Wernher von Braun : The Man Who Sold the Moon

Rating:
Summary: Biased
Review: BIASED - That is, unbalanced research by a man who could easily have gone to some firsthand sources but who evidently reached his conclusions before he even bagan his study, then stuck to those conclusions, with all the skill of a lawyer deciding which evidence to select and exclude, in order to show us only one half of a man's face. We are then left to judge, from that half-portrait, the full measure of the man. Granted: von Braun aimed for the stars and sometimes hit London, but he was by every account I know a timid and at times frightened man who was far, far from being a devoted believer in nazism. The historian Walter Lord (who worked for the OSS during World War II) found no similarities between the captured von Braun and Hitler's architect Speers, (the latter spoke loudly and with great charisma about being "the repentant nazi" but the remorse was, according to Lord, all pretense). Sir Arthur C. Clarke had known von Braun before the war and they remained very close friends after the war, right up to the time of the rocket pioneer's death. George Zebrowski and I asked Arthur, some two years ago, about von Braun's knowledge of slave labor at the rocket factory. Arthur said von Braun had told him: "I knew there were bad things happening... prison laborers... slave labor... hangings. I knew some things, and I knew that I could have made an effort to learn more. But I was not brave enough to learn more. If I would have learned more, I would then have felt morally obligated to speak out, again, and try to do something about it. And then I would have very quickly become just another corpse. So I looked away... I looked away." These words echo the lament of Charles Victor Groves in his letters to Walter Lord, describing another cold night in another time and place - but the questions remain the same: What would we have done, in their place? How much does darkness weigh?

Rating:
Summary: Not a fair bio..
Review: Dennis Piszkiewicz takes the historical background of the individual who helped to shaped America's space program and puts it on display to the public. This book has a lot of history in it, especially that which is related to NASA and the United States Space Race with the USSR. He also discusses some of the important events that occurred in Germany while Braun worked for the NAZIs during WWII. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in rocketry and especially those interested in the history of the space age.

Rating:
Summary: I was not disappointed. You won't be either.
Review: I really liked this book. It was well read, well researched. I don't see it as having a bias, but a point, and a point well taken. Taken in context, Werner von Braun was no more and no less than a German, and a product of his times. He was a leader in his field in Germany, and in America. What stands out for me is what this book says about America and, in particular, the United States Army.

This book has the most thorough documentation of Project Paperclip that I have seen yet. While presenting as balanced a perception as possible about why certain things played out the way they did, it is indeed troublesome that the high-tech space industry was balanced on the backs of slave labor from its inception, and definitely seems to be moving even further in that direction today throughout corporate America and the New World Order. This is no accident.

Nor is Werner von Braun the ultimate Evil. He was a human being who was exploited as so many are and wanted only to do his best work. Germans were raised, through their educational system, to respect and obey authority without question. This, too, is where our public education system is trying to go.

I bought the book in particular for its chapter on his work with Disney. I was not disappointed. You won't be either.

Rating:
Summary: AT LAST, A COMPLETE & HONEST ASSESSMENT OF WERNHER VON BRAUN
Review: Previously published biographys of Wernher von Braun have been largely hagiographic based on the high success levels and extensive promotion of the U.S. Space Program for which von Braun received a great deal of earned and some unearned credit. He was, without doubt, a brilliant and goal oriented man. But, as were many in Germany during the Nazi years, he was an opportunist, willing to achieve his desired goals without regard to the consequences for other people or concern for the organizations that he supported and which, in turn, supported his cause.

The author's extensive research is thoroughly documented in the notes and bibliography. It includes much data that was classified by the United States Government and withheld from the public during von Braun's lifetime. That von Braun was a working and supportive member of the Nazi Party has now been publicized, well documented and backed up with many previously classified records made available to the public through the Freedom of Information Act.

This book shows a more complete picture of who and what Wernher von Braun was prior to his move to the United States as well as his involvement in the U.S. Space Program. It does not change but presents a much more complete, correct and balanced view of history. It presents "The Rest of the Story".

The author's easy to read style presents accurate history in a well documented, chronological order. This book is easy reading and compellingly interesting to anyone looking for a more complete and accurate history of World War II, Rocket Development, and the Space Race that achieved such accomplishments as placing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth along with samples of moon rocks and pictures of the earth from the moon.

Specifically, this book shows the underlying character of von Braun and his unrelenting drive to achieve these goals at any price.

Rating:
Summary: Not History but all about a Vendetta
Review: Sadly, books like this one by Piszkiewicz are considered by many to be historically accurate. Piszkiewicz is not a historian and his attempt to hide behind psuedo-historical wording still cannot hide his obvious bias against von Braun. I wrote my MA thesis on von Braun and his Team and these men were not Nazis. Von Braun gets labeled (Neufeld for one) as an opportunist, like that is a bad thing. If I had to choose between the USSR and the USA, darn right I would go with the Americans. Thankfully, von Braun and his team did come to America and were the foundation of our booster program that led to the incredible Saturn V which landed Americans on the moon. Von Braun is a great American Hero, warts and all. There are numerous books out there much better than this shallow attempt at character assassination.

Rating:
Summary: Not History but all about a Vendetta
Review: Sadly, books like this one by Piszkiewicz are considered by many to be historically accurate. Piszkiewicz is not a historian and his attempt to hide behind psuedo-historical wording still cannot hide his obvious bias against von Braun. I wrote my MA thesis on von Braun and his Team and these men were not Nazis. Von Braun gets labeled (Neufeld for one) as an opportunist, like that is a bad thing. If I had to choose between the USSR and the USA, darn right I would go with the Americans. Thankfully, von Braun and his team did come to America and were the foundation of our booster program that led to the incredible Saturn V which landed Americans on the moon. Von Braun is a great American Hero, warts and all. There are numerous books out there much better than this shallow attempt at character assassination.

Rating:
Summary: Wernher Von Braun: The man who sold the moon
Review: the author had a hidden agenda when he wrote this book of linking Von Braun to Nazi atrocities. That agenda clouded his ability to write a clear perspective of Von Braun's career. He brings in other historians with a similar bent and refers to their opinions when making his points. Combine with the author's poor writing style and you find a throughly unreadable biography. The only saving grace is a few bits of information that if surfaced on the US space program not found in other books.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing and Balanced
Review: The author presents Von Braun in all his complexity. Rather than reading like a press release as most Von Braun biographies, we learn about the intertwined history of space exploration and military advancement. The space program has always involved militarism. The author documents Von Braun's Nazi past while giving fair accolades for his scientific expertise.

Rating:
Summary: A biased biography, shallow and poorly researched.
Review: The book is an extremely biased account ov Wernher Von Braun's life. It makes a strong effort to find "skeletons" in Von Braun's closet, but finally fails miserably in its intent. The fact that the german scientist was, during WW2, a member of the Nazi party and was commissioned by the SS shouldn't surprise anyone who knows how, in order to succeed in the military-industrial complex of Nazi Germany, these were absolutely unavoidable prerequisites. The book is a witch-hunt agains the man who, more than anyone else, created modern rocketry and opened the way to space exploration. His record as an american citizen is exemplary and he was a pillar of the community where he lived. The world of science owes Wernher Von Braun a debt of gratitude. Mr Piskiewicz's bitter biography is best avoided. There are other, better biographies of Von Braun available, namely the one by Ernst Stuhlinger and Frederick Ordway, who knew and worked with the german rocketry pioneer.

Rating:
Summary: A biased biography, shallow and poorly researched.
Review: The book is an extremely biased account ov Wernher Von Braun's life. It makes a strong effort to find "skeletons" in Von Braun's closet, but finally fails miserably in its intent. The fact that the german scientist was, during WW2, a member of the Nazi party and was commissioned by the SS shouldn't surprise anyone who knows how, in order to succeed in the military-industrial complex of Nazi Germany, these were absolutely unavoidable prerequisites. The book is a witch-hunt agains the man who, more than anyone else, created modern rocketry and opened the way to space exploration. His record as an american citizen is exemplary and he was a pillar of the community where he lived. The world of science owes Wernher Von Braun a debt of gratitude. Mr Piskiewicz's bitter biography is best avoided. There are other, better biographies of Von Braun available, namely the one by Ernst Stuhlinger and Frederick Ordway, who knew and worked with the german rocketry pioneer.