Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America's First Female Rocket Scientist Paperback – July 9, 2013

“The Krauts sharpened their pencils and somehow figured out that the Redstone has what it takes to get 93.1 percent of the way into orbit. Do you know what 93.1 percent gets you in the satellite business, Colonel?”“No sir.”“It gets you bupkiss!” The general’s face was getting red. It was not a good sign. “If we launched the Redstone today it would keel over at a very high altitude and splash down somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. A pile of worthless sheet metal. That’s what 93.1 percent gets you. Understand?”“Yes sir.”Occurring in the mid-1950’s, this exchange initiated a sequence of events leading to the development of Hydyne, a fuel mixture that allowed the Redstone (aka Jupiter-C) to launch America’s first satellite. Hydyne was invented by the subject of this book, Mary Sherman Morgan, as related by her son, playwright, George D. Morgan, in his book, Rocket Girl.Born and raised on a hardscrabble farm in North Dakota, Mary Sherman Morgan, did not start school until she was eight years old and despite a lack of encouragement by her family, she succeeded, graduating as Valedictorian of her class. In the early 1940’s, Mary left home at age nineteen to attend a small college in northwestern Ohio where she excelled in Mathematics and Chemistry. However, for economic reasons she was forced to drop out after two years and as this was during World War Two, she took a job as a chemist in a defense plant manufacturing ordnance. After the war, the demand for ordnance disappeared as did her job. Taking a long shot, she applied for a job as an analyst in the engineering department at North American Aviation in southern California. Despite her lack of an engineering degree, the glowing recommendations from her previous employer got her the job: the only woman in a 900 man engineering department.Mary excelled at her job, applying her keen mind to the complex problems presented by designing rockets and developing the fuels for them. Eventually she emerged as the “go to person” in the department for insoluble problems. This reputation for solving tough problems led directly to her receiving the assignment to develop a more powerful fuel for the Redstone. The book details the problem and the process Mary used to solve it.Character sketches of German-American rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and of Soviet rocket scientist Sergei Korolev help provide historical context for this biography. At several points in the narrative about Mary, the writer cuts away to tell us what von Braun or Korolev were doing in their respective careers at that time. These multiple story lines eventually converge on the same goal: putting the first artificial satellite into Earth orbit. This is a useful device in that it starkly contrasts these three historical characters. First there is the world famous Wernher von Braun who promoted space flight (and himself) at every opportunity. Next there is Korolev whose existence and identity were kept a state secret until his death in 1966, after which the many achievements of the Soviet “Chief Designer” eventually became known. Finally there is Mary Sherman Morgan whose anonymity, while normal in the top secret culture of the aerospace industry, was also self enforced. She never told her family that she invented Hydyne even long after the fuel ceased to be a secret. To compound her own silence, the author was unable to get anyone at Rocketdyne (formerly North American Aviation) to communicate regarding the development of Hydyne. Instead, George D. Morgan researched this biography with numerous interviews of his mother’s now retired fellow engineers, family and acquaintances.Published in 2013 by Prometheus Books, the story of Mary Sherman Morgan was first told in stage play format at Cal Tech, where Mr. Morgan is the Playwright in Residence. In this narrative, like the playwright that he is, Morgan fleshes out the skeleton of history with attributions of thoughts and emotions to the characters in the biography that he feels are likely and consistent with their actions. For this reason, some critics have described Rocket Girl as a fictionalized biography. In my view, this aspect of the biography in no way detracts from the story and merely makes it more readable than a simple, dry accounting of the verifiable events. This is an excellent book about a very interesting period in the history of space flight and it is well worth your time. Mr. Morgan will be a guest on my weekly podcast, Mars Pirate Radio, in early October at which time we will discuss this fine book at length.-Doug Turnbull

I think the subject matter is fantastic...I always enjoy hearing about people who work behind the scenes, often very hard, not for recognition but to get the job done as best they can. That this person happens to be America's first female rocket scientist makes it all the more intriguing. And the author makes it clear that it was rather difficult to piece together the story of his mother's life since she was so thorough in her efforts to erase it. I enjoyed the book very much. My only disappointment is that the author was forced to be creative in retelling stories from Mary Sherman Morgan's life which is a form of storytelling that I personally don't like very much. I completely understand why he took this approach; it's just not an approach I like so much. Overall, the book is very worth reading because it helps give some insight into the climate of the times, and how Mary responds to it. Also, we learn about her determined nature and her struggles to overcome a very difficult childhood. Not only did she overcome, she found her talents and ran with them, using her abilities and resources to contribute to a great cause. I found many things about Mary that are inspiring, and am glad I was able to learn about her.

I found this a highly readable and quite informative book, but I did think it could have been better and am looking for the rest of the stories...of women in the early sciences, of the Sherman/Morgan family, of Mary Morgan herself. The book was a good read, not least because it raised as many questions as it answered. It's likely that the questions about Mary and her family were well researched by her son; it's not certain whether all the answers would have been published to the world. The questions about women in the rocket business have been explored elsewhere (e.g., I'm waiting for "Atomic City" to arrive and tell me about lower level women, at Oak Ridge.) I don't suppose the whole story of the author's journey is told anywhere else, though, and while the description here is clear--and fascinating--it feels incomplete.Read it anyway; see if you can figure out what sticks in my mind. What kind of person starts where she started and does what she did? What must it have taken in brilliance, passion, mentorship, and sheer courage to make that leap? Was depression the price she paid for the suffering of her early years, the conflicts of the middle phase, or the ennui of putting one foot in front of the other through the third, very different, chapter of her life? If she was rightly fearful of exposure and disclosure, was there another layer of fear, perhaps from her family of origin or from a workplace event she would not have been able to address? There are more, but you will have your own. You will also find Mary unforgettable.

Firstly, this is an essential read for any young females thinking of a career in science and technology. Secondly, it is a fascinating account of aspects of the space race. As a chemical engineer, this book is particularly interesting to me; the references to the maths and chemistry are realistic. The human and personal stories about Mary’s life provide balance. This book is fascinating on several levels. Would have loved to see the stage play.

This is one fascinating part of the tapestry of lives & accomplishments during the days of the Space Race that now will live past the memories of those who were there.It captured my attention & I had trouble putting it down. I highly recommend it.

This book tells an interesting story, although the way in which it is told is a bit odd. It's sort of 2 books in one, with the chapters all mixed together. The author is describing how he came to write the book, and how it all came about interspersed with the actual story he is trying to tell.I can understand why he has done it that way - if the 2 parts were seperated the explanation would be pretty dull, and the actual story would be very short.Good from a historical point of view, but with quite a few parts that just seem to get in the way.

Mary Sherman Morgan was a unassuming introvert who was driven by her scientific talent and determination. She escaped from an abusive upbringing in an isolated North Dakotan farm to pursue her love of science and nature. She battled poverty and misogyny and ended up saving the American space race before it had even started. An inspiring story for all introverts in a world of self-promoting extroverts.

Brilliant, good read, good history with the background also re the German rocket scientists.