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Readers! A November fund-raising drive!

 

It is unfortunately time for another November fund-raising campaign to support my work here at Behind the Black. I really dislike doing these, but 2025 is so far turning out to be a very poor year for donations and subscriptions, the worst since 2020. I very much need your support for this webpage to survive.

 

And I think I provide real value. Fifteen years ago I said SLS was garbage and should be cancelled. Almost a decade ago I said Orion was a lie and a bad idea. As early as 1998, long before almost anyone else, I predicted in my first book, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, that private enterprise and freedom would conquer the solar system, not government. Very early in the COVID panic and continuing throughout I noted that every policy put forth by the government (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, jab mandates) was wrong, misguided, and did more harm than good. In planetary science, while everyone else in the media still thinks Mars has no water, I have been reporting the real results from the orbiters now for more than five years, that Mars is in fact a planet largely covered with ice.

 

I could continue with numerous other examples. If you want to know what others will discover a decade hence, read what I write here at Behind the Black. And if you read my most recent book, Conscious Choice, you will find out what is going to happen in space in the next century.

 

 

This last claim might sound like hubris on my part, but I base it on my overall track record.

 

So please consider donating or subscribing to Behind the Black, either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. I could really use the support at this time. There are five 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. Takes about a 10% cut.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription, which takes about a 15% cut:

 

4. Donate by check. I get whatever you donate. Make the check payable to Robert Zimmerman and mail it to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
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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.


In Idaho Falls, ready for the eclipse

Diane and I just arrived at our hotel in Idaho Falls, getting here about an hour earlier than expected because the roads were clear. Nor was I surprised. The typical Chicken-Little panic of government officials in this age is usually wrong, and almost always over-stated. Things look very normal here, with no big traffic jams or crowds. I do expect that tomorrow during the eclipse it will be like a party, as everyone in this hotel is here specifically for it. (I know this because this La Quinta charged premium rates for this event, something they were completely justified in doing. The result however is that it guaranteed that everyone here was here because they were willing to pay the rate.)

Anyway, this only proves again what I’ve written many times. Don’t let fear be your guide. Use your brains and be smart. When something exciting interests you, do it.

The hotel is offering a complementary potato bar dinner for its guests, so off we go to eat.

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 or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. 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

2 comments

  • Peggy Heath

    Hi, Bob! Long-time listener on the John Batchelor show, and this is my first query. I really enjoyed watching about 75% coverage in North Texas, and hope you enjoyed totality. My question, sir, is this: at around 50%, I noticed what I believe was a shift toward the blue end of the visible spectrum. I haven’t been able to find an explanation/verification of this, but that was the quickest headache I’ve ever gotten. I’m pretty sensitive to blue light, and wore blue blockers for the rest of the event.

    What was that?

    Thanks, Bob! I’m looking forward to hearing your comments on the eclipse.

    Peggy Heath
    Heath, Rockwall County, North Texas

  • BSJ

    We had spectacular views at our location in Southern Illinois, Fort de Chartres. Not Carbondale! 2min 38sec…

    Was a little slow in Red Bud at ‘THE’ 4-way stop in town. Much more so afterwards. Many hundreds of cars in line. Slow but almost constantly in motion… They sure didn’t come from the site I was at. But Red Bud advertised they were having an “eclipse party”.

    Gota say that was the most spectacular astronomical site I’ve ever seen! Can’t wait until 2024. My house is on the center line. 3min 30seconds!

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