Dr. Space

Written by veteran aerospace journalist Bob Ward, who spent years investigating his subject, the father of modern rocketry, this biography presents a revealing but even-handed portrait of the one-time Nazi Party member who brought the United States into the Space Age. As he chronicles Werner von Braun's life, Ward explodes many myths and misconceptions about the controversial genius who was a hero to some, a villain to others. From the young German aristocrats leadership role in the development of the worlds first ballistic missilethe infamous V-2 rocket used against the Allies during the invasion of Europe in World War IIto his successes in the United States after the war helping to launch the first U.S. satellite that hurled Americans into space and the Saturn V super-booster that powered them to the moon, a picture of von Braun emerges as a brilliant scientist with limitless curiosity and a drive to achieve his goals at almost any price. Yet the authors lengthy research reveals that the apolitical von Braun accepted nominal Party membership and an essentially honorary SS commission only under heavy pressure, and that his connections to the notorious V-2 slave labour factory were largely peripheral. Along the way readers are introduced to the human side of this charismatic visionary who brought the United States into the Space Age. Including insights and recollections from a number of von Brauns celebrity friendsWalter Cronkite, Hugh Downs, and William Pickering among themthis is a book certain to appeal to both von Brauns admirers and detractors.