Excerpt: "The United States was desperate to reassert its global power after the embarrassment of Sputnik. In fact, the Russians were showing-up the United States in all sorts of ways. First human-made satellite, the first man in space, the first man in orbit, the first woman in space, the first dog in space… The list goes on. If the United States tried something as daring as going to the Moon and failed, the repercussions would be enormous."