Wernher von Braun

Bernd Ruland, Wernher von Braun (intro.)
Year1970
PublisherLe Cercle du Nouveau Livre d'Histoire (Librairie Jules Tallandier)
PlaceParis
LanguageFR
Pages294
Rating★★★☆☆ (3/5)
AudienceGeneral, Student
LevelBeginner
Keywords
World War IIApollo ProgramV-2 ProgrammeGerman scientistsballistic missiles
ThemesLaunchers & Propulsion, Space Race

A biography of the engineer Wernher von Braun (1912-1977) by the German journalist Bernd Ruland, based on lengthy interviews conducted at von Braun's home in Huntsville, Alabama, and prefaced by an introduction written by von Braun himself. The narrative follows his career chronologically: a youthful passion for rockets in 1920s Berlin, the Peenemünde military test centre, the development of the A-4/V-2 and its use against London, the transfer of the German scientists to the United States in 1945, and then the space race, from Sputnik and Explorer 1 to the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo program. The French edition published by Le Cercle du Nouveau Livre d'Histoire (1970) includes a substantial section of documentary plates.

📖 Editorial Review

An authorized biography of the designer of the V-2 and the Saturn V, written by the German reporter Bernd Ruland from lengthy conversations with von Braun in Huntsville. First published in German in 1969, it was translated into French in 1970, in the immediate aftermath of Apollo 11. …