About this title: In this authoritative biography of Wernher von Braun, chief rocket engineer of the Third Reich, Neufeld presents a man of profound moral complexities who has been glorified as a visionary and vilified as a war criminal, a man whose brilliance had been coupled with ambition.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780307389374ISBN:0307389375
Description: Good. This book is in good condition. Minimal wear and tear. This item was a donation to Goodwill of Greater Washington. Thank you for your purchase. Your order will be processed within 2 business days of receipt. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780307389374ISBN:0307389375
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 587 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780307262929ISBN:0307262928
Description: New in new dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 587 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. 0307389375 24730O PB; spine creased, text clean, cover has slight shelf wear-allow up to 21 business days for standard USPS media m ai l. wt3lbcbpf. read more
Description: Good. 0307262928 Book could have a shelf wear, or a bump, or sunfade to edges. These are new unread books from the publisher with one of these conditions. See are feedback as customers are satisfied in how we grade our books. Has remainder mark. Fast shipping and customer service is our number 1 priority! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2008-11-11
ISBN-13:9780307389374ISBN:0307389375
Description: New. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. Collectible pre-release book with plain cover. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
""Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War" by Michael J. Neufeld is a broad, sweeping look at the life and work of one of the most iconic and ethically conflicted engineers in history, Dr. Wernher Von Braun. A dreamer of space from a young age, Von Braun always held the manned exploration of space as his ultimate goal; however, to reach for this dream, the brilliant and charming engineer would, apparently rather non-chalantly, accept the support of Hitler's Nazi regime for early rocket development in exchange for his expertise in turning these tools of exploration into weapons of death, weapons that would kill over 9,000 civilians in London and thousands more in Antwerp during the notorious V-2 rocket campaign.
Neufeld does not explicitly judge Von Braun one way or another, as easy as it would be to condemn him outright. One is almost affronted at the effort to which Neufeld goes to appear neutral, given that Von Braun is the quintessential 21st-century Faust, achieving greatness for science, Germany, and later (in a massive way) the United States, yet doing so through the knowing design of instruments of destruction built by concentration camp laborers. At the height of Dora's labor contribution to the Reich's rocket program, up to 20 prisoners per day died in appalling conditions for Von Braun's dream.
Yet Von Braun's case is compelling, as he represents the extreme of the ethical challenge that lurks behind every scientific advancement and in the back of every engineer's mind at some point in his or her career. Every technology, no matter how benign it's scientific purpose, has a dark side. Indeed, few significant engineering achievements have been realized without the help of the enormous resources and funding that weapons programs command. What is the individual scientist or engineer's ethical responsibility for the technologies that he or she creates? Does the belief that individual good intentions make up for half-intentional blindness to context hold up to historical scrutiny?
Neufeld deviates from Von Braun's personal history on several occasions, delving into the engineering programs in which the rocket man absorbed himself with an appropriate level of technical detail. Far from distracting from the history of the man, these windows into the breathtaking scope and complexity of the early years of rocket flight are a testament to the organizational genius and technical management brilliance of Von Braun. However, as I am an aerospace engineer myself, I would advise the rocket engineering layman to take my assessment of "appropriate level of technical detail" with a grain of salt.
I found it interesting to learn that several of the phrases and sayings common in modern NASA lingo originated with Von Braun, including NIH ("not invented here") syndrome. This disease, apparently as common if not more so in Von Braun's time is it is in the modern agency, manifests itself primarily in that the ten NASA centers (then six) by and large operate as ten separate, and often competing, organizations - repeated "One NASA" efforts by Headquarters notwithstanding. A technique or program "not invented here" at the home center might stand a greater chance of being received coolly or even with hostile tones. The roots of this issue are shown in this biography to be the formation of NASA as a rushed aggregation of disparate government and contractor entities, during a time of particularly heightened inter-service rivalry between the Army, Navy, and newly created Air Force for Cold War weapons development dollars. The significant cultural differences between the widely distributed centers certainly are a contributing factor.
In the end, we are left with burning questions. Von Braun played a central role in the formation and execution of the US space program. The US space program brought with it huge side benefits for our nation and the world: significant technological triumph over totalitarian forces, greatly expanded and improved machining and manufacturing processes (safer cars, lighter airplanes, computers, new materials, new medical possibilities, etc, etc), a host of spinoff technologies including the artificial heart, and the emergence of a modern outlet for the deeply-rooted American drive to explore and invent. Partial credit for these advancements must be, perhaps grudgingly, relinquished to Von Braun. Yet what then is the ultimate historical place for a former SS-Sturmbannfuerer (SS Major), one perhaps (not ever proven directly) complicit in Nazi war crimes, that hardly batted an eye when switching flags from Germany to the United States? Are the so many benefits garnered from a man, however brilliant, so blind to the human context of his actions to be taken with appreciation, or unease? And what does this say about a United States that was willing to overlook these past atrocities, even make this man a hero, in the face of a new Communist threat? Our condemnations of the past must be tempered by the realization that in hindsight, removed of the pressures of the situation, moral judgments are easy to make in the comfort of our modern lives; and we must not make Von Braun's own mistake in neglecting the context of his later work for our country.
These issues, while (perhaps appropriately) not directly concluded by Neufeld's book, are nonetheless thrown into glaring light by this biography; they are left to the reader to mull over in that post-read stupor that inevitably follows an extended immersion in the written word. And, like any truly good piece of historical work, Neufeld's biography of this Faustian trailblazer creates more questions than it answers. I recommend it highly. And afterward, if you would be so kind as to meet me for a cup of coffee and a long philosophical exchange regarding its contents, I would be much obliged."
"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 have become dry medical charts of substances ingested), it is their work.
And in detailing the work, the engineering and the business of rocket building that this book is really fascinating. Even the mundane business of government programs being formed and dismembered, the political struggles to get funding and to keep organizations intact.
Those chapters are worth the price of the book itself."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
![Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War [Deckle Edge]](http://images.alibris.com/isbn/9780307262929_t.gif)
rating
