What do you think?
Rate this book
Rocket Man: Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age
More famous in his day than Einstein or Edison, the troubled, solitary genius Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) was the American father of rocketry and space flight, launching the world's first liquid-fuel rockets and the first powered vehicles to break the sound barrier. Supported by Charles Lindbergh and Harry Guggenheim, through fiery, often explosive, experiments at Roswell, New Mexico, he invented the methods that carried men to the moon. Today, no rocket or jet plane can fly without using his inventions.
Yet he is the "forgotten man" of the space age. His own government ignored his rocketry until the Germans demonstrated its principles in the V-2 missiles of World War II. The American government usurped his 214 patents, while suppressing his contributions in the name of national security, until it was forced to pay one million dollars for patent infringement. Goddard became famous again, monuments and medals raining upon his memory. But his renewed fame soon faded, and Goddard's pivotal role in launching the Space Age has been largely forgotten.
Yet he is the "forgotten man" of the space age. His own government ignored his rocketry until the Germans demonstrated its principles in the V-2 missiles of World War II. The American government usurped his 214 patents, while suppressing his contributions in the name of national security, until it was forced to pay one million dollars for patent infringement. Goddard became famous again, monuments and medals raining upon his memory. But his renewed fame soon faded, and Goddard's pivotal role in launching the Space Age has been largely forgotten.
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2003
28 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 6, 2024
This book critically studies Robert Hutchings Goddard and his wife, Esther. I just recently learned of Goddard. He was once known as a great scientist, inventing liquid fuel for rockets. Goddard had over 200 patents filed resulting from his work.
This book explores issues surrounding Goddard's works. He pushed the idea of traveling to the moon. Funding for his work was an issue throughout his life, and that is an issue. His management style is apparent throughout his projects. Finally, at the end of his life, which was too short, Esther took in on herself to promote Goddard's work. Her promotions are a story in itself.
You will miss some of the book's essential themes without considering the surrounding topics. As I read the book, I started believing that the author had some biases. Toward the end of the book, I felt vindicated when a quote from a famous scientist paraphrased my thoughts.
This book explores issues surrounding Goddard's works. He pushed the idea of traveling to the moon. Funding for his work was an issue throughout his life, and that is an issue. His management style is apparent throughout his projects. Finally, at the end of his life, which was too short, Esther took in on herself to promote Goddard's work. Her promotions are a story in itself.
You will miss some of the book's essential themes without considering the surrounding topics. As I read the book, I started believing that the author had some biases. Toward the end of the book, I felt vindicated when a quote from a famous scientist paraphrased my thoughts.
December 20, 2025
What an interesting book.
Goddard comes off as essentially unlikable, but yet he had friends and a devoted wife. Made me wonder about autism.
Paranoid, solitary, jealous. But essential to our ability to get to space and develop Rockets. Patents were abused by the government. Goddard Space Flight Center seems to have been named after him simply to make the government look better in the midst of a heated patent dispute with his widow.
As much as history has recorded him as the father of rocketry or space flight (largely due to posthumous fables), I think the book's key takeaway is that all three of the politically correct/let's all get along promoted "fathers of spaceflight" (Tsiolkovsky, Goddard, Oberth) were inspired by Jules Verne.
Jules Verne is responsible for humans having (so far, very limited) spaceflight.
Goddard comes off as essentially unlikable, but yet he had friends and a devoted wife. Made me wonder about autism.
Paranoid, solitary, jealous. But essential to our ability to get to space and develop Rockets. Patents were abused by the government. Goddard Space Flight Center seems to have been named after him simply to make the government look better in the midst of a heated patent dispute with his widow.
As much as history has recorded him as the father of rocketry or space flight (largely due to posthumous fables), I think the book's key takeaway is that all three of the politically correct/let's all get along promoted "fathers of spaceflight" (Tsiolkovsky, Goddard, Oberth) were inspired by Jules Verne.
Jules Verne is responsible for humans having (so far, very limited) spaceflight.
July 8, 2024
I read a majority of this book but didn't finish it because, unless I'm reading it wrong, Robert Goddard was an insufferable dork who we hold up as the "father of American rocketry" but who refused to work with other leading minds of the time for fear of not getting full credit, and who consistently wasted the money of his generous benefactors by blindly experimenting and refusing to employ any semblance of systematic thought or procedure. This was like that Lance Armstrong documentary where you're like "oh, wow, yuck".
October 16, 2019
A detailed review of the life of Robert H. Goddard, the "Father of Rocketry". Sometimes the best recounting of a man's life is not always exciting and page-turning. Technically a good history, but not necessarily invigorating. Such is the life of a dedicated scientist.
October 3, 2019
Exceptionally well written balanced story of the father of modern rocketry.
September 10, 2012
OK, when I put this on my "read" shelf, I actually didn't make it to the end.
Other people, reviewing this book, seem to cut it a lot of slack on the basis of Goddard being a pretty uninteresting, unsympathetic character. I can certainly understand that; he is (at least as presented in this book) pretty completely uninteresting and unsympathetic. Apparently, he was a hopeless dreamer who managed to make some major breakthroughs when his funding was in danger of running out; meanwhile, instead of actively participating in the academic community, he basically accused every other rocket researcher in the world of stealing his ideas.
All the same, the book is just plain dreary. It's pretty much a very plain, chronological account; there is almost no insight into what made Goddard tick (other than the combination of paranoid and dreamer I mentioned above). The prose is as dry as any research paper I've ever read (or, to be fair, written). The words just sort of lay there on the page.
The reader is forced to conclude that the only thing that made him interesting was his rockets, but the discussion of those is cursory at best. Lots of discussion of his attempts at multiple-charge solid propellant, without enough description to give any idea of what he was trying to do. A description of his first liquid-fueled rocket without a good diagram showing how it fit together. Mentions of his later rockets, again without enough information to really understand what he was doing. Bleaugh.
One would expect a real pioneer -- like Goddard was -- to have an interesting life. Not if this biography is any indication.
Other people, reviewing this book, seem to cut it a lot of slack on the basis of Goddard being a pretty uninteresting, unsympathetic character. I can certainly understand that; he is (at least as presented in this book) pretty completely uninteresting and unsympathetic. Apparently, he was a hopeless dreamer who managed to make some major breakthroughs when his funding was in danger of running out; meanwhile, instead of actively participating in the academic community, he basically accused every other rocket researcher in the world of stealing his ideas.
All the same, the book is just plain dreary. It's pretty much a very plain, chronological account; there is almost no insight into what made Goddard tick (other than the combination of paranoid and dreamer I mentioned above). The prose is as dry as any research paper I've ever read (or, to be fair, written). The words just sort of lay there on the page.
The reader is forced to conclude that the only thing that made him interesting was his rockets, but the discussion of those is cursory at best. Lots of discussion of his attempts at multiple-charge solid propellant, without enough description to give any idea of what he was trying to do. A description of his first liquid-fueled rocket without a good diagram showing how it fit together. Mentions of his later rockets, again without enough information to really understand what he was doing. Bleaugh.
One would expect a real pioneer -- like Goddard was -- to have an interesting life. Not if this biography is any indication.
March 21, 2024
Well documented biography of rocket pioneer Robert Goddard and his role in the development of rocketry. Author David Clary frames Goddard's professional activities through the lens of his private life and the myths that surround this maverick of the proto-space age. Goddard comes across as a brilliant, if scattershot thinker, and a perennial experimenter who speculated about voyages to the Moon, planets and stars long before launching a single rocket. Eventually, Goddard launched plenty of rockets, including the very first to use liquid fuel. Carey doesn't shy away from Goddard's dark side. He was egocentric, frequently paranoid about others stealing his work, and contrary to myth- a publicity hound. He used classroom assignments to generate data for his rocket tests, neglected teaching/administrative duties, and insisted on taking credit (and claiming patents) for almost everything related to rocket technology. Carey also discusses Goddard's relationships with his patrons Harry Guggenheim and Charles Lindberg, and with the influential women in Robert's life: his grandmother Mary Upham, his mother Fannie Hoyt, and ever-loyal wife Esther.
July 9, 2011
This is really a 3.5 star rating, but definitely not a 4 so I went with the 3 so as to not mislead anyone:) I admit i am a nerd and i have found a new love in reading books about other science nerds. This Robert Goddard guy, however, seemed to know the right people and write about it and thus obtained infamy throught almost being nerdy than acutally being truly nerdy...he was smart and new how to play the game, he wrote patents, grants and was friends with Lindbergh, Guggenheim and the press. He also failed at building successful rockets so taught many people what NOT to do. But, built a successful part or two AND patented them so was credited with being the "father of modern rockets". Plus, he had a good wife who advocated for his cause and made his life her purpose. If we could all be so lucky. The author does a good job of telling this story!
July 20, 2016
I thought Clary did a great job writing about someone who doesn't come across as very likeable. Quirky guy, that Goddard. In reading others' comments, it seems some rate this book very low because of Goddard's personality and his contribution (or lack of, by perception) to science. The biography was done well, and I thought gave a good sense of Goddard's personal and professional history. It made me think.
August 16, 2016
The one thing I didn't like about this book was how much it jumped forward and back a few years in time from section to section. Given how repetitive some of the themes were, it made it hard to follow.
March 4, 2008
Good story.
Read
May 5, 2009Great story of a the man who was the father of modern rocket propulsion.
March 11, 2013
Okay not great book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews