Dr. Space: The Life of Werner von Braun

Excellent book about Wernher von Braun's life.

and not just the scientist, then this is the biography to read. Dr. von Braun had, perhaps, the most brillant mind of anyone living in this century. But everything I had ever read about him dealt with the scientific aspects of that mind and, of course, the moral aspects of his Nazi past. I maintain that if Hitler was ordering you to produce or die, you would have done what this man did - produce. And after all was said and done, his family lost everything. I was more interested in knowing this brilliant man as a human being. I have traveled to Rocket City, USA and it is a wonderful and interesting place. Most interesting is that they recently erected a replica Saturn V which stands magnificently and can be seen for miles. So, if you want to know Wernher von Braun, the man, then this is a great book to read. Thank you Bob Ward for giving me a better idea of the fine man that he was. I am truly convinced that without his mind and his German cohorts an American would have never walked on the moon. Thank you Dr. von Braun!!!

Bob Ward has put Wernher von Braun in history and in context. What an extraordinary engineer, manager and visionary. It might be easy to credit von Braun with sitting down, pencil and slide rule in hand, and designing all these rockets. Yes, he did a lot of that but it’s not why the rockets flew nor why he was so successful and admired. As von Braun readily credits, he helped myriad others create and build his hardware, from V-2 to Saturn V. The details were left to his team although many of the breakthrough decisions were his. His intuition was as good, maybe better, than his considerable intellect and he allowed it free reign in his musings and bold plans. My reason for scoring “Dr. Space” a 4 and not a 5 is because the book lacked much of the scientific and engineering information behind rockets and von Braun’s specific contribution to their development. Perhaps, Ward can be forgiven as this is a biography about the man not the science. There is ample detailed information about von Braun’s life, family, relationships and work history. There is also sound reporting on his Nazi past by both the author and von Braun himself. It’s not quite as complicated as some would have it. von Braun gave so much to the American space program that in context his past can certainly be understood but not forgiven. As one who followed the early space programs (I watched every launch and recovery live from Mercury’s Freedom 7 through Gene Cernan’s Apollo 17), I was well aware of von Braun and the powerful (pun intended) influence he had on the success of manned space flight. He was a god, an extraordinary person who was as human as he was genius.

Dr. Wernher von Braun was born into extreme wealth, he was given an impressive name; (Wernher Magnus Maxmillion von Braun)and he was born a baron into an aristocratic family; his parents bought him a telescope to stargaze when he turned 11. This event was pivotal in shaping the mind of a famous rocket scientist the world would get to know within a decade. All these things contributed to the solar plexus of this complex man's soul. He was a brilliant man that defied explanation. People who knew him claimed he was a kind man who did kind things, but when one examines his work in Germany, working under no one more evil and hideous than Adolf Hitler himself, one wonders WHY. WHY didn't von Braun defect and run to the USA and claim political asylum? He didn't have to build those evil V 2 rockets, now did he? I don't know and I don't want to be so quick to point the finger at this brilliant man. Once he surrendered to American forces, he was put into isolation in a deserted desert called White Sands of New Mexico, under the secret project named, "Operation Paper Clip." The operation was named such because the top brainiac rocket scientists that came over from Germany were hand-picked by an American military man to come and build weaponry for the Dept. of Defense - USA this time. Wernher von Braun always wanted to shoot for the moon, and he was the one who predicted that Russia would beat us to it months before Sputnik made it's historic flight in low space orbit. Von Braun was ready to launch a US satellite, but as an alien to this country, von Braun readily got tangled in a ball of red tape and bureaucracy. Soon enough, people started to listen to him and he became a rocket scientist like the world had never seen before, and likely - never will see again. Von Braun had an intellect like no other. He had a brilliant scientific method of building complex rocket machinery which ultimately resulted in the biggest, most complex machine ever built in the history of mankind; the Saturn V rocket. It is a sad thing to consider; most of von Braun's notes on the Saturn V is lost to the winds and there are no scientists alive that remember how to build or assemble such a monster of a machine. That technology may be called obsolete or inferior by our modern, computerized world today - but I'll bet you there is not a man alive who could assemble and build a fully functional Saturn V rocket today. Even with the help of high-speed, modern computers assisting! What von Braun did back in the day was beyond mankind's ability to dream - but he somehow managed to launch 3 men into space, land them on the surface of the moon and bring them safely back to earth. President Kennedy's dream realized. Von Braun rests in peace today, buried like any mere mortal - under six feet of silent brown earth. He took a lot of his trade secrets to the grave with him. It's sort of a shame that there aren't any more like him. In the end, God will judge us all. How God will judge the heart of Wernher von Braun is beyond my comprehension. How does God judge a former Nazi? Then again, didn't von Braun pay his dues to society by getting an American man on the moon? Didn't all the good he did on this beautiful earth outweigh all the bad? There is an old saying that goes, "The only thing necessary for a bad man to succeed is for a good man to do nothing." In a way we are all responsible for this quote and I am glad that God is powerful and intelligent enough to judge von Braun. I would think that God forgave him. I didn't really pay a lick of attention on the life of Wernher von Braun my entire life. I was shortchanging the man because of his German alliances and I didn't give him the credit that he so richly deserves. This book taught me a huge deal about personal redemption, moving forward despite strong opposition and bias and ultimately achieving the pinnacle of one's highest aspirations. Please give this book and Dr. Wernher von Braun your attention. You will learn a huge amount of good things and even a measure of personal forgiveness. God bless.

Von Braun was one of my childhood heroes. This books does not gloss over the difficult periods when he was used by the Nazis and shows some of his short comings, but reminds us of what a great and determined man can achieve. I enjoyed the parts about his family, but found the tales of his ability to "work" within the different administrations and politicians fascinating. He will always have his detractors, but this sets matters straight.

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.

Second, great book 👍

(I haven't quite finished this book so a review might be premature. I'm about 3/4 through.) It's a biography of Werner von Braun, the space pioneer. The book relies a lot on quotes from people who knew him. A good many of the quotes are directed to Mr von Braun, like "I remember when you ..." I'm guessing these must have come from a retirement party or some such. Apparently wherever all these second-person quotes came from was a major source for the writer. On the one hand, quotes from people who were there at the time make the book much more personal than if it was based on newspaper stories and official histories. On the other hand, I found the second-person narrative distracting. Maybe that's just me. There are also a handful of personal references by the author, he mentions briefly meeting von Braun a couple of times, being present as a reporter at a couple of important events, etc. With due respect to the author, these added nothing to the book. As often seems to happen in biographies, the book is very pro-von Braun. The author describes numerous conflicts that von Braun was in with other people in the US space program, Congress, and so on, and as the author tells it, von Braun was always 100% right and anyone who disagreed with him was 100% wrong. At one point he has a rather long discussion of whether a person who opposed von Braun was motivated by personal jealousy or anti-German bigotry, with not a word given to any possible rational motive. While I have great respect for Mr von Braun, I can't believe he was ALWAYS right. It would be interesting to read something that gave a fairer hearing to the other side. Given that a major source was apparently reminisces from the man's friends, there are a fair number of the personal anecdotes: remember the time you played that cute little practical joke on your secretary and we all laughed, etc. In my opinion there was enough of this sort of personal material to keep the story "real" without making it lame. The main narrative is about von Braun's career in the US space program, from his role in getting the first satellites in orbit to his role in putting the first men on the Moon, which I think is what most readers, myself included, are interested in. The personal stuff is icing on the cake. Oh, I should mention that even though the book is about a highly technical subject -- after all, when people want to say a subject is NOT technical, they often say, "it's not rocket science", while this IS rocket science -- anyway, the book is not technical. It's about the man's life, not about how to build rockets. While it discusses technical challenges, it doesn't go into the details, just "they were worried about how to handle the vibration from the rocket motors", that sort of thing. While I suppose a high-school level understanding of astronomy and how rockets work and that sort of thing may be helpful to understanding the book, really, I think you could read it and get the point if you just understand what the word "orbit" means and a few such basic concepts.

testo in inglese non troppo complicato ma scorrevole. Mi è piaciuto molto, ben scritto. Affronta tutta la vita di Von Braun dai razzi V2 al programma Apollo....affascinante

Loved it very much and I learned a few (actually quite a lot) things.

Bob Ward’s account of the life of Doctor Wernher von Braun, who was cleared of all possible war crimes, and his work, is an excellent and informative read. My only gripe is that von Braun’s thoughts and possible actions concerning Apollo 13 do not feature in this book. Surely the Doctor would have had some input following the explosion on the way to the Moon in 1970. The engineering achievements of von Braun and his team of German scientists will possibly never be matched. That all configurations of the stupendous Saturn rocket booster never failed in 30 plus liftoffs is remarkable. And this feat of excellence has set a benchmark for today’s 21st century entrepreneurs following in their steps.

Well written. It keeps the reader's attention. Von Brauns leadership and indisputed knowledge in the rocket field is fully demonstrated.

I had heard of Von Braun before, with a recent Netflix series rekindling a desire to know more about this man and his apparent conflicts due to his WWII role with V2’s. The book brought him to life, is a great read, but also provides insight into how a vision can drive a person to achieve truly incredible results (and a great role model for business leadership). horoughly recommended