A Girl's Guide to Missiles

A Girl's Guide to Missiles PDF Author: Karen Piper
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735220395
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
A poignant, surreal, and fearlessly honest look at growing up on one of the most secretive weapons installations on earth, by a young woman who came of age with missiles The China Lake missile range is located in a huge stretch of the Mojave Desert, about the size of the state of Delaware. It was created during the Second World War, and has always been shrouded in secrecy. But people who make missiles and other weapons are regular working people, with domestic routines and everyday dilemmas, and four of them were Karen Piper's parents, her sister, and--when she needed summer jobs--herself. Her dad designed the Sidewinder, which was ultimately used catastrophically in Vietnam. When her mom got tired of being a stay-at-home mom, she went to work on the Tomahawk. Once, when a missile nose needed to be taken offsite for final testing, her mother loaded it into the trunk of the family car, and set off down a Los Angeles freeway. Traffic was heavy, and so she stopped off at the mall, leaving the missile in the parking lot. Piper sketches in the belief systems--from Amway's get-rich schemes to propaganda in The Rocketeer to evangelism, along with fears of a Lemurian takeover and Charles Manson--that governed their lives. Her memoir is also a search for the truth of the past and what really brought her parents to China Lake with two young daughters, a story that reaches back to her father's World War II flights with contraband across Europe. Finally, A Girl's Guide to Missiles recounts the crossroads moment in a young woman's life when she finally found a way out of a culture of secrets and fear, and out of the desert.

A Girl's Guide to Missiles

A Girl's Guide to Missiles PDF Author: Karen Piper
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735220395
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Get Book Here

Book Description
A poignant, surreal, and fearlessly honest look at growing up on one of the most secretive weapons installations on earth, by a young woman who came of age with missiles The China Lake missile range is located in a huge stretch of the Mojave Desert, about the size of the state of Delaware. It was created during the Second World War, and has always been shrouded in secrecy. But people who make missiles and other weapons are regular working people, with domestic routines and everyday dilemmas, and four of them were Karen Piper's parents, her sister, and--when she needed summer jobs--herself. Her dad designed the Sidewinder, which was ultimately used catastrophically in Vietnam. When her mom got tired of being a stay-at-home mom, she went to work on the Tomahawk. Once, when a missile nose needed to be taken offsite for final testing, her mother loaded it into the trunk of the family car, and set off down a Los Angeles freeway. Traffic was heavy, and so she stopped off at the mall, leaving the missile in the parking lot. Piper sketches in the belief systems--from Amway's get-rich schemes to propaganda in The Rocketeer to evangelism, along with fears of a Lemurian takeover and Charles Manson--that governed their lives. Her memoir is also a search for the truth of the past and what really brought her parents to China Lake with two young daughters, a story that reaches back to her father's World War II flights with contraband across Europe. Finally, A Girl's Guide to Missiles recounts the crossroads moment in a young woman's life when she finally found a way out of a culture of secrets and fear, and out of the desert.

Rise of the Rocket Girls

Rise of the Rocket Girls PDF Author: Nathalia Holt
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316338915
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
The riveting true story of the women who launched America into space. In the 1940s and 50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they didn't turn to male graduates. Rather, they recruited an elite group of young women who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design, helped bring about the first American satellites, and made the exploration of the solar system possible. For the first time, Rise of the Rocket Girls tells the stories of these women -- known as "human computers" -- who broke the boundaries of both gender and science. Based on extensive research and interviews with all the living members of the team, Rise of the Rocket Girls offers a unique perspective on the role of women in science: both where we've been, and the far reaches of space to which we're heading. "If Hidden Figures has you itching to learn more about the women who worked in the space program, pick up Nathalia Holt's lively, immensely readable history, Rise of the Rocket Girls." -- Entertainment Weekly

Rocket Girl

Rocket Girl PDF Author: George D. Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN: 1616147393
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Combining personal history with dramatic historical events, this extraordinary true story of America's first female rocket scientist shows how her talent for chemistry proved essential for America's early space program.

American Missiles

American Missiles PDF Author: Brian D. Nicklas
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783468939
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
This remarkable guide provides for the first time an illustrated listing of almost 200 of Americas most powerful missiles. With information on all aspects of the missiles specifications, including the speed and capacity of the explosives used in its warhead, this book provides a comprehensive guide to the US Armys projectile hardware. 'American Missiles: The Complete Smithsonian Field Guide' draws heavily on the Herbert S. Desind Photo Collection, a resource of more than 110,000 images recently catalogued at the National Air and Space Museum. Of interest to both the specialist and the aviation enthusiasts, this book demonstrates the evolution of American missile design over the last forty years in an accessible and entertaining format.

The Missile Next Door

The Missile Next Door PDF Author: Gretchen Heefner
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674067460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
In the 1960s the Air Force buried 1,000 ICBMs in pastures across the Great Plains to keep U.S. nuclear strategy out of view. As rural civilians of all political stripes found themselves living in the Soviet crosshairs, a proud Plains individualism gave way to an economic dependence on the military-industrial complex that still persists today.

An Illustrated Guide to Modern Airborne Missiles

An Illustrated Guide to Modern Airborne Missiles PDF Author: Bill Gunston
Publisher: Prentice Hall
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
Brief illustrated text with supplementary questions and answers describes the characteristics of various kinds of missiles such as rockets, torpedoes, and ICBMs.

US Guided Missiles

US Guided Missiles PDF Author: Bill Yenne
Publisher: Crecy Publishing
ISBN: 9780859791625
Category : Guided missiles
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
From the Back Cover: In US Guided Missiles renowned aviation historian Bill Yenne has produced, for the first time, a comprehensive guide to the widely varied United States guided missile systems that have been designated with the "M" prefix. Beginning with the 1950s MGM-1 Matador-a jet-propelled cruise missile inspired by Germany's wartime V-1 "Flying Bomb" -and the MGM-5 Corporal, evolved from the German V2 ballistic missile, US Guided Missiles charts the evolution of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) such as the Atlas, Titan, Minuteman and Peacekeeper. The Atlas and Titan later became famous as the basis for the launch vehicles that carried the first American astronauts into space. Meanwhile the Rim-2 and MIM-3 Nike Ajax had their roots in anti-aircraft missiles of World War II. Having begun with the earliest Cold War guided missiles, this book progresses through Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) such as the UGM-73 Poseidon and UGM-96 Trident, to the later cruise missiles such as the BGM-109 Tomahawk. The roster of systems includes the hugely successful air-to-air 'Sidewinder', as well as little-known and obscure missiles, and modern systems in use today including the AIM-120 AMRAAM and RIM-162 Standard Missiles. From the earliest post-war rockets, through the Cold War to modern weapons, US Guided Missiles shows how guided missile systems have changed the face of warfare, illustrated throughout with rare and previously unseen images, and with extensive appendices, this book is an essential reference for any aviation, aerospace or military historian and enthusiast.

An Iconographic Guide to All the Missiles are One Missile

An Iconographic Guide to All the Missiles are One Missile PDF Author: Zofia Kulik
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788386277759
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description


Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress

Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress PDF Author: Shelly Mazzanoble
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780786947263
Category : Dungeons and Dragons (Game)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Delves into the basics of the popular role-playing game, explaining how to create a character and how to play, in a book that takes a light-hearted look at the myths and realities of gamer stereotypes.

One Minute to Midnight

One Minute to Midnight PDF Author: Michael Dobbs
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307269361
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 474

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Book Description
In October 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear conflict over the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba. In this hour-by-hour chronicle of those tense days, veteran Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs reveals just how close we came to Armageddon. Here, for the first time, are gripping accounts of Khrushchev's plan to destroy the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo; the handling of Soviet nuclear warheads on Cuba; and the extraordinary story of a U-2 spy plane that got lost over Russia at the peak of the crisis. Written like a thriller, One Minute to Midnight is an exhaustively researched account of what Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. called “the most dangerous moment in human history,” and the definitive book on the Cuban missile crisis.