Von Braun in the Rainbow

[Monte Davis]

Robin sez:
> And Werner von Braun is not one of the good guys.

And if I find anyone who says he is, I'll pass it on.

My involvement in this thread  began when Rich Romeo characterized Freeman
Dyson's review of the Neufeld WvB biography as "particularly insufferable"
-- as best I can tell, because Dyson 

(1) doesn't devote enough of the review to Dora and the Mittelwerk to suit
Rich

(2) doesn't agree with Rich about the psychological effect of the V-2 on
people at the time

Now, I tend to think that Dyson's presence in the UK during the V-weapon
attacks...

His personal involvement in tactics of mass destruction during WWII
(operations research on Lancaster bombing raids over Germany), and his
decades of reflection on that...

His long association with many of those working on American nuclear weapons,
delivery systems, and space programs... 

The whole body of his writings...

And my personal experience with him... all support the viewe that he has
been thinking deeply, knowledgeably and sensitively about weapons and
technology longer than Rich, or I, or most of the people on this list have
been alive. He probably has a livelier sense of von Braun's guilt, and is
farther from ignoring or exculpating it, than anyone here.  So I found it
"particularly insufferable" to see him thus admonished. 

If your take-away is "good guys and bad guys and morals to be learned,"
Robin, I honestly don't see why you bother with Pynchon. Comic books have
that (a-and lively illustrations too!)