Apollo in the Age of Aquarius, Neil M. Maher
Apollo in the Age of Aquarius, Neil M. Maher
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Apollo in the Age of Aquarius

Author: Neil M. Maher

Narrator: L.J. Ganser

Unabridged: 10 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/27/2017


Synopsis

The summer of 1969 saw astronauts land on the moon for the first time and hippie hordes descend on Woodstock for a legendary music festival. For Neil M. Maher, the conjunction of these two era-defining events is not entirely coincidental.

With its lavishly funded mandate to send a man to the moon, Apollo became a litmus test in the 1960s culture wars. Many people believed it would reinvigorate a country that had lost its way, while for others it represented a colossal waste of resources needed to solve pressing problems at home. Yet Maher also discovers synergies between the space program and political movements of the era. Photographs of "Whole Earth" as a bright blue marble heightened environmental awareness, while NASA's space technology allowed scientists to track ecological changes globally. The space agency's exclusively male personnel sparked feminist debates about opportunities for women. Activists pressured NASA to apply its technical know-how to ending the Vietnam War and helping African Americans by reducing energy costs in urban housing projects.

Against a backdrop of Saturn V moonshots and Neil Armstrong's giant leap for mankind, Apollo in the Age of Aquarius brings the cultural politics of the space race back down to planet Earth.

About Neil M. Maher

Neil M. Maher is Associate Professor of History at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University-Newark.


Reviews

Goodreads review by George on April 15, 2019

Even though NASA was founded in 1958 as strictly a civilian agency, it was immediately besieged by US military and after JFKs speech it had a single mission: Get to the moon before the decade is out, society, science, environment, equality and economy be damned. And unlucky for NASA this was happenin......more

Goodreads review by Vakaris on November 08, 2021

all reviews in one place: night mode reading ; skaitom nakties rezimu About the Book: We’re more or less all aware of what space exploration might, in the end, in the future, hold for humanity. But we rarely think or even know what the money and resources put into those missions means to us, o......more

Goodreads review by Ted on August 21, 2018

One of my first memories as a child was seeing the publicity surrounding the original seven astronauts, and I was a lunar program junkie during the '60's and early '70's. I usually gobble up books about the space program, but I found myself pushing just to finish this book. Its purpose is to place t......more

Goodreads review by Craig on July 18, 2017

There's some good information here, mostly in the form of anecdotes and editorial cartoons, but it doesn't come together in an effective book. Several long sections (for example, those on the construction of the astronauts' space suits and the construction of the Houston space center) don't connect......more

Goodreads review by Pete on August 02, 2017

Maher did an outstanding job of researching his subject. As a youngster growing up during this period it was refreshing to read about it as an adult. His book made many things clear that I had forgotten or didn't understand as a young boy. How different would the world be today if NASA had not falle......more