How did a high school farm girl that never wanted any fame or publicity change the space race with the Russians and the course of American history? Find out in the new book Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America’s First Female Rocket Scientist by George D. Morgan.
Rocket Girl is the extraordinary true story of America’s first female rocket scientist. Told by her son, it describes Mary Sherman Morgan’s crucial contribution to launching America’s first satellite and the author’s labyrinthine journey to uncover his mother’s lost legacy-one buried deep under a lifetime of secrets political, technological, and personal.
In 1938, a young German rocket enthusiast named Wernher von Braun had dreams of building a rocket that could fly him to the moon. In Ray, North Dakota, a young farm girl named Mary Sherman was attending high school. In an age when girls rarely dreamed of a career in science, Mary wanted to be a chemist. A decade later the dreams of these two disparate individuals would coalesce in ways neither could have imagined changing the course of American history forever.
“George D. Morgan is a clear-eyed, compassionate biographer of his mother and brings the science and military-industrial complex of the space-race era to life.”—Slate
“This portrait of a mother shrouded in mystery and largely forgotten by the field she pioneered is a compelling read.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An intriguing biography…. The personal story and family detective work are truly gripping, and Mary, in all her contradictions, emerges as a fascinating subject.”
—Booklist
“An accessible and enjoyable read…. [It reminds] us of the need to adequately record and credit the contributions of women scientists, like Morgan, to obtain the fullest account in our history-of-science collections. Recommended.”
—Library Journal
George Morgan recently told his story in a BBC Picture This video interview features NASA footage and Morgan family photos – a must watch!