This book is an academic biography of Willy Ley (1906-1969), an influential American science writer and rocket expert. During the 1940s and 1950s, Ley became a scientific celebrity in the United States. He wrote dozens of books and hundreds of articles popularizing a future of interplanetary travel and Americans in space. Additionally, Ley appeared on radio and television programs, such as Face the Nation and Disney’s “Man in Space.” He gave countless interviews to journalists, who turned to him as America’s recognized authority on rockets and space travel. Through his books, articles, and con ... More

This book is an academic biography of Willy Ley (1906-1969), an influential American science writer and rocket expert. During the 1940s and 1950s, Ley became a scientific celebrity in the United States. He wrote dozens of books and hundreds of articles popularizing a future of interplanetary travel and Americans in space. Additionally, Ley appeared on radio and television programs, such as Face the Nation and Disney’s “Man in Space.” He gave countless interviews to journalists, who turned to him as America’s recognized authority on rockets and space travel. Through his books, articles, and consulting work for television and film, Ley inspired Americans of all ages to imagine a trip to the Moon or Mars via rocket ship. More than any other writer, he campaigned to make the dream become a reality. He served as the publicist of the early Space Age, before engineers and astronauts took center stage in the limelight. This biography explores his legacy as a science writer, public figure, and spaceflight advocate. It also situates that legacy within a network of other science writers, public intellectuals, and historians of science. By exploring the broader scene of writers, journalists, and the publishing world of New York City, this book reveals the nexus of popular science, Cold War politics, and anti-totalitarian rhetoric throughout public discourse and popular culture.