Yikes, this is a scary book. I had either never known or had forgotten about the awfulness of the times when huge proportions of our GNP were devoted to developing strategic weapons and the means to deliver them.
All in History
Walter A. McDougall's THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH: A POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE SPACE AGE
This 1985 book by Walter A. McDougall is a real eye opener, especially if all you know about the early space program is the famous excerpt from John F. Kennedy’s speech