Homer Hickam was born in Coalwood, West Virginia in 1943. He and his friends became interesting in rockets, and began building them. They wound up participating in the 1960 National Science Fair, where they won gold and silver medals. He eventually wound up working for NASA. Hickam is an extremely intelligent person, and that comes through in his writing. Learning about this man who had such an interesting and amazing career really sucked me in more than I expected it to.

This book inspired the movie October Sky, which I watched a long time ago. I have to admit it wasn't really at the top of my interests, but I found it for a good price used. I decided to give it a try, and I am glad I did. It was well written, and considerably entertaining. If you are interested in space and the contributions to NASA from Homer Hickam, try out this series of memoirs.