Howard E. McCurdy is a professor of public administration at the American University in Washington, DC. He is the author of four books on space ("The Space Station Decision;" "Inside NASA;" "Space and the American Imagination;" and "Faster, Better, Cheaper"). In addition, with Roger D. Launius, he has coedited "Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership" and coauthored "Imagining Space." He lives in Maryland.