Apollo 1

"Everyone knew that the space race was a new front in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. And in the eyes of both competitors...it was perhaps the most important competition. The legitimacy of each regime was at stake, as the Cold War was as much about which system could produce superior technology as it concerned political and economic principles..."To prevail, the United States would need a fresh perspective that would push American technology forward. And that would take a new president, young, energetic, and with a vision, along with eager military test pilots courageous enough to climb on top of what was essentially a bomb to be launched into space. Together, the president and those pilots would put the United States on course to make it to the moon." Book jacket.