Time Life Books weighed in at the Apollo-11-commmoration tournament yesterday, releasing a special three-part edition of Andrew Chaikins landmark work "A Man on the Moon." The three hard-bound volumes add more than 500 color and black-and-white photographs to Chaikins original text. The paperback edition that text, which was first published in 1994, fills more than 600 pages while grippingly documenting the Apollo program from its inception to splashdown of Apollo 17.

The handsome new set, with its story, photos, diagrams, paintings and other descriptive graphics, is sure to excite not just space fans but all adventure enthusiasts.

"The combined effect is almost like an explorer's diary," Chaikin told space.com today. "It really has a you-are-there kind of feel to it."

Chaikin, who first saw the commemorative set last Thursday said producing the books has been tremendously gratifying. "I had written 'A Man on the Moon' to stand on its own without the pictures, but to be able to dip into that treasure trove and to redo it with all those photographs was really a dream come true," Chaikin said.

"The nice thing about working with Time-Life books is that we had access to all the archives of Life Magazine. They were the only photographers who had access to the astronauts' families and the astronauts at home."

Chaikin's text looks beyind the crowning acheivements of Apollo. It examines the personalities and many the emotional details of those who worked in the Apollo program. A wide array of Life photographs complements Chaikin's story. One features a color photograph of Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean in space suits leaning against their three matching gold corvettes in front of a scale model of the Apollo lander.

Many of the book's photographs were specially produced from Apollo-mission films and television transmissions. These include several images of the accident-plagued Apollo 13 mission when astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert had to abandon plans to land on the moon after an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the orbiter and many systems.

Astronaut Eugene Cernan today called "A Man on the Moon," "the bible" for information on the Apollo program. Cernan -- the last man to walk on the moon -- spoke in an interview with space.com.

In researching the book over several years, Chaikin interviewed 23 of the astronauts who landed on the moon. The book became the basis for an HBO miniseries, and was the source of information Tom Hanks used in preparing to film the movie "Apollo 13."

Time-Life's three-part edition of "A Man on the Moon" will be available in some bookstores, and can be purchased over the Internet from the publisher or other Internet booksellers. The suggested retail price is $99.95, but is being sold at a discount over the web.

The text version, published in paperback by Penguin books is available at retail stores for $15.95.