"Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded" by Jason Heller

On July 20, 1969, as the first man prepared to walk on the moon, a producer at BBC had the bright idea of playing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" during its broadcast coverage. It was an odd choice, to say the least. The song is about an astronaut stranded in space, a fate nobody wished on Neil Armstrong. "Space Oddity" is among the seminal sci-fi pop songs. But timing, people. Timing. The story ...