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Wolfe on the Moon Landing

If you missed Sunday’s New York Times’ essay by Washington and Lee alumnus Tom Wolfe (Class of 1951) on the moon landing and its meaning to NASA’s space exploration plans, it’s a must read. “One Giant Leap to Nowhere” opens with this memorable lead paragraph: “WELL, let’s see now … That was a small step for Neil Armstrong, a giant leap for mankind and a real knee in the groin for NASA.” Wolfe started covering NASA in the early 1970s for Rolling Stone and, of course, The Right Stuff is his 1979 book about the space program. The invitation still stands for those readers who were around at the time and have memories to leave a note about where they were when the first steps were taken on the moon 40 years ago today.

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