Like others have written, I have read many of the memoirs of the Apollo astronauts. This book, while written tehcnically from an outsider, is by far the best one. Chaikin spent decades researching the material for this book, and interviewed every one of the Apollo astronauts (less those who died tragically on Apollo 1). In addition, he spoke to many of those who worked on the ground, in mission control, at the various defense contractors, etc.
There were three things about this book that truly stood out for me. The first, was while it was very much about the mission, it was about the people, as well. When each new section would start, and he would be discussing a new crew, I felt as if I got to know them. I understood how some crews were very tight knit, and others were purely professional.
The second item that stood out, is this book is about the *entire* Apollo program, not just Apollo 11, and the race to get to the moon. The book isn't even half over, when we've covered that information. What happens from there is also discussed in great detail. In fact, I found some of the later missions, when multiple days and multiple moonwalks were taking place on the moon, when they were doing geology experiments, and learning so much more about this foreign place, to be the most interesting.
Lastly, the detail in this book is amazing. Chaikin presents hundreds of detailed anecdotes, many of which are laugh out loud funny, others that are very serious. This is not "we landed on the moon and it was great". It's very detailed, of all the laughs and trials getting there...and back again.
If there is a teensy gripe that I have, I would have liked to know more about the political situation that led to the cancelling of Apollo 18/19, and the shut down of the project. I know Nixon's priorities were elsewhere, but surely NASA fought that? I would have liked to have read a bit about that part of the story. Also, I was amazed how little Deke Slayton, who was one of the principles at Mission Control and part of the Original 7, was mentioned. That's alright, tho, Slayton has written his own books that you can read for his perspective.