Historian and former presidential speechwriter Jeff Shesol joins to talk about his new book “Mercury Rising.” He shares stories of astronaut John Glenn and President John Kennedy in the nascent days of the U.S. space program, as NASA trailed haplessly behind the Soviet Union in space exploration, stoking fears that the Soviet Union was gaining a crucial technological upper hand in the Cold War.
Jeff Shesol is a historian, former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, and the creator of the comic strip “Thatch.” He is the author of three books including “Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud That Defined a Decade” and “Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court.” His latest book, “Mercury Rising” chronicles astronaut John Glenn and President John Kennedy during the nascent days of the U.S. space program, as NASA trailed haplessly behind the Soviet Union in space exploration, stoking fears that the Soviet Union was gaining a crucial technological upper hand in the Cold War.