Early schooling in Los Angeles; family background; interests in mechanical design and new techniques; Los Angeles Astronomical Society; schooling at Los Angeles City College and Caltech; early career choices; changes of interest; medical Van de Graaff project; experiences at Caltech during World War II; interests and work in rocketry; engineering courses at Caltech; Carl Anderson and development of interest in particle physics and cosmic rays; development of interests in planetary (Mars) and solar astronomy; access to Mt. Wilson Observatory. Students, colleagues and funding at Caltech; work on solar cycle; research philosophy and choice of projects; Mariner and other space projects; ground-based astronomy; support patterns in astronomy National Aeronautical and Space Organization (NASA) policies; Kitt Peak Observatory; relationship of Hale Observatories and Caltech. Also prominently mentioned are: J. A. Anderson, Horace W. Babcock, Robert Fox Bacher, Leo Goldberg, William Vermillion Houston, Francis Maxstadt, G. Neugebauer, Olin Chaddock Wilson, Fritz Zwicky; Carnegie Institution of Washington, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mariner (Spacecraft), National Science Foundation (U.S.), United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and United States Office of Naval Research.