Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun [Hardcover]

Bob Ward (Author), John Glenn (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2005

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.

Editorial Reviews

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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press; 1st edition (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591149266
• ISBN-13: 978-1591149262
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Up, Up and Away, July 19, 2005

By 

Big D (Auburn, AL. USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun (Hardcover)

Excellent read on the birth of the space program through the man who most "got it done..." von Braun..Just enough technical stuff to appreciate and understand the difficulty of it, but not too much to slow the read..well done..a great mix of humanity and science...

Concentrates on von Braun the man...excellent insight into his manners, values, hopes, dreams,trials and disappointments. We can learn from the man's disappointments and hard times as much as we can from his good times and successes. Bob presents a broad array of humanity which makes this book well worth reading from the humanity standpoint. Good mix..great mix--of science and humanity.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Accurate on a lot of Details usually Missed, May 26, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun (Hardcover)

Wernher von Braun was very bright, very dedicated, and very, very lucky. Looking at what he did, there is no question that he was a very bright fellow. He couldn't have done all that he did otherwise. He was also very dedicated. He lived and breathed rockets. He started working with rockets very early and kept at it all through his life.

But just think how lucky he was. Had he been born earlier (like Goddard) there were no rocket programs. Had he been born later, say he turned 16 or 17 in 1944, it is likely that he would have been cannon fodder on the eastern front. Had he been fascinated by any of a hundred other subjects: machine guns, aircraft engines, submarines or whatever, he would have been just another member of the Nazi party and the SS. Rather than a trip to the US as a "Special Employee" of the US Army, it is likely that he would have a trip to prison instead. If he had been in the Russian zone ....

This is the first book on von Braun that I've read that got the story of Operation Paperclip and the special trip to Mexico correct. That shows pretty good research.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lack of Impartiality Hurts Biography, November 19, 2005

By 

Michael Lima (Fresno, California USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun (Hardcover)

The old admonish about never judging a book by its cover is very apropos to Dr. Space. The book's jacket touts this biography as a "...rare, balanced study..." of Von Braun's life. Sadly, that isn't the case. Ward clearly states that he had met Von Braun more than once. Those interactions obviously left Ward with favorable impressions of the man, which end up shaping the portrayal of his subject. Von Braun is depicted as an almost super-human being that was loved by most, but despised by a jealous, inferior few who made the end of his life miserable. Even Von Braun's faults, toward which a chapter is dedicated, are depicted not as flaws in character but as mild eccentricities and naughtiness. Yet, Von Braun's career strongly hints that he was a firm believer that (at least professionally) the ends justified the means. A more balanced biography would have the explored this aspect of Von Braun's personality further.

The reader is especially shortchanged in the depiction of Von Braun's technical skills. Von Braun is primarily shown in the workplace as a cheerleader type manager who got the best from his staff. Virtually none of his technical accomplishments are mentioned, leaving the reader to wonder why a good manager would be awarded the National Medal of Science and ranked second on the list of the 100 "Stars of Aerospace". While detailed technical descriptions might be over the head of some readers (after all, most of us aren't rocket scientists), some illustration would have been helpful to appreciate Von Braun's creativity.

With the atrophying of the U.S. space program and the time that's passed since his death, the general public's knowledge and appreciation of Von Braun is sadly fading from memory. A good biography of this rocketry giant would restore the widespread respect that he deserves. Unfortunately, Dr. Space is just a warm up to that more definitive biography which has yet to be written.