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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
 
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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.


Eye update

Since so many readers asked, here is a short update on my eye surgery. I saw the doctor again today, and he says all looks good. For me, however, use of the right eye is presently difficult if not impossible. For the moment the eye is covered with a patch, as it hurts too much to use it. In addition, bright lights make both eyes hurt. I find I can only read the computer screen if the room is dark.

Posting should continue, but it will be at a slower pace until the right eye recovers more.

Thanks again to everyone who has expressed their good wishes. I truly appreciate it.

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

8 comments

  • Alton

    Good luck! I dropped both retinas, five surgeries later have one eye operating. Whenlater you get the first black spot in your left eye near your nose, go right then and have it fixed. Better outcomes do occur when action is taken soonest! I know the hard way!

    ALTON

  • Alton

    Love the easy captcha,
    usually these pass systems drive me batty with my repaired eyes,
    very hard to decypther.

    Alton

  • joe

    best wishes for the new year and a speedy recovery!

  • Hi Alton,

    The symptoms you describe match what happened to me in January. They injected a gas bubble into my eye, I kept my head positioned appropriately for a couple of days, and lo and behold, the retina reattached.

    Unfortunately, this time the detachment was at a difficult spot in the eyeball. As my doctor said, I’d have to stand on my head to position the bubble properly. They had no choice but to insert a scleral buckle, which was done yesterday morning. It apparently has worked, but the recovery is harder and more difficult.

    The fortunate thing about this particular detachment is that it was found before I had seen any symptoms. A routine eye doctor visit spotted it, and thus it was treated before it could do serious harm.

  • John M. Egan

    I hope you are feeling better, Robert.

  • PeterF

    Best wishes, Get well soon! Without your eyesight you won’t be able to see the wonderful pictures we’ve been getting from the brave little robots spreading throughout the solar system.

  • D K Rögnvald Williams

    They drive me batty with relatively good vision.

  • Joe Kopser

    Bob, best wishes for a speedy (and complete!) recovery. I truly enjoy listening to you during your appearances on the John Batchelor show.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

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