“Rocket Boys”

My grandson, Jeff (13), is reading this book as part of his language arts class. Since I taught eighth grade, he has asked me, several times, if I had read this book. After telling him “no,” several times, I decided to read the book…

“Well, don’t blow yourself up.” (40) 

Coal mining. West Virginia. Company town. Sputnik. The space race was “on.” Ambitious, curious, fearless. The Big Creek Missile Agency. What they lacked in knowledge they made up for with drive and perseverance. They never quit. 

Hickman’s story was about so much more than teenage boys embracing the space race by learning how to build rockets. Family dysfunction. Being a company man. A disappointed father. A mother that finds a way out of the coal town, for herself and her boys. What it means to be part of a community. Hickman also shows a glimpse of Americana that existed in our not too distant past. Unconditional love. Learning to live and appreciate one's environment...with out blowing it up.

I don’t know if this had the happily-ever-after ending I was hoping for, but in reading the epilogue, the ending played out according to life’s plan. Now it’s time to text my grandson and have a chat...

“Baseball in the Garden of Eden”

I am a self-proclaimed history geek. I love historical fiction. I will read non-fiction just to learn or clarify something. I also LOVE baseball. So John Thorn’s book was a perfect fit.

To debunk the myth of Abner Doubleday creating the modern game of baseball, Thorn digs through history to find the supporting evidence. Cricket > Rounders > 2 Cat > 3 Cat > Baseball. Our national sport, just like our nation, sprung from our English roots. There is no shame in that. So why did early historians of the game feel the need to give the sport an alternative origin story? Pride? Power? Greed? Love? Money? (...all the usual suspects) Whatever it was, Thorn digs out more information about the origins of baseball than I ever thought possible AND he was able to throw in a little historical love interest to boot!

Now, it’s time for the end of the season and the playoffs! Go Giants!!