Confessions of a Marrano Rocketeer
by Daniel Schenker
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Pub Date Jan 06 2022 | Archive Date Mar 30 2022
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Description
As a young man growing up in early twentieth-century Germany, Arthur Waldmann is introduced to the mysteries of the Jewish Kabbalah by his eccentric grandmother, and dreams of traveling to a Heavenly Academy of ancient sages in a distant galaxy.
When he discovers that he cannot achieve this goal by spiritual means, he decides he will reach for the stars through the emerging technology of rocket propulsion. Waldmann comes to believe that he is the chosen one to lead mankind's conquest of space, but soon discovers he must confront brilliant rivals with equal claim to the title, one of whom is the scion of a renown aristocratic family.
Despite misgivings about the rise of Nazism, he becomes a key figure in the successful development of the V2 rocket. This new weapon arrives too late to change the outcome of the war, however, and as German defeat approaches, Waldmann commits himself to a desperate project that would rewrite the history of spaceflight had not its unforeseen consequences brought about its erasure from the historical record.
A Note From the Publisher
Daniel Schenker lives in Lacey's Spring, Alabama with his wife, their teenage son, and their two dogs.
Advance Praise
“Schenker's carefully researched, beautifully written tale is as mesmerizing and thrilling as any countdown to liftoff, and the characters are as singular and haunting as the distant planets they yearned to know.” –Allen Wier, author of Tehano
“In Confessions of a Marrano Rocketeer, Daniel Schenker novelizes with profound human depth the story of German rocketry and the lives of its principal scientists." –Donald Mangum, author of The Roar Beneath
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781684338566 |
| PRICE | $6.99 (USD) |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Rebecca W, Librarian
Jewish mysticism combined with the rise of rocketry in Weimar Germany and beyond? That's not a combo I would normally combine, but it makes for interesting reading. Our main character, Arthur is a Marrano, a term describing a Spanish Jewish person who is forced to convert to Catholicism, yet secretly retains Jewish practices. He doesn't consider himself Jewish, yet his Grandmother rediscovers her heritage and embraces it in her twilight years. She initiates young Arthur in Kabbalah, who relates to the teachings for the rest of his life.
I really enjoyed Arthur's story as a young man, who is part of the birth of German rocketry, eventually becoming one of "The Rocket Team," the group of Peenemunders that created the V-2. You'll meet all the historical figures you'd expect, but most of them are not referred to by name. Who we may know as Dornberger and Von Braun are simply called the General D and the Technical Director. I thought I knew who the Aviatrix was, but either I don't, or the author took a lot of liberties with her life. You'll also meet characters like Korvo, the agnostic Jewish student who introduces Arthur to spaceflight; and who also reappears in Arthur's life in unexpected ways. You get a lot of insight here into the attitudes of these men who worked for their collective dream of spaceflight, but at the same time delivering a deadly weapon to Nazi Germany.
Arthur also becomes the first human to launch into space, aboard a V-2 secretly carrying a passenger compartment. I'm not sure I believe that the Rocket Team could have secretly retrofitted a V-2 for manned spaceflight, and launched a man without killing him, but it made for interesting reading. It seems like the kind of thing Von Braun would have tried if he thought he could have gotten away with it.
The end was very fitting. I really appreciated how the historic Redstone Test Stand was used as the setting for the mock trial at the end. It's a site with wonderful history and I'm glad it was featured here.
I was surprised that the Techincal Director's will designated money to create a museum as a replica of the Mittlewerk, but I applaud that detail. Many people do not know the significance of the Mittlewerk in World War II, and how it relates to the US Apollo Program. (Look up Arthur Rudolph for background.)
All in all, I enjoyed this for its perspective on the early history of rocketry, even though the Jewish mysticism aspect was new to me.
