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Original Essays | December 12, 2009

Alexander McCall Smith: IMG The Courage of Others

0 comments By Alexander McCall Smith

I have recently written a novel about life in England during the Second World War. I felt some concern before I tackled this theme — the War... Continue »
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October Sky

by Homer Hickam

October Sky Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The true story, originally published as Rocket Boys, that inspired the Universal Pictures film.

It was 1957, the year Sputnik raced across the Appalachian sky, and the small town of Coalwood, West Virginia, was slowly dying.

Faced with an uncertain future, Homer Hickam nurtured a dream: to send rockets into outer space. The introspective son of the mine’s superintendent and a mother determined to get him out of Coalwood forever, Homer fell in with a group of misfits who learned not only how to turn scraps of metal into sophisticated rockets but how to sustain their hope in a town that swallowed its men alive.

As the boys began to light up the tarry skies with their flaming projectiles and dreams of glory, Coalwood, and the Hickams, would never be the same.

Synopsis:

Outlining three years in the life of Homer "Sonny" Hickam, this book covers the period from the moment he sees the Sputnik satellite overhead in West Virginia to his successful launch of a prizewinning rocket. It is a nostalgic memoir of growing up in rural West Virginia in the 1950s.

Synopsis:

Originally published as "Rocket Boys", this bestseller--based on a true story--follows a group of boys in a small West Virginia town in 1957 as they light up the skies with their flaming rockets and dreams of glory. This edition includes 8 pages of photos.
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About the Author

Homer H. Hickam, Jr., was born and raised in Coalwood, West Virginia. The author of Torpedo Junction, a Military History Book of the Month Club selection, as well as numerous articles for such publications as Smithsonian Air and Space and American History Illustrated, he is a NASA payload training manager for the International Space Program and lives in Huntsville, Alabama.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
itpdx, May 26, 2009 (view all comments by itpdx)
This is a gem. After the Soviet launch of Sputnik, Hickam and his buddies decide to build their own rockets. With Mark Twain-like humor, he writes about the troubles they get into and the subtle and the overt community support as these local kids reach for space. He also describes adolescent experiences with love, sex, booze, trying to make sense of the world and figuring out their places. Hickam's mother is pushing for a way for him to escape the dying town and the dangers of the mine while admonishing him not to blow himself up. His father is the manager of the mine and his response is much more complicated and undecipherable to Hickam. He describes the small town ambiance perfectly--how, if a kid does something wrong, his parents know all about it before he gets home. There are so many wonderful people in this story. The doctor who stitches them up and dispenses advice. The black and white ministers who try to respond to Hickam's revelation that God is plane geometry. The young high school science teacher who inspires, pushes and supports the boys. The union shop steward who tries to balance his responsibilities to the workers and the community as a whole. The head of mine security (essentially the local cop) who knows when to protect, when to punish and when to leave the kids to their parents.
Highly recommended.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780440235507
Author:
Hickam, Homer H., Jr.
Publisher:
Dell Publishing Company
Author:
Hickam, Homer H.
Author:
Homer Hickam
Location:
New York, N.Y.
Subject:
Biography
Subject:
Aeronautics
Subject:
Historical - U.S.
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Aeronautics & Astronautics
Subject:
Scientists
Subject:
Aerospace industries
Subject:
Aerospace engineers
Subject:
Aerospace engineers -- United States -- Biography.
Subject:
Coalwood
Subject:
Scientists - General
Subject:
Hickam, Homer H.
Subject:
Aerospace engineers -- United States.
Copyright:
1998
Edition Description:
Dell
Series Volume:
106-979
Publication Date:
February 1999
Binding:
Mass Market Paperbound
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
448
Dimensions:
6.94x4.25x1.20 in. .52 lbs.
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