Scroll down to read this post.

 

Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


Thank you to all who donated to Behind the Black in July

Scroll down for the most recent posts. See also this post about the new print edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8.

My July fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black, celebrating its 14th anniversary, is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. And that includes those who contributed $2 to those who contributed hundreds. I always find it impossible to find the words to express my gratitude for this support, especially since no one has to pay me anything to read my work.

Thank you again! I will leave this announcement at the top of the page through the end of this week.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

14 comments

  • Bosco Bob

    I’d like to suggest that you pay for your hobby yourself.

    Why should anyone support your tax deductible website where you sell your books 24/7/365 days a year.

    Quit begging and pay your own bills.

    As soon as you write something worth paying for I’ll send money.
    Don’t hold your breath.

  • James Street

    That escalated quickly
    https://t.ly/XqobD

  • Gary M.

    Say the best, think the rest.

    You can’t brighten your day by blowing out someone else’s candle.

  • F

    Bosco Bob,

    Why? Because the site provides interesting information, mostly about space exploration efforts, but also about a number of other topics.

    Why? Because the owner very obviously appreciates and respects his audience, and he is willing to engage with it regularly.

    Why? Because the owner, through Cool Images and Evening Pauses, keeps the site entertaining, and not simply informative.

    Why? Because the owner has common sense.

    Such a site is, indeed, worth visiting and worth supporting.

  • Bosco Bob

    F

    You are correct, Bob does publish interesting info occasionally. He also spreads russian propaganda. I assumed Putin was financing the site.

    Respects his audience?
    You must be new here.

    I have seen vile behavior from Bob in the comments directed at people who disagreed with him. It doesn’t happen every day but it’s childish behavior from someone old enough to know better.

    I’m sure Bob at some point in his life had
    common sense but if you read his rantings about covid it is obvious he has no medical expertise and he proves it over and over and over and over. Read the external links when he provides them. He has in the past linked to retracted papers, and he really likes to link to preprint papers that have not yet been peer reviewed, that is, if the title sounds like it supports his point. If this kind of cherry picking the data seems OK to you, enjoy! But that’s not how science works.

    He apparently seems to think he knows something about climate science too, he read a book once. Same cherry picking data, same lack of any expertise, you can believe that too if you like.

    If you enjoy his disinformation by all means please send him all your money.

    I have no problem with Bob publishing whatever he desires, true or not.

    I just think he should pull himself up by his bootstraps and quit being a Marxist freeloader.

    Pay your own bills like a good little conservative should.

  • F

    Bosco Bob,

    Maybe you’re correct, and I’m “new” here . . .

    Then again, I have been visiting the site, just about every day, for well over a year, and I have not been triggered in the same manner that you apparently have.

    I wonder, if the site and its owner are so bad, why are YOU here? Do you believe you are working to “save” its readers from its owner and his common sense?

    Actually, I really don’t care whether or not you answer these questions. If you are dumb enough to believe the site is owned by a Marxist or a Putin promoter, your opinion isn’t worth my time.

  • wayne

    Cotour-
    Hilarious!

    James Street-
    Too quickly, someone needs their meds tuned-up.

  • gbaikie

    In simple terms, bureaucracies try to stop things, and they can’t stop themselves.
    Power corrupts.
    This causes massive destruction and is evil.

  • judd

    Zelle works very well and very simply, i wish more sites used it.

  • Tom

    Bob,

    My Zelle monies sent to you is money well spent as I get great value in return. My space technology information needs are well met. I get timely, topical insights into plans, events and policies that affect society and the world around us (many times this arrives in the unvarnished truth packaging). And, best of all, I get a sense of tolerant, open-minded, and intelligent camaraderie here. I believe that almost all of the BtB krewe hope for underdogs to succeed, that pompous blowhards get some come-uppance, and that the ball keeps moving forward.

    I would even venture that most BtB fans are hoping, even praying, that Boscoe Bob has a positive intervention, gets the help he needs and starts to become that good man his parents always wished he might become.

    Tom

  • Tom,

    Thank you for your kind remarks about my work.

    Judd,

    Thank you for plugging Zelle, and using it. It has made a significant difference, because the same donations given through Zelle are automatically 16% higher than the same donation through Paypal, and 12% higher than Patreon.

  • Mark

    Hey Bob, thanks for all you do. Your site is outstanding and worth supporting. I doubled my monthly Zelle, headed your way. best regards, Mark

  • Mark: And thank YOU for your donation each month. The increase is appreciated greatly.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *