Scan barcode
danaisreading's review against another edition
3.0
It's a good read, but it's really more of a presidential history than a discussion of NASA and our efforts to reach the moon.
The first half of the book is a biography of Jack Kennedy and Wernher von Braun, from the moment of their births, their childhoods, their roles in WWII, and life afterwards in the 1950s. The book doesn't even get to outer space or Sputnik until Chapter 6. Von Braun soon disappears from the book except in terms of his meetings with the president.
The focus of the rest of the book is Kennedy's championing of NASA and the Mercury and Apollo programs, and the whys, hows, and whats he did during his time in office. There is some discussion of the various Mercury flights, but really more in context of Kennedy's view of them and his interaction with the astronauts. The book really ends with Kennedy's assassination. Landing on the moon in 1969, Kennedy's main objective in this exercise, is relegated to a few pages in the Epilogue.
In that respect, I found this book very disappointing. If you were expecting a history of the American space program, this isn't it. If you want to view NASA through Kennedy's eyes, then you're reading the right book.
The first half of the book is a biography of Jack Kennedy and Wernher von Braun, from the moment of their births, their childhoods, their roles in WWII, and life afterwards in the 1950s. The book doesn't even get to outer space or Sputnik until Chapter 6. Von Braun soon disappears from the book except in terms of his meetings with the president.
The focus of the rest of the book is Kennedy's championing of NASA and the Mercury and Apollo programs, and the whys, hows, and whats he did during his time in office. There is some discussion of the various Mercury flights, but really more in context of Kennedy's view of them and his interaction with the astronauts. The book really ends with Kennedy's assassination. Landing on the moon in 1969, Kennedy's main objective in this exercise, is relegated to a few pages in the Epilogue.
In that respect, I found this book very disappointing. If you were expecting a history of the American space program, this isn't it. If you want to view NASA through Kennedy's eyes, then you're reading the right book.
starwarrior91's review against another edition
5.0
A Kennedy biography though the lens of the space race. As a history of the space race itself it is forced to skip ahead from 1963 to Apollo 11 at the very end. So if you’re expecting a complete history of the first moonshot you’ll be a bit disappointed, but the story the book does tell us still very interesting and worth the time
alexan13's review
4.0
Well written and engaging, but I felt that rather than simply analyzing and explaining the ways in which the moonshot came from and was utilized in the ideology of American exceptionalism, the author bought into this premise. As such, I couldn't help rolling my eyes at some paragraphs of 'analysis' throughout. With the note to always read critically, I still recommend this book if you're interested in the subject.
maxschuman's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
2.75
I thought it would be a book about the space program -instead it was really a book about JFK and how he interacted with it, which was a pretty narrow scope for a fairly long book (it does have detours into the history of rocketry and some other characters). I learned some stuff but not sure it’ll change my life.
The book clearly has the position that JFK was a (maybe the?) key to going to the moon and lays out a lot of examples of both political calculation and genuine personal interest that led him down that path. I’m not 100% sure I buy that a different person in his position at the same time couldn’t have led to the same outcome. I wouldn’t have minded a little more explicit argument of this rather than just pure narrative, as it is a good test case for a classic historical debate about whether the great people drive history or whether they are along for the ride.
The book clearly has the position that JFK was a (maybe the?) key to going to the moon and lays out a lot of examples of both political calculation and genuine personal interest that led him down that path. I’m not 100% sure I buy that a different person in his position at the same time couldn’t have led to the same outcome. I wouldn’t have minded a little more explicit argument of this rather than just pure narrative, as it is a good test case for a classic historical debate about whether the great people drive history or whether they are along for the ride.
brandifox's review
4.0
A great read for any space nerds who want to understand how the Cold War, JFK, and operation paperclip got us to space. Brilliantly told.