false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg 1279705 2 <p>The first authoritative biography of Wernher von Braun, chief rocket engineer of the Third Reich&#8212;creator of the infamous V-2 rocket&#8212;who became one of the fathers of the U.S. space program. In this meticulously researched and vividly written life, Michael J. Neufeld gives us a man of profound moral complexities, glorified as a visionary and vilified as a war criminal, a man whose brilliance and charisma were coupled with an enormous and, some would say, blinding ambition.<br><br>As one of the leading developers of rocket technology for the German army, von Braun yielded to pressure to join the Nazi Party in 1937 and reluctantly became an SS officer in 1940. During the war, he supervised work on the V-2s, which were assembled by starving slave laborers in a secret underground plant and then fired against London and Antwerp. Thousands of prisoners died&#8212;a fact he well knew and kept silent about for as long as possible.<br><br>When the Allies overran Germany, von Braun and his team surrendered to the Americans. The U.S. Army immediately recognized his skills and brought him and his colleagues to America to work on the development of guided missiles, in a covert operation that became known as Project Paperclip. He helped launch the first American satellite in 1958 and headed NASA&#8217;s launch-vehicle development for the Apollo Moon landing.<br><br>Handsome and likable, von Braun dedicated himself to selling the American public on interplanetary travel and became a household name in the 1950s, appearing on Disney TV shows and writing for popular magazines. But he never fully escaped his past, and in later years he faced increasing questions as his wartime actions slowly came to light.<br><br>Based on new sources, <i>Von Braun</i> is a brilliantly nuanced portrait of a man caught between morality and progress, between his dreams of the heavens and the earthbound realities of his life.</p> 1268699 25 9 2007 Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War total:31|5:4|4:20|3:5|2:2|1:0| 31 119 67 10 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 2 1 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 15 10:23:17 -0700 2007 Sat Dec 08 18:44:45 -0800 2007 more...]]> 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 4 0 false Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 18:12:12 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 17:23:34 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 4 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 10:33:34 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 10:45:45 -0800 2009 Apollo 13 and whathaveyou. This is a biography of a somewhat forgotten figure who was willing to d...more...]]> 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 4 0 false Thu Nov 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 20:04:51 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 20:07:41 -0800 2008 A quality and very detailed description of a complicated man. The book does a good job with his life history. However, I found more fascinating his work history. Like many great men, it's not about who they married, or where they lived or what drugs they took (though recent autobiographies...more...]]> 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 0 0 false Sun Jun 15 19:35:08 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 15 19:43:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5670167 0307389375 9780307389374 1 1 3.84 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5670167.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 4 0 false Sat Jul 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 12:11:11 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 10:44:36 -0700 2009 Westminster here in Atlanta, the archrival of my own alma mater (Marist). Awesome!more...]]> 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 5 0 false Tue Feb 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 05 07:46:19 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 05 07:52:44 -0800 2008
I knew he had designed the V-2 rockets for Hitler, that bombed London, and I knew he'd done a lot for the USA space program. I had no idea how hard the USA space program was to work with or how much each branch of the Military ...more...]]> 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 4 0 false Mon May 04 20:31:09 -0700 2009 Mon May 04 20:32:09 -0700 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 4 0 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 06 21:13:52 -0800 2007 Thu Feb 28 07:26:07 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 5 0 false Sat Aug 15 11:35:35 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 05:55:11 -0700 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 4 0 false Sun Nov 15 17:42:21 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 17:42:21 -0800 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 5 0 false Thu Nov 05 05:26:58 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 05:27:04 -0800 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 0 0 false Fri Oct 23 22:33:44 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 22:33:44 -0700 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 0 0 false Wed Oct 21 16:37:41 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 16:37:41 -0700 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 4 0 false Mon Aug 24 19:35:08 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 19:35:08 -0700 2009 5670167 0307389375 9780307389374 1 1 3.84 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5670167.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 0 0 false Mon Jul 27 16:13:52 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 16:13:52 -0700 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 0 0 false Sat Jul 18 15:12:56 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 15:12:56 -0700 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 0 0 false Fri Jul 17 18:07:55 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 18:07:55 -0700 2009 5670167 0307389375 9780307389374 1 1 3.84 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5670167.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 0 0 false Thu Jul 09 09:21:36 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 09:21:39 -0700 2009 1279705 0307262928 9780307262929 30 9 3.84 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182459976m/1279705.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1279705.Von_Braun_Dreamer_of_Space_Engineer_of_War 0 0 false Fri Jul 03 12:14:40 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 12:14:40 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1279705