Homer Hickam
Author of Rocket Boys
About the Author
Homer H. Hickam Jr. was born in 1943 in Coalwood, Va. and earned a degree in industrial engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1964. He served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1972, rising to the rank of captain. Hickam also served as an engineer at the Army Missile Command in Huntsville, show more Ala. and with the Army Corps of Engineers in West Germany. He has been with NASA since 1981. Homer Hickam is a rare combination of practicing scientist and literate storyteller. As a NASA trainer he has taught astronauts to walk on the moon. As an author he has written a poignant, personal memoir about how he became an aerospace engineer. In Rocket Boys (1998) Hickam tells how his fascination with rockets began in the 50s Sputnik space race, developed into a teenage rocket club, and led to Hickam's winning a gold and a silver medal at the National Science Fair in 1960. His inspiring story, told with honesty and humor, had its beginnings as an article in Smithsonian's Air and Space magazine in 1994 and is being adapted as a motion picture. Hickam's other book Torpedo Junction: U-Boat War Off America's East Coast, 1942 (1989) is also praised as a literary achievement. It is a fascinating, fast-paced narrative that draws on his background as a scuba diver and explorer of sunken ships. Hickam has also written several shipwreck articles for major magazines. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: courtesy of Homer Hickam
Series
Works by Homer Hickam
Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of A Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator (2015) 341 copies
From Rocket Boys to October Sky: How the Classic Memoir Rocket Boys Was Written and the Hit Movie October Sky Was Made (2013) 17 copies
Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Further True Adventures and Travails of the Rocket Boy of October Sky (2021) 12 copies
Carrying Albert Home (free sampler): The Somewhat True Story of a Man, his Wife and her Alligator 1 copy
The Sky Below 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1943-02-19
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Birthplace
- Coalwood, West Virginia, USA
- Places of residence
- Huntsville, Alabama, USA
- Education
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Occupations
- author
soldier
engineer - Organizations
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
US Army - Awards and honors
- Bronze Star
Army Commendation Medal
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 27
- Also by
- 4
- Members
- 5,630
- Popularity
- #4,405
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 134
- ISBNs
- 184
- Languages
- 8
- Favorited
- 5