Setting the tone for the collection, NASA chief historian Roger D. Launius and Howard McCurdy maintain that the nation's presidency had become imperial by the mid-1970s and that supporters of the space program had grown to find relief in such a presidency, which they believed could help them obtain greater political support and funding. Subsequent chapters explore the roles and political leadership, vis-à-vis government policy, of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan.

Introduction by: Roger D. Launius, Howard E McCurdy
Contributions by: Michael R. Beschloss, Robert Dallek, Joan Hoff, Lyn Ragsdale, Robert H. Ferrell, John M. Logsdon
Epilogue by: Roger D. Launius, Howard E McCurdy