Evanston, IL (PRWEB) February 20, 2004

'Homer Hickam, best-selling author of Rocket Boys: A Memoir, will be the guest lecturer on Wednesday, April 21, 2004, at the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a book signing.

Homer Hickam, best-selling author of "Rocket Boys: A Memoir," will be the guest lecturer on Wednesday, April 21, 2004, at the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a book signing. Sponsored by the Ragdale Foundation, The Boeing Company and Aon Corporation, tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for students, with group rates available. A VIP reception with Mr. Hickam, including signed hardcover books, wine and cheese, will be held before the lecture. The cost for the VIP reception is $100.

As a young boy in a small West Virginia coal mining town, Hickam dreamt of building rockets and sending them into space. The dream became reality when the boy grew into a man and not only became a NASA engineer and Astronaut Training Manager for space missions, but also turned his life story into "Rocket Boys." Hickam’s personal story embodied the tensions and dreams of his entire hardscrabble town and was named one of the New York Times Great Books of 1998. The book was then optioned by the film industry and became a hit movie entitled "October Sky," winning the hearts of critics and moviegoers alike.

Hickam’s life story translates well into valuable tools for corporate America. From the coal mines to NASA, he applies his life lessons in leadership and team building to the business world, and explores how adversity can be utilized to create a strong vision.

Hickam’s triumphant new novel is titled "The Keeper’s Son." Set in the storied and romantic outer banks of North Carolina, "The Keeper’s Son" is a tale of enduring love in a time of terrible war. It is the first in a series of romantic and adventurous novels set during the turbulent era of World War II.

Says Hickam, “I am a writer, first and foremost. Although I had a great career with NASA, I no longer work for the agency. My other careers and avocations include being a United States Army officer, a scuba instructor, an underwater photographer, a wreck diving specialist, a world traveler, and an amateur paleontologist. But most of all, I write to live, and live to write.”

And his readers, from young to old and representing all interests and walks of life, live for the words from “America’s Storyteller.”

For tickets or further information, please contact the Ragdale Foundation at 847.234.1063 or officeragdale@aol.com. The Ragdale Foundation, the nation’s fourth largest writers’ and artists’ retreat, and the only retreat of its kind in the Midwest, provides an environment where writers and artists can work in solitude and take the risks necessary for new creations.
 

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