Book: von Braun Biography

Quick! Name a rocket scientist!

Yeah, maybe you thought of Robert Goddard, but most likely the name Wernher von Braun came to mind. More than 3 decades after his death, he probably remains the world’s most famous rocket scientist. So famous that an important new biography of him was published late last year.

Michael J. Neufeld’s “Von Braun: Deamers of Space | Engineer of War” is a thick book, rich in detail that successfully humanizes its subject.

Of course, the central controversy about von Braun has always been: good or evil? He worked for the Nazi’s to develop the V2 rocket which reigned death on England. And the V2 was built using slave labor.

On the other hand, how could he overtly oppose Hitler?

And then, he came to the United States (to Huntsville Alabama!) to design and build rockets for the United States. This suggests amorality—the man wanted to build moon rockets, period. Politics wasn’t his thing.

A more nuanced and less conclusive version of von Braun appear in Neufeld’s book. Certainly von Braun was an ambitious man, and he wanted to build moon rockets. He didn’t have the inclination to challenge authority directly, although he could try to use persuasion. (And he could be very persuasive.) But he wasn’t an anti-semite or an ideological Nazi.

Neufeld’s book is a very full biography, approaching 500 pages: it covers more than von Braun’s involvement with Hitler’s regime. Neufeld skillfully traces von Braun’s early influences to the point that the man is almost, but not quite, understandable. There’s still some mystery left.

But this book provides the clearest picture yet of the indispensable man without whom America probably would not have reached the moon.