Imagine Huckleberry Finn grew up to be a Jack Kerouac character, but instead of wandering aimlessly in search of a purpose he joined the military and decided he wanted to be Flash Gordon...read on. This is the life-story of Robert C. Truax - a story that could only have happened in the United States of America. Told entirely in his own words American Rocketman takes the reader on a trip through the 20th century -- from the hardships of pioneering on the frontier of the American West, to the Final Frontier. Robert Truax grew up shoeless, living in a log cabin built entirely by his father and mother using only basic tools and their bare hands. His story of dauntless entrepreneurialism, duty to his country and creative genius epitomizes the American spirit. Big dreams and big accomplishments are tempered by the roadblocks put in the way of reaching for the stars. If you ever wondered who really proposed the United States’ Space Force; or who designed the biggest rocket ever conceived; or who came up with the critical components that made the Space Shuttle engines work; or who outcompeted Robert Goddard, the inventor of the liquid fuelled rocket -- read on. From abject poverty, to leading the team that brought the United States some of its most important Cold War missile deterrents, to the hi-jinks of trying to launch daredevil Evel Knievel across a massive river canyon in front of a live TV audience, Truax navigates the reader through his remarkable life of adventure with his own personal brand of humour and optimism.