Project Gutenberg 2022-02-04 Public domain in the USA. 109 Ludwig, Edward W. 1920 1990 Ludwig, Edward William Engle, Robert 1928 Engle, Robert V. Engel, Robert V. Engle, Robert J. The First The 1st $aUnited States :$bRoyal Publications, Inc,$c1955. Produced from Infinity Science Fiction, November 1955 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The First" by Edward W. Ludwig is a science fiction novella written in the mid-20th century, specifically during the 1950s. The story explores themes of ambition, recognition, and the human spirit within the context of a manned mission to the moon, focusing on the joys and sacrifices of early space exploration. It presents a poignant narrative of ambition and the human desire for recognition against the backdrop of a historic moment in humanity. The plot unfolds around Jeffrey Simon, who reflects on his past experiences as an astronaut involved in a top-secret project called Project Pandora, which undertook the first manned mission to the moon long before the public was aware. As a modern celebration honors Captain George Everson, celebrated as "the first" to successfully pilot a rocket to the moon, Jeffrey grapples with the painful reality that he and his fellow astronauts were the true pioneers, whose contributions have been forgotten. Armed with proof of their historic journey—a rare moonstone and a photograph—he seeks to reveal the truth but ultimately chooses to protect the heroism and excitement of this pivotal moment rather than tarnish it by sharing his story. As the rocket launches into the sky, he reconciles his pain with the knowledge that the spirit of discovery is more important than personal glory. (This is an automatically generated summary.) 20211031102213ludwig 1955 US Reading ease score: 86.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Space flight to the moon -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels Category: American Literature 53541 2025-07-26T13:20:07.328885 text/html 29927 2024-10-18T19:11:15 text/html 351229 2025-07-26T13:20:10.105874 application/epub+zip 350072 2025-07-26T13:20:08.065935 application/epub+zip 77445 2025-07-26T13:20:07.794918 application/epub+zip 387497 2025-07-26T13:20:11.459930 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 379855 2025-07-26T13:20:09.862872 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 107308 2022-09-30T09:16:15.673347 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 47003 2025-07-26T13:20:07.188904 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 27151 2024-10-18T19:11:15 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17634 2025-07-26T13:20:11.608878 application/rdf+xml 30035 2025-07-26T13:20:07.913890 image/jpeg 4708 2025-07-26T13:20:07.854886 image/jpeg 447032 2025-07-26T13:20:07.342903 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog