From the #1 bestselling author of October Sky comes this rich,unforgettable tale. With the same dazzling storytelling thatdistinguished his first memoir, Homer Hickam takes us deeper intothe soul of his West Virginia hometown at a moment when its uniqueway of life is buffeted by forces of time and change. It is fall 1959. Homer “Sonny” Hickam and his fellow Rocket Boysare in their senior year at Big Creek High, and the town ofCoalwood finds itself at a painful crossroads. The strains can be felt within the Hickam home, where Homer Sr.struggles to save the mine, and his wife, Elsie, is feelingincreasingly isolated from both her family and the townspeople.Sonny, despite a blossoming relationship with a local girl, findshis own mood darkened by an unexplainable sadness. Then, with the holidays approaching, trouble at the mine and thearrival of a beautiful young outsider bring unexpected changes inboth the Hickam family and the town of Coalwood ... as thisluminous memoir moves toward
Country music superstar Trace Adkins isn’t exactly known forholding back what’s on his mind. And if the millions of albums he’ssold are any indication, when Trace talks, people listen. Now, in APersonal Stand, Trace Adkins delivers his maverick manifesto onpolitics, personal responsibility, fame, parenting, being true toyourself, hard work, and the way things oughta be. In his inimitable pull-no-punches style, Trace gives us the stateof the union as he sees it, from the lessons of his boyhood insmall-town Louisiana to what he’s learned headlining concertsaround the world. Trace has worked oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico,been shot in the heart, been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, andbraved perhaps the greatest challenge of all: being the father offive daughters. And shaped by these experiences, he’s soundingoff. ? I’m incredibly frustrated with the state of American politics. Ifthere were a viable third party, I’d seriously consider joiningit. ? If anybody wonders who the good guys are and w
