The Coalwood Way Summary and Reviews

The Coalwood Way
by Homer Hickam

The Coalwood Way
List Price: $4.94
Our Price: $2.99
You Save: $3.05 (38%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Homer Hickam
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-09-04
ISBN: 0440237165
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Island Books

Book Reviews of The Coalwood Way

Book Review: A Christmas to Remember
Summary: 5 Stars

Dr. Werner von Braun once said, "Matters of faith are not really accessible to our rational thinking. I find it best not to ask any questions, but to just believe..." These words are truly conveyed throughout the second of Homer Hickam Jr.'s memoirs, The Coalwood Way, originally published in 2000. Although following his acclaimed, Rocket Boys, this compelling story does not continue where the last left off. Portions of the memoir take place during the same time period as the last, however, this tome portrays the life of Homer "Sonny" Hickam in a different light. This particular memoir focuses on Sonny's senior year in high school and the hardships he must go through when growing up. In addition to working diligently on creating improved rockets, Sonny must focus on achieving A's in school. Most importantly, he must focus on his family. In 1959 Coalwood, West Virginia is a ticking bomb and as it becomes more and more difficult to keep the mines running, the bomb seems to always be the verge of exploding leaving the people out of jobs, homes and, even worse, their town. Sonny must now try to keep his family together while the town falls apart and yet keep alive the dream of leaving in order to join his role model, Dr. Werner von Braun, at Cape Canaveral.
Sonny Hickam is on his way to fulfilling his dreams as the book begins. However there a few obstacles on the way. Troubles in his family prevent Sonny from leading an easy, carefree life. His mother, Elsie, is growing increasingly impatient with Sonny's father. Sonny's father, Homer, is the mine superintendent and with the opening of a dangerous new mine, 11 East; ultimately, he is home even less often than usual. The strain on the marriage becomes too much for Sonny's mother and she insists on leaving Coalwood to escape to Myrtle Beach in order to sell real estate. In addition to his domestic hardships, Sonny is having troubles with himself. Every so often, although only lasting a few minutes, Sonny will find himself engulfed in an unexplainable grief. This mystery baffles Sonny day after day. As he searches for the origin of this mystery grief, he learns more than he ever imagined. Sonny's emotions and adventures are vividly depicted through a truly sentimental story, splashed with humor in all the right places. The writing style of Homer Hickam in this memoir is once again captivating and absolutely unforgettable.
Although one may think memoirs aren't written well due to the lack of an experienced writer, The Coalwood Way reads like an old time fable. It is written in such a way that you are taken from your own world and thrown into the small town in West Virginia. Hickam depicts Coalwood in such a way that the image of every part of the quaint town is etched into your mind. His method of writing will bring you to tears when tragedy strikes and laughter when Sonny finds himself in a humorous predicament.
This memoir is all about finding yourself and realizing that whenever life trips you up, someone will always be there to catch you when you fall. Throughout this lucid story, Sonny tries to find himself, and while looking down on his beloved town, he finally realizes the answer to what he's being puzzling all along. He understands his feelings, thinking: "My parents, and all the people of Coalwood, had given me the only true gifts they could ever give, that of their wisdom, and of their dreams, and of their love. All fear, sadness, and anger inside me had vanished. I knew who I was and where I came from and who my people were. I was ready to leave because I could never leave." Once Sonny realizes he can let go of the past, he is able to finally leave his hometown with the closure he needs to succeed.

Authors Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Authors Books
Bloomsbury Recalled ImageBloomsbury Recalled
by Quentin Bell
Columbia University Press; Published: 1997-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.40
Price in other shops: $29.00
William Tyndale: A Biography ImageWilliam Tyndale: A Biography
by David Daniell
Yale University Press; Published: 1994-11-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $62.93
Neither Saints Nor Sinners: Writing the Lives of Women in Spanish America ImageNeither Saints Nor Sinners: Writing the Lives of Women in Spanish America
by Kathleen Ann Myers
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-08-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops: $45.00
Storm of Steel (Penguin Classics) ImageStorm of Steel (Penguin Classics)
by Ernst Jünger
Penguin Classics; Published: 2004-05-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops: $16.00
Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life ImageSurprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
by C.S. Lewis
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Published: 1995-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.86
Price in other shops: $18.00
Roughing It (The Penguin American Library) ImageRoughing It (The Penguin American Library)
by Mark Twain
Penguin Classics; Published: 1981-12-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.65
Price in other shops: $16.00
Life Is So Good: One Man's Extraordinary Journey through the 20th Century and How he Learned to Read at Age 98 ImageLife Is So Good: One Man's Extraordinary Journey through the 20th Century and How he Learned to Read at Age 98
by George Dawson, Richard Glaubman
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops: $15.00
Shakespeare: The World as Stage (Eminent Lives) ImageShakespeare: The World as Stage (Eminent Lives)
by Bill Bryson
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops: $13.99
The Professor and the Madman CD ImageThe Professor and the Madman CD
by Simon Winchester
HarperAudio; Published: 2005-10-04; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops: $14.95
Alexander Hamilton: A Life ImageAlexander Hamilton: A Life
by Willard Sterne Randall
Harper; Published: 2003-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.91
Price in other shops: $32.50
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Far Reaches (Josh Thurlow Series #1) ImageThe Far Reaches (Josh Thurlow Series #1)
by Homer Hickam
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-06-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.82
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Keeper's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #1) ImageThe Keeper's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #1)
by Homer Hickam
St. Martin's Paperbacks; Published: 2004-08-31; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops: $7.99
October Sky (The Coalwood Series #1) ImageOctober Sky (The Coalwood Series #1)
by Homer Hickam
Dell; Published: 1999-02-16; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.39
Price in other shops: $7.99
Sky of Stone (Random House Large Print) ImageSky of Stone (Random House Large Print)
by Homer Hickam
Published: 2001-10-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $46.03
Torpedo Junction: U-Boat War Off America's East Coast, 1942 (Bluejacket Books) ImageTorpedo Junction: U-Boat War Off America's East Coast, 1942 (Bluejacket Books)
by Homer Hickam
US Naval Institute Press; Published: 1996-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.89
Price in other shops: $19.95
Back to the Moon: A Novel ImageBack to the Moon: A Novel
by Homer Hickam
Island Books; Published: 2000-04-11; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.18
Price in other shops: $7.99
We Are Not Afraid: Strength and Courage from the Town That Inspired the #1 Bestseller and Award-Winning Movie "October Sky" ImageWe Are Not Afraid: Strength and Courage from the Town That Inspired the #1 Bestseller and Award-Winning Movie "October Sky"
by Homer Hickam
HCI; Published: 2002-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.26
Price in other shops: $12.95
Sky of Stone: A Memoir ImageSky of Stone: A Memoir
by Homer Hickam
Dell; Published: 2002-10-29; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.76
Price in other shops: $7.99
October Sky (Special Edition) ImageOctober Sky (Special Edition)
Universal Studios; Release date: 2005-01-25; Published: 2005-01-01; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops: $9.99
Rocket Boys (The Coalwood Series #1) ImageRocket Boys (The Coalwood Series #1)
by Homer Hickam
Delta; Published: 2000-01-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $16.00