Helpful Score: 6
Yes, it's basically non-fiction, but it reads like a novel. Never a boring section, and it gives both a
good picture of a coal mining town and the impact of the space program on the nation. Much better than the movie!
good picture of a coal mining town and the impact of the space program on the nation. Much better than the movie!
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent! One of the best books I've read. I am usually somewhat anxious to finish a book to find out how it ends. With this one I could have just kept bouncing along on the journey for another couple of hundred pages and enjoying the ride.
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed the progression as these young men developed an understanding of the mathmatic principles of rocketry. There were a few parts which many may think add to the readability of this book but I think were not necessary.
This book also gives insight to the ways of coal mining and the effect it has on the miners and their families. It's a good read.
This book also gives insight to the ways of coal mining and the effect it has on the miners and their families. It's a good read.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a fascinating, very entertaining memoir by Homer Hickman, a NASA engineer. Hickman's story of growing up in the 1960s in a small West Virginia mining town with a group of friends who dreamed of launching rockets to space. Hickman grew up to become not only a rocket scientist but also an excellent writer!
Helpful Score: 1
Being a huge fan of the film "October Sky", I was a bit reluctant to read the memoir upon which it was based, "Rocket Boys". I was afraid one might dwarf the other but both are equally engaging, funny, and poignant. This is Homer Hickam story of growing up in a West Virginia coal mining town in the late 1950s and the attempt of a group of friends to escape the coal mining life by following their dream of building rockets. I highly recommend both the book and the movie.
