One man, more than any other, created the giant space agency we know today as NASA: James E. Webb. The Man Who Ran the Moon explores a time when Webb, a Kennedy recruit, and an elite group of charismatic business associates took control of America's Apollo moon project, sometimes with disturbing results. In 1967, NASA was rocked by disaster when Apollo 1 failed. Webb was savaged in a Congressional investigation--and it wasn't just a matter of broken hardware. There were dark accusations of corruption at the heart of America's space effort. Some of Webb's political allies had been caught up in the biggest scandal ever to hit Washington, D.C., prior to Watergate, and the backwash unfairly tainted NASA's chief. By the time of the first triumphant lunar landing, Webb had resigned and his name was nearly forgotten. Washington insiders now acknowledge Webb as one of the greatest leaders in modern American history for forging the power base that has kept NASA on solid footing to this day. No space boss since his time has wielded so much power. This is a story of rocket exploration like nothing you've read before.
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