Operation Moonglow (A Political History of Project Apollo)

Since July 1969, Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon has represented the pinnacle of American space exploration and a grand scientific achievement. Yet, as Smithsonian curator Teasel Muir-Harmony argues in Operation Moonglow, its true purpose wasn't advancing science. Rather, it was part of a strategy to build a global coalition in support of the United States. Starting with John F. Kennedy's 1961 decision to send astronauts to the Moon as a mission for freedom over Soviet tyranny, Project Apollo was central to American policy. From that perspective, the critical event wasn't the Moon landing, but the publicity tour that followed, as the Apollo astronauts and Richard Nixon tried to bring the world along on America's adventure. Drawing on a rich array of untapped archives and firsthand accounts by Apollo astronauts, Operation Moonglow paints a riveting picture of geopolitics, propaganda, and diplomacy during the Cold War.