The Man Who Ran the Moon: James Webb, JFK and the Secret History of Project Apollo

When you hear of the manned space programme or the first lunar landing of Apollo 11 you think of the astronauts who went there and the engineers who built the vehicles in which they went. But even as a space enthusiast I rarely spend a thought about the people in the background who administered the biggest engineering programme ever. Yet as the book reveals there was a lot of important work to do behind the scenes. Fascinating insights into the world of high profile public administration are given in the book that stand up to the excitement of space walks and lunar landings. The book is also excellent in unravelling the complexity of running NASA and the deeper insights into the Apollo fire. All in all a brillant and - surprisingly - entertaining book, not just for the space freak.

This long overdue biography of Jim Webb fills a needed void in the literature of the Apollo program. Webb, a disarming but astute partisan Democrat from North Carolina ran NASA during the crucial years leading up to the Apollo program. This book not only details his personal life, but the wheeling and dealing that went on behind the scenes in Washington to get to the moon. Nobody doubts that Webb was brilliant, but Webb was not without flaws. He was totally infatuated with Roosevelt-era New Deal big government, and ran NASA accordingly, sometimes to the detriment of the program. He adopted the mantra of "Space Age Management" and took it to mean a giant, monolithic government run program straight from FDR's playbook. I think the book does a great job explaining Webb's less than savory relationships to politicians and others of questionable ethics in both the Kennedy and (especially) Johnson administrations such as Bobby Baker. It also recalls a less than savory battle with fellow Democrat and political climber, Walter Mondale, that exposes Washington political opportunism at its worst. I rate the book four stars as the book tends to downplay the significance of ethically borderline issues that occurred in Webb's tenure. To the credit of the book, Bizony does correctly point out that Kennedy was not the true champion of space he is revered to be today, but saw space exploration as a politically expedient course to follow, as did Johnson. On the plus side, the author absolutely nails the deplorable history of NASA since Apollo and presents an accurate and devastating portrait of the Shuttle and International Space Station programs. Mr. Bizony correctly identifies the root cause of the problems in both programs as an unholy alliance of political objectives and unfocused technology. Webb's stature rose significantly in my eyes when I read Bizony's account of the hostility Webb had for Robert McNamara, another big government technocrat, but one without the vision of either Kennedy or Webb. NASA veteran Bob Seamans comes off as a much needed moderating force within the administration, and this book also details the fascinating relationship between Seamans and Webb. Overall this is a noteworthy book. While it occasionally seems to come off the rails and get sidetracked, Piers Bizony always manages to tie up loose ends, resulting in a detailed and historically important book. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the space program, and further to students of management to learn not only the successes, but failures of the biggest single peacetime logistical puzzle in history.

I have decided to stop including subtitles to books, as too many books nowadays seem to include overly long subtitles like this one, "James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo." For goodness sake, folks: read the book, as it chronicles how James Webb ran NASA in the 1960s, for better or worse, by brokering all sorts of backroom, good ole boy deals. Bizony's book is fascinating, as it reveals the realistic side of inspirational programs like our country's space program. I loved the book and commend the author for presenting the facts without shattering the dream. If you have not guessed, I am a space nut who admires the one program that seems to rally the world around America (in a positive way, that is): NASA. To view this and other cool short book recommendations, [...].

With "The Man Who Ran the Moon: James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo" Piers Bizony has written a wide ranging history about the business side of getting man on the moon. While many books focus on the astronauts and some focus on engineering, this book covers the political side of space flight. There are times when the author sounds as though he is losing his perspective as a historian/biographer and begins to expound on the virtues of the democratic party (Jim Webb was a lifelong Democrat) but after a few quick barbs about how things could be better today if we only learned from our past he rapidly gets back to the subject at hand. The book does an excellent job of explaining John F. Kennedy and how he got behind the space program. The reader will see how without the soviets the American leadership would have never made space a priority. The "race" with the Russians has been well documented but this book goes deep into the American political system and how our government reacted to the race. The reader will see the give and take in Washington and how Webb spread the money around the country both in ways to gain political favor for the space program and in ways that made the most sense from a management position. Also covered is a fascinating meeting at the White House where Webb and JFK get into an argument over what the main goal of NASA should be and we see Webb not back down to the President of the United States. The author goes to great lengths to explain the fall of Jim Webb and many pages are devoted to explaining the big political picture of lobbyist Fred B. Black, Jr. and LBJ protégé Robert "Bobby" Baker. While at times the reader may find themselves wondering what any of this has to do with Webb and NASA, all becomes clear in the end and the reader is rewarded with the knowledge and understanding of how something as simple as vending machines can start a series of events that will lead to the fall of a powerful man. The selection of North American Aviation for construction of many parts of the rocket and capsule are covered as well as the fallout from the Apollo 1 fire. The Walter "Fritz" Mondale vs. Webb fight in the congressional investigations into the Apollo 1 fire are also well covered. Overall this is an excellent book and is one that all space flight enthusiasts will want to add to their collection. I highly recommend it.

Piers Bizony recreates the great drama of America's drive for the moon during the 1960s. He takes us behind the scenes to tell the story of a little known organizational genius named James Webb who had as much to do with the final triumph as Neil Armstrong. Reads like a detective story and builds to a crescendo. Anyone who is nostalgic about the Apollo story will love this book.