I wasn't blaming it on anyone specifically.
But the approach was a technological dead end. Apollo, despite some interesting follow-on ideas, had nowhere else to go.
The original concepts for space exploration involved a slow progression through reusable launch systems, orbital assembly facilities, and eventually, the Moon. Built on a framework of large-scale space systems, not a one-off gigantic Moon launch vehicle which reused nothing and managed to return something to Earth the size of a tool shed.
I still have copies of the old Willy Ley books, held together with masking tape.