When President Kennedy issued his well-known challenge to reach
the moon and return safely before the end of the 1960s, the
immediate responsibility for undertaking the task fell to
54-year-old NASA director James E. Webb. Eight years later, when
the Apollo 11 spacecraft splashed down safely in the Pacific and
the screens in NASA's Mission Control at Houston flashed the words
"Task Accomplished," it was Webb who deserved much of the credit.
In "Powering Apollo," W. Henry Lambright explores Webb's leadership
role in NASA's spectacular success--success that is rare in
ambitious government policies and programs.
A North Carolina native and Congressional staff member, Jim Webb
had served in Congress, worked in the Truman administration, and
risen to high office in the defense and energy industries by 1961
when Kennedy named him to head the new National Aeronautics and
Space Administration. Examining Webb's role as both Washington
insider and government program director, Lambright probes the
skills and experience that equipped him to handle his enormous
responsibilities. He also shows how Webb's performance reflected
important changes in twentieth century public life, including the
concentration of political power in Washington; expansion of the
federal bureaucracy; the rise of big science; and visions of
cooperation among government, industry, and higher education.
General
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