Product Description

Von Braun is an enlightening and definitive biography of perhaps the greatest rocket scientist in history. From Nazi party member to the director of NASA's Marshall Space Center and the brains behind the Apollo moon landings, von Braun continues to be a compelling and controversial figure in American history. He was the guiding light for the German's V-1 and V-2 rockets and American space flight, creating the breakthrough technologies of the Mercury and Apollo programmes, yet his Nazi party association overshadowed his accomplishments. The author devoted more than ten years of research and conducted more than a hundred interviews with von Braun's colleagues to complete this behind-the-scenes biography that looks into the stories, heroics, and contradictions of an enigmatic man.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #543247 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 282 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This paean offers uncritical praise of every aspect of rocket scientist von Braun's life. While there's an enormous amount to celebrate about the man most responsible for the U.S. putting astronauts on the moon, von Braun (1912–1977) is a more complex figure than Ward represents. As a reporter for the Huntsville (Ala.) Times, Ward covered von Braun during many of his years as director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville. In addition to his own interactions with von Braun, Ward draws too heavily on letters written by the scientist's friends and colleagues in honor of his 60th birthday. Additionally, Ward provides a relatively superficial examination of von Braun's controversial role in Nazi Germany, where he and his team of engineers created the V-2 rocket used against the Allies (this project is better presented by Michael Neufeld in The Rocket and the Reich). A clear picture of von Braun's enormous charisma, intellect and personality does come through, as does a sense of how critical a political (as well as technological) role von Braun played in defining America's space program. 40 b&w photos. (June)
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About the Author
Former editor of The Huntsville (Alabama) Times, Bob Ward has written extensively about space since 1957. He covered the von Braun rocket team for years as a reporter and as a correspondent to technical and trade periodicals in New York.