Aiming at Targets: The Autobiography of Robert C. Seamans, Jr.

An essential volume in the NASA History Series by Robert C. Seamans, Jr., the Associate Administrator of NASA during the Apollo program. A stirring insider's account of NASA and the manned space program at the highest levels. Relationships with the Department of Defense, the Apollo 204 fire, the assassination of President Kennedy, and more. Aiming at Targets is a series of fascinating topical vignettes covering the author's professional life. Taken together, like broad brushstrokes in an impressionist painting, they give a better picture of Bob Seamans and his work than a detailed recitation of facts and dates could hope to do. This is a cheerful account of an interesting and successful career. The book is full of good stories, with many memorable characters. Like the proverbial sundial, it counts the sunny hours. It is a good read. But it has its serious side. Bob's career wasn't all fun. The Apollo 204 fire, which killed three astronauts, was a terrible climax to his time at NASA. Those were not happy times, but they should not be allowed to overshadow the fact that in his seven years at NASA, Bob Seamans led the agency to its first successes and laid the groundwork for the greater successes that came later. Also on the serious side, while Secretary of the Air Force, Bob had to face policy differences on the Vietnam War, both on the job and within his family.