John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon by John M. Logsdon; Palgrave Macmillan; New York, New York; $35.00 (Hardcover); 2010.
In a time when America is looking for another “Sputnik Moment” to spur the country on a number of fronts, this scholarly and well-written look at the nation’s “Apollo Moment” captures presidential decision-making stemming from the heat of the space race between the United States and the former Soviet Union.
The author has done some heavy lifting here, in terms of new research and digging in deep into various archives, such as the JFK Presidential Library. Logsdon is an esteemed historian on American space policy, particularly Project Apollo as the writer of another influential book, The Decision to Go to the Moon, published in1970.
Logsdon is now Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.
Readers will find this book a treasured resource. Logsdon’s devotion to this book is visible through and through – including an invaluable and insightful set of notes for each chapter. Beyond the U.S. President, you’ll find a landscape of people that also helped shape that “one small step” off planet.
The book traces the advancement of JFK’s thinking and statesmanship up until his untimely assassination, which brought to an end his plans to moderate the space program’s goals and even mull over a space partnership with the Soviets on a joint lunar mission.
In 2010 dollars, Logsdon points out, Project Apollo ended up costing U.S. taxpayers roughly $151 billion. In writing this book, the author does his own soul searching regarding large-scale nondefense programs over the past four decades – none of which have been successful.
Logsdon revisits an Apollo evaluation he rejected 40 years ago, one that he now is inclined to accept. That is: “That the lunar landing decision and the efforts that turned it into reality were unique occurrences, a once-in-a-generation, or much longer, phenomenon in which a heterogeneous mixture of factors almost coincidentally converged to create a national commitment and enough momentum to support the commitment through to its fulfillment.”
This is a must-read – a history-making look back in time that also provides, in my view, a timeless tutorial about national vision-making, leadership, government and geopolitics, and creating a shared human experience.
For more information on this book, go to:
http://us.macmillan.com/johnfkennedyandtheracetothemoon
By Leonard David