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Rocket Boys: A Memoir by Homer H. Hickam Jr
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Rocket Boys: A Memoir (original 1998; edition 1998)

by Homer H. Hickam Jr

Series: Coalwood (1)

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3,149604,241 (4.12)76
Biography & Autobiography. Family & Relationships. History. Nonfiction. HTML:The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir that inspired the film October Sky, Rocket Boys is a uniquely American memoirâ??a powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the dawn of the 1960s, of a mother's love and a father's fears, of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space . . . and who made those dreams come true.

With the grace of a natural storyteller, NASA engineer Homer Hickam paints a warm, vivid portrait of the harsh West Virginia mining town of his youth, evoking a time of innocence and promise, when anything was possible, even in a company town that swallowed its men alive. A story of romance and loss, of growing up and getting out, Homer Hickam's lush, lyrical memoir is a chronicle of triumphâ??at once exquisitely written and marvelously entertaining.

One of the most beloved bestsellers in recent years, Rocket Boys is a uniquely American memoir. A powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the end of the 1950s, it is the story of a mother's love and a father's fears, of growing up and getting out. With the grace of a natural storyteller, Homer Hickam looks back after a distinguished NASA career to tell his own true story of growing up in a dying coal town and of how, against the odds, he made his dreams of launching rockets into outer space come true.

A story of romance and loss and a keen portrait of life at an extraordinary point in American history, Rocket Boys is a chronicle of tr
… (more)
Member:alon85
Title:Rocket Boys: A Memoir
Authors:Homer H. Hickam Jr
Info:Delacorte (1998), Hardcover
Collections:Your library
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Rocket Boys by Jr. Homer H. Hickam (1998)

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» See also 76 mentions

English (59)  French (1)  All languages (60)
Showing 1-5 of 59 (next | show all)
Didn't realize the copy I listened to was abridged.
  dmmjlllt | Jan 2, 2024 |
I enjoyed the movie before I read the book. Now, well... Reading the book makes the film incredibly disturbing at best.

It was oddly compelling for a book featuring such backward sexist, homophobic thinking throughout. I think part of the reason is because it's a lot closer to the truth than the film ever got. The things the film did in reaction to this telling of the 'story', such as it is, of the Rocket Boys, are rather creepy. The film made the book!protagonist's cat into a love interest. The film made women prizes. True, Book!Homer still thinks of women in a stereotypical young adult male fashion, but it's better than what the film did. Book!Homer at least acknowledges that women aren't these stereotypical cheerleader/pretty things that are only good for dances. They have their own lives and get down and dirty and have their own investments in life.

Homer's mother is much more of a character. She's got chutzpa. His father is much more of a sexist, homophobic prick. His brother is a sexist prick.

I also really don't like how they stuck to Hollywood formula for the gang of protagonists. Homer and Co. are far more intellectual in the book. I don't get what the problem is with showing a protagonist who is stereotypically nerdy in some ways who is also interested in stereotypically non-nerdy things like football and roughhousing. Not that either of those are good things, but it would have helped people see that the definition of a 'nerd' as we see it today has quite the range.

I also think it's odd that Homer got something of a reputation boost in the film among the school crowd. Thinking logically, even in the film logic his original position in the social hierarchy before he spoke to Quentin the first time makes no sense. He's still the son of the guy most kids' parents dislike. His brother is a big football star who doesn't really like him who should be a subject of envy. It doesn't work.

Honestly, the movie's kind of shit in light of that. It's a feel-good film that does so many things wrong and sticks to formula too much to sacrifice other things. Even if some parts are more realistic to fact that others, the film just isn't good. And it's still pretty sexist, although the book tries pretty hard to put that to shame.

Overall it was a quick read and showed a better understanding of the town and local history and gave Homer and Co. a lot more credit for their work. Don't watch the movie. Read this. ( )
  AnonR | Aug 5, 2023 |
Rocket Boys is Homer (Sonny) Hickam Jr.’s memoir of his life growing up in West Virginia, the son of a coal mine superintendent. In 1957, he is inspired by Sputnik to learn how to build rockets. Sonny and his friends are encouraged by their chemistry teacher. At first, they experience spectacular failures, but they persevere and eventually succeed in building increasingly sophisticated miniature rockets. The plot covers his experimentation with different forms of rocket propulsion, competition at science fairs, and relationships with his family members. This book covers his life from childhood through high school.

The memoir focuses on the author’s desire to attain a different life than his father – to get into rocket science rather than becoming a miner, as is expected. The dangers of mining are clearly portrayed by injuries and accidents that occur at the mine. His father is a key player in one of the rescues. I could have done without the awkward back-seat scenes with his high school dates. He occasionally follows rabbit trails that do not add to the storyline. I liked it but probably will not read the other books in the series. The book provides a good example of “small town boy makes good through hard work and discipline.”
( )
  Castlelass | Oct 30, 2022 |
Rocket Boys was on my Save Shelves and I was looking forward to re-reading it...

until I got to Sputnik II where the Russians sent their dog up to die.

Couldn't go on with this really well-written book.... ( )
  m.belljackson | Sep 25, 2022 |
I started the book not realizing it was my favorite kind of writing, nonfiction that reads as fiction. Great read. I am aware that this book is probably intended for high school (?) but I enjoyed it as an adult. I have it on NOOK. The movie did not do the book justice and had many facts incorrect. Books are better than movies! ( )
  WiseOwlFactory | Feb 20, 2022 |
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Epigraph
All one can really leave one's children is what's inside their heads. Education, in other words, and not earthly possessions, is the ultimate legacy, the only thing that cannot be taken away. - Dr. Wernher von Braun
All I've done is give you a book. You have to have the courage to learn what's inside it. - Miss Freida Joy Riley
Dedication
To Mom and Dad and the people of Coalwood
First words
Until I began to build and launch rockets, I didn't know my hometown was at war with itself over its children and that my parents were locked in a kind of bloodless combat over how my brother and I would live our lives.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
This book was re-released under the title October Sky (an anagram of Rocket Boys).
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Biography & Autobiography. Family & Relationships. History. Nonfiction. HTML:The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir that inspired the film October Sky, Rocket Boys is a uniquely American memoirâ??a powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the dawn of the 1960s, of a mother's love and a father's fears, of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space . . . and who made those dreams come true.

With the grace of a natural storyteller, NASA engineer Homer Hickam paints a warm, vivid portrait of the harsh West Virginia mining town of his youth, evoking a time of innocence and promise, when anything was possible, even in a company town that swallowed its men alive. A story of romance and loss, of growing up and getting out, Homer Hickam's lush, lyrical memoir is a chronicle of triumphâ??at once exquisitely written and marvelously entertaining.

One of the most beloved bestsellers in recent years, Rocket Boys is a uniquely American memoir. A powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the end of the 1950s, it is the story of a mother's love and a father's fears, of growing up and getting out. With the grace of a natural storyteller, Homer Hickam looks back after a distinguished NASA career to tell his own true story of growing up in a dying coal town and of how, against the odds, he made his dreams of launching rockets into outer space come true.

A story of romance and loss and a keen portrait of life at an extraordinary point in American history, Rocket Boys is a chronicle of tr

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Book description
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.
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