Biography, 1982.

Solotaroff, Robert. Down Mailer’s Way, 1974.