This just strikes me as funny considering that I'm currently reading a book on the Apollo 8 flight called "Rocket Men". The prior flight of the Saturn V had encountered pogo oscillation issues with the first stage that nearly shook the rocket apart. Two of five motors failed on the second stage and they were unable to restart the engine on the third stage. So eight months later, after major revisions almost every system, they not only put men on top of it, but sent it to the moon. To say that NASA was less risk adverse during the space race is a bit of an understatement.
Check out Rocket Men by Robert Kurson. Many of these events are told in a great adventure story , helping understand why each country was able to do what they did and when they did it.