Operation Moonglow

September 15, 2020
The history of America's moon landing viewed through the lens of political propaganda. Muir-Harmony, curator of the Project Apollo collection at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, writes that no one foresaw the worldwide acclaim that greeted the Soviet launch of Sputnik in October 1957. Within months, the world cheered a second, larger satellite containing a dog and then watched America's first satellite attempt explode on the launchpad. American media fumed, and polls revealed that nations throughout the globe considered the Soviet Union the leader in science and technology. By 1961, the Soviets had orbited a man, and newly elected President John F. Kennedy, reeling from the humiliation of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, proposed to send men to the moon. Innumerable books describe the technical details of Project Apollo, but the author maintains her focus on politics, which means that space buffs will find little new information. Emphasizing that the goal was restoring the United States' unchallenged world leadership, she delivers a knowledgeable, detailed, and overlong description of "the largest public relations campaign in world history." Muir-Harmony is clearly impressed with the effort, especially "the openness of the program, combined with the broad access afforded by television, radio, and newspaper coverage." All missions were broadcast live. Exhibits that toured the world featured the actual rockets, capsules, and technical specifics as well as films, pamphlets, photographs, and souvenirs. Foreign journalists received a VIP tour of American facilities and went home full of enthusiasm. The American plan, notes the author, eschewed flag-waving and sought to "treat the mission as an accomplishment of all humankind." Meanwhile, Soviet officials trotted out their cosmonauts but kept secret all of the details of their missions. In making her passionate case, Muir-Harmony devotes lengthy chapters to the minutiae of global astronaut publicity tours, sections that may overwhelm general readers but appeal to policy wonks. How America won hearts and minds through spaceflight--and succeeded, if only temporarily.

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November 1, 2020

Years before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the moon in 1969, President Dwight D. Eisenhower began to see space exploration as a way to win prestige in the world: a psychological and political battlefield during the Cold War. In this readable account, Muir-Harmony, curator of the Project Apollo collection at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and author of Apollo to the Moon, looks at the long-standing impact of space travel and exploration on diplomacy and globalization. The well-written narrative follows the early years of space exploration, from the Soviet Union successfully launching Sputnik in 1957 to John Glenn's Friendship 7 in 1962 to the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Offering perspective into the behind-the-scenes diplomacy that made Apollo 11 possible, the book includes recollections from some of the astronauts and crew that took part in this historic mission. Muir-Harmony effectively describes how space programs, especially those in the United States, were an attempt to win the hearts and minds of people and an effort to advance U.S. national interests during the mid-20th century. VERDICT Anyone interested in the early days of space exploration will be drawn to this fast-paced, accessible book.--Dawn Lowe-Wincentsen, Oregon Inst. of Technology, Portland

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