Bøger af Homer Hickam

Elsie Lavender og Homer Hickam (forfatterens far) gik i samme klasse på en high school i de store kuldistrikter i West Virginia. De dimitterede lige som den store depression startede. Homer bad Elsie om at gifte sig med sig, men hun tog til Orlando hvor hun mødte skuespilleren Buddy Ebsen (ja, den Buddy Ebsen, ham fra dansefilmene). Men da Buddys karriere tager ham til New York, knuses Elsies drøm om et liv sammen med ham. Hun tager tilbage til Virginia, hvor hun gifter sig med Homer. Men livet som kone til en minearbejder er ikke det liv, som Elsie drømte om. Oveni bliver hun konstant mindet om sine sorgløse dage med Buddy på grund af hans noget usædvanlige bryllupsgave; en alligator ved navn Albert, som bor i husets eneste badeværelse. Men da Albert bider Homer, giver Homer Elsie et ultimatum; ”Mig eller alligatoren!” Efter at have tænkt over det, kommer Elise frem til, at der kun er en ting at gøre. At sætte Albert på bagsædet og køre ham hjem. Med Albert på bagsædet er en humoristisk, lidt tragisk, og frem for alt, rørende fortælling om et ungt par og en meget speciel alligators lange eventyr tværs gennem landet. En næsten sand historie om en mand, hans kone og hendes alligator. For alle som elskede bogen Den hundredårige der kravlede ud af vinduet og forsvandt. Af forfatteren til bestselleren Rocket Boys, som filmen October Sky er baseret på. Hvis du kan lide Kathryn Stockett, (Niceville) så kan du også lide Hickam."

Since the publication of the #1 best-seller Rocket Boys: A Memoir in 1998 and the premiere of the movie October Sky in 1999, many Homer Hickam readers and fans have wondered how and why he wrote the book, and how the movie was made. Incidental to that are such questions as "What is Jake Gyllenhaal/Chis Cooper/Laura Dern, etc. really like?" and "What's it like to have a movie made about your life?" and "Why are the book and movie different?" and "Why are both book and movie still so popular after all these years?" The answers to those questions and a lot more are in Homer Hickam's new Kindle Single "From Rocket Boys to October Sky." If you think you know the story of the book and the movie, you don't! Hickam says "Writing Rocket Boys wasn't easy. In fact, I got a million dollars of psychotherapy I didn't even know I needed!" The making of October Sky wasn't easy, either. "From Rocket Boys to October Sky" gives lots of behind-the-scenes stories both on-set and off. Before the first frame of film was exposed, Hickam was involved with the writing of the screenplay and his comment when he saw the first draft -"I'm going to have to go up to West Virginia and apologize to everyone in the state!"-gives an idea of how that went. Be with Homer Hickam as he struggles with the complexities of how a major Hollywood motion picture is made, and how he disagreed with aspects of the film even while he admired the dedication and professionalism of the men and women making it. Readers will also be alongside the director, producers, actors, and crew as they create one of the most beloved movies ever. The book has lots of photos taken on the various sets, too!

Homer Hickam, author of the memoir Rocket Boys (made into the movie October Sky), recalls his first years as a NASA engineer while also telling the story of his fluffy black and white cat Paco who had the magic ability to make people smile and give them hope. But when Paco was struck down by a disease that left him unable to walk, Hickam was faced with a terrible decision, let his beloved cat live in misery or put him to sleep. Before that decision could be made, the space mission Hickam was working on needed to be rescued and there was only one sure way to save it: Paco's magic meow! This is a true story of the space age that is also a delightful tale of the love between an engineer and his cat. "Homer Hickam is a national treasure. America's most beloved Rocket Boy tells the touching story of a space-crazy man and his cat. Paco will delight pet-lovers and wanna-be astronauts alike." - Dr. Marty Becker "America's Veterinarian" on Good Morning America, Dr. Oz Show. Author of 20 books on pets. To watch folks at NASA do their thing during a mission, you'd think they were all "steely-eyed missile men (and women)." But if you've worked there, you know this is only part of the story. In this memoir, Homer gives you a slice of what it's like to join NASA and become part of the family - and how your real family (including 4 legged members) participate as a team. I know. My cat Biner also meowed in space. Read it (preferably) with a cat curled up on your lap. - Keith Cowing, author of New Moon Rising: The Making of America's New Space Vision and the Remaking of NASA. "They say in space that no one can hear you meow. But is that true? Homer Hickam's story about his time at NASA - and his cat - hits all the right notes. A little humor, a little history, a few tears, and a lot about yours truly! A wonderful read." - Dr. Wernher von Braun (aka DrvonBraun on Twitter)

"A fascinating thriller, well crafted and relentless ... A cross between Tony Hillerman and Larry McMurtry, this is one hell of a good read."--Douglas Preston, author of Tyrannosaur Canyon and BlasphemyThe cowboys who work on the ranchlands of Montana expect more than their fair share of trouble. One of them is Mike Wire, a former homicide detective. Mike is about to learn murder and mayhem can happen under Motnana's big skies, too. Beneath the earth lie enough dinosaur fossils to fill several museum collections---and make a fortune for whoever claims them first. Soon he will have to combine everything he learned as a cop with everything he knows as a cowboy to protect the people and the land he could never live without.

From Homer Hickam, the author of the #1 bestselling Rocket Boys adapted into the beloved film October Sky, comes this astonishing memoir of high adventure, war, love, NASA, and his struggle for literary success.

Elsie Lavender and Homer Hickam Sr.?the future parents of Homer Hickam Jr.?were high school sweethearts during the Great Depression. When Homer asked for her hand, Elsie instead headed to Orlando, where she sparked with a dancing actor named Buddy Ebsen (yes, that Buddy Ebsen). But when Buddy headed for New York, Elsie's dreams of a life with him were crushed and eventually she found herself back in the coalfields of West Virginia, married to Homer.Elsie was reminded of those carefree Florida days by Buddy's unusual wedding gift: an alligator named Albert who lived in the only bathroom in their little house. Eventually Homer gave Elsie an ultimatum: ?Me or the alligator!? After giving it some thought, Elsie concluded there was only one thing to do?carry Albert home.

Song Hawkins is a beautiful, tough, but lonely New York City businesswoman who thinks she's met the man of her dreams in Cable Jordan, the superintendent of a West Virginia coal mine.

A kidnapped lunar heiress. A deranged-science syndicate. An imminent asteroid impact. Crater Trueblood has more to rescue than just his ex-girlfriend . . . namely the entire human race.

She was born to kill, born to die. Crescent is a crowhopper---a genetically modified mercenary programmed for ruthless warfare. When she's taken prisoner by Crater Trueblood instead of being killed in battle, she thinks it's a disaster.

`Must-read... A funny yet tragic tale of a husband and wife's car journey across the US with Albert the alligator in tow. Yes, really.' Marie ClaireA journey of a thousand miles. With an alligator on the back seat. And John Steinbeck as a passenger. This is a tale where everything is true,except the bits that are made up.

Las memorias best seller que inspiraron la película Cielo de Octubre, Rocket Boys es una autobiografía poderosa y una historia luminosa de la vida en la década de 1960, del amor de una madre y del temor de un padre, de un grupo de jóvenes que soñaban con lanzar cohetes al espacio… y de hacer realidad los sueños. Así comienza la maravillosamente entretenida y extraordinaria autobiografía de la vida de «Sonny» Homer Hickam, Jr. en Coalwood, Virginia Occidental, un pueblo miserable donde lo único que importaba era la minería de carbón y el fútbol americano. El segundo hijo introspectivo del superintendente de la mina y de una madre decidida a alcanzar una vida mejor para su hijo, Sonny se unió a un grupo de inadaptados para quienes el futuro parecía incierto. Pero en 1957, luego de haber visto el satélite soviético Sputnik cruzar el cielo de los Apalaches, Sonny y sus amigos adolescentes tomaron el futuro en sus manos, cambiando sus vidas y su ciudad para siempre. Recordando una carrera distinguida en la NASA que hizo realidad los sueños de su niñez, Hickam relata la historia de su juventud, llevando a los lectores a la vida de aquel pueblo minero y las de los muchachos que encarnaron sus tensiones y sus sueños. Con la ayuda —y en ocasiones los obstáculos— de los habitantes de Coalwood, los jóvenes aprendieron no solo a convertir escombros de minería en cohetes que surcaban los cielos, sino que encontraron esperanza en una ciudad en la que el progreso pasaba desapercibido. Una autobiografía única, Cielo de octubre es a la vez una crónica inspiradora de triunfo y una historia luminosa del amor de una madre, los temores de un padre y la vida de un joven. Con la sencilla gracia de un narrador por naturaleza, Homer Hickam capta a la perfección un momento en el cual un pueblo agonizante, una familia dividida y una banda de adolescents soñadores se atrevieron a mirar más allá de sus diferencias y a fijar sus objetivos en las estrellas... y vieron un futuro que la nación estaba apenas empezando a imaginar. 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 triumph. 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 triumph.

Previously published in paperback as October Sky.Three years in the life of Homer 'Sonny' Hickam, from the moment he sees the Sputnik satellite overhead in West Virginia to his successful launch of a prizewinning rocket.In 1957, Coalwood, West Virginia, was a town the post-war boom never quite reached, and dominated by the black steel towers of the mine. For fourteen-year-old Homer 'Sonny' Hickam there are only two routes in life: a college football scholarship, or a life underground. But from the moment the town turns out to watch the world's first space satellite, Sputnik, as it passes overhead, Sonny and his friends embark on a mission of their own - to form the Big Creek Missile Agency, and build a rocket.Looking back after a distinguished career as a NASA engineer, Homer Hickam tells the warm, vivid story of youth and ambition that inspired the 1999 film October Sky. It is the tale of a group of teenage boys who dared to imagine a life beyond the confines of the coal pit, and went on to design, build and launch the rockets that would change their lives, and their town, forever.

A MINING COLONY ON THE MOON. A DEADLY MISSION. AND A SECRET BIGGER THAN TWO WORLDS.

Taitulo en inglaes: Carrying Albert home.