General Information

Author/Creator

Biddle, Wayne, 1948-

Language

English.

Published

New York : W. W. Norton, c2009.

Physical Description

xiv, 220 p., [8] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 25 cm.

Contents/Summary

Summary

A stunning investigation of the roots of the first moon landing, this illuminating story of the dawn of the space age reaches back to the reactionary modernism of the Third Reich, using the life of "rocket scientist" Wernher von Braun as its narrative path through the crumbling of Weimar Germany and the rise of the Nazi regime. Von Braun, a blinkered opportunist who could apply only tunnel vision to his meteoric career, stands as an archetype of myriad twentieth century technologists who thrived under regimes of military secrecy and unlimited money. His seamless transformation from developer of the deadly V2 ballistic missile for Hitler to an American celebrity as the supposed genius behind the golden years of the U.S. space program in the 1950s and 1960s raises haunting questions about the culture of the Cold War, the shared values of technology in totalitarian and democratic societies, and the imperatives of material progress.

Subjects

Subject

Von Braun, Wernher, 1912-1977.

Rocketry > Germany > Biography.

Rocketry > United States > Biography.

World War, 1939-1945 > Science.

Space race > United States > History > 20th century.

Astronautics > United States > Biography.

Astronautics > Moral and ethical aspects.

Cold War.

Germany > Politics and government > 1933-1945.

Bibliographic Information

Responsibility

Wayne Biddle.

Content

A junker's life -- Memories of defeat -- "Highly technological romanticism" -- An heir of credibility -- Childhood's end -- "Fingers in the pie" -- Supreme zeal -- Grand and horribly wrong -- Depravity -- "A psychological block".

ISBN

0393059103

9780393059106

Holdings

Item Type	Current Location	Collection	Call Number	Volume Info	Shelving Location	Public Note
Book	OSA Archivum Library	General collection	629.4092 BID		General Stacks	Donation of School of Public Policy.

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