Sky of Stone - (Coalwood) by Homer Hickam (Paperback)

About the Book

Concluding his trilogy of memoirs begun in "October Sky, " the author returns to Coalwood, West Virginia, recalling the summer of 1961. With a year of college behind him, Homer "Sonny" Hickam returns home when his father, the superintendent of the coal mine, is accused of negligence in a man's death. Sonny takes his first real steps toward manhood by unraveling the story behind the man's death.

Book Synopsis

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rocket Boys and The Coalwood Way transports us back to his West Virginia hometown and the summer that nearly destroyed the close-knit community in this "beautifully executed" (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) memoir.

"Vivid and alive . . . Hickam has made [Coalwood] live again in his writing."--The New York Times Book Review

In the summer of '61, Homer "Sonny" Hickam, a year of college behind him, is dreaming of sandy beaches and rocket ships. But before Sonny can reach the seaside fixer-upper where his mother is spending the summer, a telephone call sends him back to the place he thought he had escaped: the gritty coal-mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia. There, Sonny's father, the mine's superintendent, has been accused of negligence in a man's death. Sonny's mother, Elsie, has ordered her son to spend the summer in Coalwood to support his father. For Sonny, so begins a season of discovery--a time when he will learn about love, loss, and a closely guarded secret that threatens to destroy his father and his town.

As the days of summer grow shorter, Sonny finds himself taking the first real steps toward manhood. But it's a journey he can make only by unraveling the story of a man's death and a father's secret--the mysteries that lie at the very heart of Coalwood.

Review Quotes

"The prose of [Hickam's] third book is as vivid and alive as that of the first, and the bond with the people of Coalwood just as intense and complex. . . . Hickam has made [Coalwood] live again in his writing."--The New York Times Book Review

"[The] darker, even richer sequel to October Sky . . . is written with all the care of a beautifully executed novel."--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Beautifully written . . . Hickam also displays a wonderful, understated sense of humor that will make readers laugh out loud."--Rocky Mountain News

"[A] cleverly constructed, richly detailed mystery . . . This pleasing book only reinforces his oeuvre."--Publishers Weekly

"Related in such an engaging way that many readers will forget Sky of Stone is nonfiction instead of an elegantly crafted novel . . . Rocket Boys [aka October Sky] was a National Book Critics Circle nominee, and The Coalwood Way should have been. It will be no surprise if Sky of Stone wins that, along with a few other major literary awards."--The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

About the Author

Homer Hickam was born and raised in Coalwood, West Virginia. The author of Torpedo Junction (a Military History Book-of-the-Month Club selection) as well as numerous articles for such publications as Air & Space/Smithsonian and American History Illustrated, he is a NASA payload training manager for the International Space Station program and lives in Huntsville, Alabama