Beautiful books for Xmas – Penguin

Reading lists

Beautiful books that make unforgettable gifts

The Sunday Times Bestseller

Apollo Remastered

AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
Discover space as you've never seen it before, with these awe-inspiring, breathtakingly restored images of our first missions to the Moon 
 
'The next best thing to being there' Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 astronaut 
 
'One of the best records of Apollo history ever produced' David R. Scott, Apollo 15 Commander 
 
In a frozen vault in Houston sits the original NASA photographic film of the Apollo missions. For half a century, almost every image of the Moon landings publicly available was produced from a lower-quality copy of these originals. 
 
Now we can view them as never before. Expert image restorer Andy Saunders has taken newly available digital scans and, applying pain-staking care and cutting-edge enhancement techniques, he has created the highest quality Apollo photographs ever produced. Never-before-seen spacewalks and crystal-clear portraits of astronauts in their spacecraft, along with startling new visions of the Earth and the Moon, offer astounding new insight into one of our greatest endeavours. 
 
This is the definitive record of the Apollo missions and a mesmerizing, high definition journey into the unknown.

One of the best records of Apollo history ever produced

David R. Scott, Gemini 8, Apollo 9 & Apollo 15

Andy Saunders' remastered images are so clear and real that they are the next best thing to being there. . . They are an exact representation of what I remember from my journey to the Moon on Apollo 16. These photos reveal very precisely what the Moon was really like

The images Andy Saunders has produced from the 50 year old original film are just incredible. I have personally checked the images in the book, and if you want to know what it was really like on the Apollo missions, then this is for you. The photographs capture the pioneering era I took part in perfectly, and the techniques Andy has used have brought out such fantastic detail from that old original film we took back in the 60s. Maintaining an accurate record of these historic moments is such important work not just now, after half a century, but also for future generations

Truly epic . . . Some of the scenes you'll recognize; they're among the most iconic photos ever taken. But others you will not have seen before; and certainly not in the detail that Andy has rendered them. They have a crispness and depth that makes you want to reach out and touch them

NASA's Moon missions as you've never seen them before - remastered for a new century

Andy Saunders is a go-to guy for restoring photographs that seem beyond hope. His new book, Apollo Remastered, reveals what happened when this British imaging specialist turned his hand to humanity's ultimate adventure. However much you think you know the Apollo images, never have they been seen quite like this...

In his breathtaking new book, science writer Andy Saunders shares remastered images of the first missions to the Moon, giving the most accurate view ever of these historic journeys. The results are astounding, and according to the astronauts who were actually there, they're closer to reality than anything that's gone before.

Apollo Remastered by Andy Saunders is a wonder - the reproduction of the photographs taken over 50 years ago is truly amazing. His expert enhancement reveals astonishing detail. There are so many images I'd never seen before and it's a book to come back to again and again. It's also so much more than a collection of the most amazing photos, there's masses of information and context - a wonderful history of all the Apollo missions. Magnificent.

Paul Franklin - Oscar Winning VFX Specialist, Interstellar

Seeing historians like Andy Saunders produce such cutting-edge results is incredible. . . Not only has Andy done a remarkable job bringing more details to light, but his incredible work has also created a lot of public excitement

Dr Brian Odom, acting NASA Chief Historian

After five decades, it's very rare that something comes along from Apollo that genuinely surprises me... but this is truly special. It changes everything, in an instant

Mark McCaughrean, Senior Advisor for Science and Exploration, European Space Agency

Jaw-dropping remastered NASA photos

Andy Saunders' remastered images leave me stunned. They give me chills. This is as close as any of us will get to joining the Apollo astronauts on their historic missions to the moon-and it's a lot closer than we ever thought possible. This book, like all of his work, is much more than a thrill to behold; it's a profound contribution to our understanding of humanity's exploration of the heavens

Even though I worked for NASA for 40 years, I can only view the work Andy does in digital restoration of analog imagery as innovative, creative, and a gift to the world. The precision, the detail, and the validity of his work on the old film from early human spaceflight is breathtaking to me - such incredibly valuable results and contributions to these historic events

Jim Lewis, Command Recovery Pilot, Liberty Bell 7

Andy Saunders' remarkable digital imaging skills are rewriting space history. Saunders is doing for Project Apollo what the James Webb Space Telescope has done for astronomy: bringing our greatest adventure into sharp and arresting focus

George Leopold, author of The Supersonic Life & Times Of Gus Grissom

Andy Saunders' Apollo Remastered is utterly superb. Beyond beautiful -- it will take your breath away. Why did we go to the Moon? This explains everything...

A peerless photographic masterpiece - almost as audacious as Apollo itself. If you only buy one Apollo book before the decade is out make sure it's this one! A total treasure to pore over for a lifetime

Dr Chris Riley - BAFTA nominated writer, filmmaker and co-producer of In The Shadow Of The Moon

I can already say with total confidence that this will go down in history as one of the greatest books about the Apollo missions ever published. Andy is a wizard, and has brought the missions' images to life in a whole new way.

Stuart Atkinson, author of A Cat’s Guide to the Night Sky

Andy Saunders has created the highest quality Apollo photographs ever produced. So much thought has gone into the design and production - they are genuinely breathtaking new visions of one of humankind's greatest endeavors.

Relive the wonder of the first humans on the Moon, now gloriously remastered and collected together in this gorgeous new book. The restored detail is astonishing, thanks to the wizardry of photo restorer Andy Saunders, who makes us feel like we are right there with them

A wonderful volume on the whole Apollo program. As a geologist who worked closely with the astronauts and taught them how to photograph the Moon during the Apollo missions, I was amazed at the detail and clarity of these remastered versions Andy has produced, 50 years later. Also impressive is the research to produce such an accurate record. The information along with each photograph helps tell the story of the program in such an immersive way. He really has done a great deal for the legacy of the Apollo program

A handsome volume. . . The digitally restored images in Apollo Remastered bring NASA's moon voyages to life as never before

In Mission Control, imagination pieced together grainy television images, crew voice reports and the flight plan, to portray mission events. Now, for the first time, APOLLO REMASTERED brings the glory of Apollo and the explorers into sharp focus. 50 years later, I can finally look over the shoulder of Mike Collins and Al Bean and see what they saw. I become part of the experience, as if I were a member of the crew.

Apollo Remastered is a fine collection of remastered photographs that depicts the real essence of the Apollo program. It brought back many memories of my time during the missions - an incredible book that will surely be enjoyed for many generations to come

Using cutting edge enhancement techniques, Andy Saunders has created the highest quality Apollo photographs ever produced. He's also produced the first ever clear image of the first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong. It's not surprising that his new book, Apollo Remastered has become a Sunday Times bestseller; showcasing photographs that are literally out of this world

This book is so beautiful. Working in the space industry, it&rsquo;s hard for me to be in awe of a lot of things as I&rsquo;m so close to it, but this took my breath away as I was turning the pages. I cannot more highly recommend this

Leah Cheshier, Public Affairs Officer, NASA

Andy Saunders is one of the world's foremost experts of NASA digital restoration and author of the Sunday Times bestselling Apollo Remastered. His work has been exhibited internationally, and he collaborated with Tom Hanks to produce The Moonwalkers – an immersive show telling the story of the Apollo missions. His photographs have also appeared in BBC News, Daily Telegraph, Smithsonian Magazine, New York Times, as well as in NASA's own archives. In 2019, he created the only clear, recognisable image of Neil Armstrong on the Moon, and in 2023, he received the Royal Photographic Society Award for Scientific Imaging.

In a frozen vault in Houston sits the original NASA photographic film of the Apollo missions. For half a century, almost every image of the Moon landings publicly available was produced from a lower-quality copy of these originals. 
 
Now we can view them as never before. Expert image restorer Andy Saunders has taken newly available digital scans and, applying painstaking care and cutting-edge enhancement techniques, he has created the highest quality Apollo photographs ever produced. Never-before-seen spacewalks and crystal-clear portraits of astronauts in their spacecraft, along with startling new visions of the Earth and the Moon, offer astounding new insight into one of our greatest endeavours. 
 
'Just incredible. I have personally checked the images in the book, and if you want to know what it was really like on the Apollo missions, then this is for you' Walter Cunningham, Apollo 7

Andy Saunders

Wickedly exciting. In the history of peace-making endeavors, has there ever been such an effective speed-the-process effort than putting a human being on the surface of the Moon AND returning them safely to the Earth, in a race against time and the laws of physics? I don’t think so. Mercury and Gemini had an infinite list of challenges to prove, beginning with 'is this even possible in the first place'? 
 
Would Alan Shepard burn up falling to his splashdown? Would John Glenn choke on a pill he took to prove he could swallow in orbit? Would Ed White, Eugene Cernan, and Michael Collins be able to get back into their spacecraft after their spacewalks? Could Frank Borman and Jim Lovell survive a full two weeks in outer space? No one knew, until the programs were completed. Mercury and Gemini were as noble an undertaking as America dared to command, and here you will witness these moments through Saunders' remastered imagery and truly experience history

Just like the Mercury astronauts before me, I witnessed the Earth as it truly is for the first time aboard Gemini 7 and 12. These remastered photos, in such detail and clarity, bring back clear memories of my journeys into space. Andy Saunders not only brings to the surface the value of the Mercury and Gemini programs, but more importantly, allows people around the world to experience the same incredible awe of our beautiful Earth as we astronauts did on those very first voyages into space

Jim Lovell, Gemini 7 & 12, Apollo 8 & 13

Turning the pages of Gemini & Mercury Remastered triggered many strong emotions - it provides an unprecedented trip back in time to the beginning of our nation’s manned space program. We had a lot to learn, and it was often luck that got us home. After Mercury, three impossibly short years remained to develop and prove the capabilities for Apollo, during Project Gemini. All of this history is covered extensively in the book via the new imagery, captions and Saunders’ expert research. 
 
Throughout, I see faces that I came to know so well and, for the first time after 60 years, Saunders’ magic touch has allowed us all to see them in sharp focus during their groundbreaking missions. The restored images bring everything to life - they are a vibrant, new, living record of ‘our time’ - depicting perfectly the character of the men, the passion to achieve the next ‘first’, and the whole era of early human space exploration for which I was a part

Gene Kranz, Flight Director - Mercury, Gemini & Apollo

Andy Saunders has done an AMAZING job with remastering photographs from the Gemini and Mercury flights. We are truly stunned with the results, some we are seeing for the very first time only now, 60 years after the iconic missions. The images are now so clear that they pull you in and show details never apparent before. A very special book to be treasured for generations

Another excellent production from Andy Saunders. Gemini made space operations routine, and paved the way for ongoing human lunar exploration. The book certainly brings the Gemini Program back to life, which is so important for the new generation, and generations to come

David R. Scott, Gemini 8, Apollo 9 & 15

A stunning opus of a book – the definitive account of a much overlooked chapter in the history of human spaceflight and exploration. Such delicious levels of narrative detail and visual spectacle, thanks to Saunders’ signature forensic approach. A truly herculean undertaking

Dr. Christopher Riley, co-producer of In the Shadow of the Moon

When we think of the history of space exploration, we can’t help but think of the Apollo missions and Neil Armstrong’s one giant leap. But what about the small steps that enabled NASA to reach for the Moon? 
 
Astronauts working on the earliest space missions, from Project Mercury to the Gemini missions of the mid-1960s, answered fundamental questions about the possibilities of long-duration space travel, paving the way for the Apollo missions and, ultimately, the Moon landings. They also took the first, and still some of the finest, images of Earth ever captured on film. 
 
Now, the bestselling author of Apollo Remastered, Andy Saunders has restored images from these first missions to show them in unprecedented detail and tell their full story, filled with dramatic life or death moments, mischievous pranks and astonishing triumphs. This stunning visual odyssey brings to life the pivotal, intimate moments of early space travel, unveiling the raw beauty and profound challenges faced by the pioneering astronauts pushing the boundaries of human achievement. Gemini and Mercury Remastered is a striking tribute to the visionaries who dared to dream beyond our world and a testament to the enduring power of exploration.

Andy Saunders

Books by Andy Saunders

Articles featuring Andy Saunders

Beautiful books that make unforgettable gifts

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter