President John F. Kennedy's historic pledge in September 1962 to beat the Soviet Union to the moon launched NASA's ambitious Apollo program, which ultimately achieved his bold vision of landing an American on the moon before the decade was out.
Why Kennedy, who was assassinated a little over a year after his famous speech at Rice University, staked so much of his political capital on the moon mission is the subject of a new book by presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, "American Moon Shot: John F. Kennedy and Great Space Race.” The book, which will be published April 2 ahead of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, recounts the Democratic president's brief but seminal role in the space race after defeating Republican Vice President Richard Nixon in 1960.
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