- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group (1 Jan 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 038533320X
- ISBN-13: 978-0385333207
- Product Dimensions: 14.1 x 3.3 x 21.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,469,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Inspired by Werner von Braun and his Cape Canaveral team, 14-year-old Homer Hickam decided in 1957 to build his own rockets. They were his ticket out of Coalwood, West Virginia, USA, a mining town that everyone knew was dying--everyone except Sonny's father, the mine superintendent and a company man so dedicated that his family rarely saw him. Hickam's smart, iconoclastic mother wanted her son to become something more than a miner and, along with a female science teacher, encouraged the efforts of his grandiosely named Big Creek Missile Agency. He grew up to be a NASA engineer and his memoir of the bumpy ride toward a gold medal at the National Science Fair in 1960--an unprecedented honour for a miner's kid--is rich in humour as well as warm sentiment. Hickam vividly evokes a world of close communal ties in which a storekeeper who sold him saltpeter warned, "Listen, rocket boy. This stuff can blow you to kingdom come." Hickam is candid about the deep disagreements and tensions in his parents' marriage, even as he movingly depicts their quiet loyalty to each other. The portrait of his ultimately successful campaign to win his aloof father's respect is equally affecting. --Wendy Smith
--This text refers to the
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Mail on Sunday
'Gloriously inspiring'
--This text refers to the
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First Sentence
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. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Simply one of the best feel good experiences you will get from a book. It made me laugh and cry and appreciate life and the effort we should all make to live it in a more honest, fulfilling and meaningful way.
It manages to be sentimental, whimsical and emotional without ever passing into queasy simplicity. Sonny's relationship with both his parents, his friends, girls, with himself, as well as the story of conflict within the mine, offers a rounded reading experience that paints a vivid picture of a world that is probably long gone but whose issues and values are as pertinent today as ever.
'The Coalwood Way', Hickham's companion piece to 'Rocket Boys' (NB: not a follow up) is good as well; more of the same but doesn't hold up as well as a complete work.
Go buy, or borrow, and read, 'Rocket Boys' (aka 'October Sky'. But I wouldn't bother with the film).
It manages to be sentimental, whimsical and emotional without ever passing into queasy simplicity. Sonny's relationship with both his parents, his friends, girls, with himself, as well as the story of conflict within the mine, offers a rounded reading experience that paints a vivid picture of a world that is probably long gone but whose issues and values are as pertinent today as ever.
'The Coalwood Way', Hickham's companion piece to 'Rocket Boys' (NB: not a follow up) is good as well; more of the same but doesn't hold up as well as a complete work.
Go buy, or borrow, and read, 'Rocket Boys' (aka 'October Sky'. But I wouldn't bother with the film).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Only bought this book on a whim - so glad I did. An inspirational read. Beautifully written, I was completely absorbed from the start - especially with it being a true story. Exciting, thought provoking, incredibly touching - one of the best books I have ever read. It's done the rounds of many of my friends who without exception loved it too.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
With the account that Hickam makes, you cannot help but feel you were there. All the trials and tribulations of growing up in a high school made you want to be part of his gang.
A perfect balance between teenager enlightment, technical wizardry and the realities of 1950s mining America.
WARNING! An addictive read. I read the book cover to cover in 2 days (much to the disgust of my wife) always saying "just a few more pages" at each turn of a chapter.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Inspiration for Teachers
The story of some dead-end kids in a dead-end social setting, and how they responded to a technical interest sparked by the passing of the Sputnik. Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. Ripper
Surprise
When this book was suggested for our reading group, I didn't want to read it. I wasn't interested in boys building rockets! I didn't find the cover appealing either. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Audrey
Coalwood to the stars
If I had to compile a list of my top 5 books, this yarn would be in it. The feel good factor is amazing and inspirational. Read more
Published 8 months ago by RicardoIron
Without doubt my favourite audio book ever
Beau Bridges does a brilliant job reading this marvellous (and true!) tale of a group of kids growing up in a small coal mining village in the late 50s at the dawn of the space... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Pikey Island
Beautiful book
A true story, beautiful book beautifully written. One of my favourite, better than the film. It wrotes about the story of Rocket Boys, but also really interesting as personal life.
Published 9 months ago by Alfredo
I can't praise this book enough
I first came across this book after watching the film - "October Sky", that is based on the book. I thought the film was amazing but this is even better. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Robert Bamber
inspiring
How can anyone not give this wonderful book five stars? It is well written and tells the tale of little boys from poor backgrounds whose dreams came true. Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2009 by Dr John N Sutherland
Really enjoyable read - if just a little over sentimental
I loved this book, and the period in time the story spans. The one mildly negative review of this book I have read on Amazon, complains about the sugary sentimentallity and all the... Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by Roger Rossi
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A great story. A well written tale of growing up, of rebellion, of self discovery. And yes, it is inspirational. Read more
Published on 22 May 2007 by Huck Flynn
Rocket Boys
I loved the nostalgic look at small town America and the contrasts between the hardship of the miners' lives and the fairly carefree existence of the teenagers, encouraged by... Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2007 by flashreader
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