L.D. - Rocketry, Race, and a Colorful Journey

L.D. - Rocketry, Race, and a Colorful Journey, Lee D. Young's scintillating memoir of growing up in the segregated South and persevering to get a major rocket science career off the ground, gives Young the perfect opportunity to reflect on the painful hazards of being a black youth in smalltown Tennessee during the Great Depression and World War II. His brilliant career in rocket science takes off in a nightclub when his brother, over bourbon and gingerale, suggests he go to college to study mechanical engineering. He does - and goes on to play a major role in developing the Apollo space mission and the U.S. ICBM program. After the Watts Riots in 1965, Young shifts gears and sets out to rid Los Angeles of the oppression of African Americans. He searches abroad for freedom, eventually returning to "home sweet home with all its faults." Blessed with a creative mind that is "still at work at age eighty," L.D. gives us a fascinating look at a life of triumph over many obstacles and a steady ascent to the pinnacle of American business at a time when this was no mean feat for African Americans.

Author: Lee D. Young
Publisher: Ldy
Published: 09/03/2014
Pages: 410
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.32lbs
Size: 9.02h x 5.98w x 0.91d
ISBN: 9780989761505

About the Author
L.D. was a mechanical dreamer from birth. He unlocked the secret to escaping his baby crib; and at the age of six, he "launched" and crashed his first "rocket ship" off the garage roof, in the back yard of his Mount Pleasant, Tennessee childhood home. Lee. D. Young was born in Tennessee during the Great Depression. He was educated at Tennessee A & I State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. He also completed special studies in business and patent law at Pepperdine University and West Los Angeles School of Law. He was a pioneer in rocket science and helped develop the U.S. space and ICBM programs.

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