By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY
What the book's about: A non-fiction account of Thad Roberts, a 25-year-old student/trainee at NASA, who in 2002 stole 17 pounds of moon rocks from the Johnson Space Center in Houston to impress his girlfriend.
By CJ Gunther, for USA TODAY
Ben Mezrich writes about a NASA trainee who stole 17 pounds of moon rocks to impress a girl.
By CJ Gunther, for USA TODAY
Ben Mezrich writes about a NASA trainee who stole 17 pounds of moon rocks to impress a girl.
Why it's hot: Movie rights have been bought by Sony. The studio also turnd Mezrich's last book, The Accidental Billionaires, about the origins of Facebook, into the hit film The Social Network.
A taste: "He had promised her the moon. The difference was, Thad Roberts was the first man who was actually going to keep that promise."
On sale: July 12
The author
Quick bio: Mezrich, 41, a Harvard grad who wanted to be a writer since he was 12, has written 12 books, including Bringing Down the House, about MIT students who won millions at blackjack, adapted as the 2008 movie, 21. He lives in Boston with his wife, Tonya, a fashion designer, and their 1-year-old son.
Title: Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History (Doubleday, $26.95)
Author: Ben Mezrich
On sale: July 12, 2011
Fun fact: Mezrich co-hosted The World Series of Blackjack on cable TV and represented Massachusetts in the Sexiest Bachelor in America pagent on Fox in 2000. "I didn't make the top 10. I was done in by the swimsuit competition."
Quote: "I've become the go-to guy for geniuses who do crazy things."
On his title,Sex on the Moon : "It was my wife's idea. Thad Roberts put the moon rocks on a bed and had sex with his girlfriend. I'm hoping it's my first book title that's also the movie title."
On Roberts, who spent seven years in jail: "He came to me to tell his story, but it took me about a year to figure him out. He's very smart but couldn't control his impulses. He had a need to be seen as a James Bond kind of character."
On re-creating dialogue in his books: "I know it's controversial among some journalists, but I'm clear about what I do. It's non-fiction but written like a thriller."
Up next: "I'm developing a TV series about all the people who come to me with their crazy stories. It's somewhere between a documentary and a reality show."
His summer reading: Catching up on A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, first in a fantasy series that HBO recently turned into a TV series: "It's wonderful, sort of The Sopranos meets Lord of the Rings."
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