Space travel willy ley biography

  • Willy Otto Oskar Ley (October 2, 1906 – June 24, 1969) was a German and American science writer and proponent of cryptozoology.
  • Willy Ley was a prolific writer and lecturer on scientific subjects.
  • Born in Germany, Ley became involved in amateur rocketry until the field was taken over by the Nazis.

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    "Beautifully written. Reveals the vicissitudes of an extraordinarily interesting life."—Michael J. Neufeld, author of Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War

    "Willy Ley has been a mystery among spaceflight historians for many years. His role as science writer, advocate, and popularizer is known to many but understood by few. This book unpacks that story."—Roger D. Launius, associate director of collections and curatorial affairs, National Air and Space Museum

    "Ley lit the fire of interplanetary enthusiasm in the hearts of generations of young space cadets. Long overdue, this biography establishes the details and the ups and downs of his career."—Tom D. Crouch, author of Lighter Than Air: An Illustrated History of Balloons and Airships

    "Beyond recovering the fascinating and many contradictory aspects of Ley's extraordinary life, Buss has provided a valuable case study of the complex relationship between science popularization, mass media, and scientific advocacy in the twenti

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    Willy Ley

    German and American writer (1906–1969)

    Willy Otto Oskar Ley (October 2, 1906 – June 24, 1969) was a German and American science writer and proponent of cryptozoology. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.

    Early life and Berlin years

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    Willy Otto Oskar Ley was the son of Julius Otto Ley, a traveling merchant, and Frida May, the daughter of a Lutheran sexton.[2] Ley grew up in his native Berlin during the First World War under the supervision of two aunts. When war erupted, his father was in Great Britain, and consequently he spent the remainder of the war at a detention camp on the Isle of Man. Meanwhile, his mother worked as milliner in a distant city in Germany.

    As Ley later recalled he "grew up, so to speak, in the shadow of the Museum of Natural History in Berlin".[3] When his school teacher asked him to compose an essay on the subject "What Do I Want to Be When I Am Grown and Why?", Ley responded: "I want

  • space travel willy ley biography

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    Willy Ley Papers

    The Willy Ley Collection reflects Ley's broad, restless curiosity about the world around him. However, the main thrust of this material emphasizes his intense interest in the aerospace field. Ley's significant contributions as a great proponent, theorist and historian of rocketry and space travel are ganska evident in this collection. For the most part, the collection encompasses the years Ley spent in the U.S., roughly, from the mid 1930s to his death in 1969. Accordingly, very little pertaining to Ley's time in the VfR is funnen here. This wide array of materials was sold to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) by Ley's widow, Olga, in 1970.(1) Later that year, NASM personnel traveled to Ley's home in New York to transfer this collection to the museum. They were careful to maintain the overall order of the collection which reflects its original organizational structure, as well as the research techniques and thinking processes of Le