--- product_id: 4103931 title: "Sky of Stone: A Memoir (Coalwood)" price: "€ 20.21" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 12 url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/4103931-sky-of-stone-a-memoir-coalwood store_origin: GR region: Greece --- # Sky of Stone: A Memoir (Coalwood) **Price:** € 20.21 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Sky of Stone: A Memoir (Coalwood) - **How much does it cost?** € 20.21 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.gr](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/4103931-sky-of-stone-a-memoir-coalwood) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rocket Boys and The Coalwood Way transports us back to his West Virginia hometown and the summer that nearly destroyed the close-knit community in this “beautifully executed” ( The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ) memoir. “Vivid and alive . . . Hickam has made [Coalwood] live again in his writing.”— The New York Times Book Review In the summer of ’61, Homer “Sonny” Hickam, a year of college behind him, is dreaming of sandy beaches and rocket ships. But before Sonny can reach the seaside fixer-upper where his mother is spending the summer, a telephone call sends him back to the place he thought he had escaped: the gritty coal-mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia. There, Sonny’s father, the mine’s superintendent, has been accused of negligence in a man’s death. Sonny’s mother, Elsie, has ordered her son to spend the summer in Coalwood to support his father. For Sonny, so begins a season of discovery—a time when he will learn about love, loss, and a closely guarded secret that threatens to destroy his father and his town. As the days of summer grow shorter, Sonny finds himself taking the first real steps toward manhood. But it’s a journey he can make only by unraveling the story of a man’s death and a father’s secret—the mysteries that lie at the very heart of Coalwood. Review: 3rd in Coalwood series 1961, Homers first year college and working in the mine - Another great Homer Hickam Jr book. For me 5 for 5. He is a great author and storyteller. Torpedo Junction, The Dinosaur Hunter, Rocket Boys, Coalwood Way and Sky of Stone all 5 stars... see my reviews. October Sky DVD (based on Rocket Boys) 5 stars. Sky of Stone is a page burner. I read the large print 571 pages in 3 days. No boring parts. Homer is a natural great storyteller of his memories of his late teenage years. The reader wants to read on. Its 1961, Homer's first year of college done ( he's having problems with his grades except English). Homer's dad is having serious trouble at the mine, as a man is killed in a mine explosion and the state and federal investigators are out to hang the responsibility on someone. Homer's dad as the mine superintendent is the target.His mom is temporarily living in a house in Myrtle Beach she bought. She comes back to Coalwood and finds her son "Sonney" has grown from a college boy to a man. Homer comes back to Coalwood for the summer between semesters and damages his dad's car and his father wants Homer to pay for the repairs. So, Homer gets a temporary summer job as a miner in the mines. We see the backbreaking work he does. More new people in his life introduced, some from his first two books in the Coalwood series. There is a good mystery in this true life story. Try to find out how the "secret man" broke his wrist and how and why a man was killed in the mine explosion. Where did the fox go? We she Homer's mom's pet fox and "chipper" the squirrel biting everyone, and Homer's lovable 2 dogs and cats. Also his crush on a junior mining engineer named Rita, an older woman. Also here comes the retired big "Captain" telling the reader Coalwood's secrets. The reader develops deep empathy with the true people in this book. That's enough,I won't ruin this great true story for you. Also make sure you read the great Epilogue where Homer tells about his Army officer time, diving instructor time, his working in NASA on various projects,like the shuttle, Skylab,underwater training and helping train astronauts. Much much more. This is a heartwarming book of an 18 year old going from college boy to hard working, train rail driving, miner man. The reader will be amazed of the incredible full, rich true life of Homer Hickam Jr., family and friends had. Coalwood changes but will remain. A great childhood 18 year olds memoirs and a great Epilogue of Homer's later years and fascinating life. 5 stars and recommended! Now starting to read The Keepers Son, first book in another series by the great author Homer Hickam Jr. Review: Return to Coal Country - I just finished a delightful memoir -- Sky of Stone, by Homer Hickham Jr. -- that was recommended to me by one of the birders on a recent birding trip to Nebraska. Hickham also wrote Rocket Boys, a memoir that was made into the delightful movie October Sky. Sky of Stone was deeply meaningful to me because I spent twenty-six years as a federal government lawyer representing the Mine Safety and Health Administration in federal court. Sky of Stone recounts the summer when the author, an undergraduate at Virginia Polytechnic institute, returned to Coalwood, West Virginia, to earn tuition money laying track in the mine operated by Olga Coal Company, and to support his father, the mine superintendent, during the investigation of a fatal methane explosion in the mine. The memoir is a coming-of-age story: the author struggles to come to terms with his past, his future, his family, his hometown, the world of mining, and the disorienting attractions of a young mining engineer who fights to become the first female to enter the mine. The memoir is also a detective story: the author struggles to uncover why the powers-that-be are conspiring to pin the blame for the fatality on his father, and why in fact his father allowed a miner to enter the mine alone after a storm cut off power to the ventilation fans. Sky of Stone is especially delightful in depicting the idiosyncrasies of mountain folk and mining folk -- religiosity and ribaldry, hard work and hard play, humble self-deprecation and prickly pride, genteelness and abrasiveness, love of the mine and fear of the mine, devotion to community and insistence on rugged individualism, love of sentiment and insistence on logic, a sense of mission and a sense of skepticism, openness and secretiveness, understatement and hyperbole, high purpose and low humor -- which I encountered indirectly through the MSHA cases I worked on and directly in the MSHA colleagues I worked with. Sky of Stone reminds me of another memoir: Colored People, Henry Louis Gates' gorgeous depiction of growing up in Piedmont, West Virginia, during the era of segregation. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #740,588 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #255 in Human Geography (Books) #427 in Scientist Biographies #1,024 in Author Biographies | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 517 Reviews | ## Images ![Sky of Stone: A Memoir (Coalwood) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61nIElkr-OL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 3rd in Coalwood series 1961, Homers first year college and working in the mine *by T***N on September 14, 2011* Another great Homer Hickam Jr book. For me 5 for 5. He is a great author and storyteller. Torpedo Junction, The Dinosaur Hunter, Rocket Boys, Coalwood Way and Sky of Stone all 5 stars... see my reviews. October Sky DVD (based on Rocket Boys) 5 stars. Sky of Stone is a page burner. I read the large print 571 pages in 3 days. No boring parts. Homer is a natural great storyteller of his memories of his late teenage years. The reader wants to read on. Its 1961, Homer's first year of college done ( he's having problems with his grades except English). Homer's dad is having serious trouble at the mine, as a man is killed in a mine explosion and the state and federal investigators are out to hang the responsibility on someone. Homer's dad as the mine superintendent is the target.His mom is temporarily living in a house in Myrtle Beach she bought. She comes back to Coalwood and finds her son "Sonney" has grown from a college boy to a man. Homer comes back to Coalwood for the summer between semesters and damages his dad's car and his father wants Homer to pay for the repairs. So, Homer gets a temporary summer job as a miner in the mines. We see the backbreaking work he does. More new people in his life introduced, some from his first two books in the Coalwood series. There is a good mystery in this true life story. Try to find out how the "secret man" broke his wrist and how and why a man was killed in the mine explosion. Where did the fox go? We she Homer's mom's pet fox and "chipper" the squirrel biting everyone, and Homer's lovable 2 dogs and cats. Also his crush on a junior mining engineer named Rita, an older woman. Also here comes the retired big "Captain" telling the reader Coalwood's secrets. The reader develops deep empathy with the true people in this book. That's enough,I won't ruin this great true story for you. Also make sure you read the great Epilogue where Homer tells about his Army officer time, diving instructor time, his working in NASA on various projects,like the shuttle, Skylab,underwater training and helping train astronauts. Much much more. This is a heartwarming book of an 18 year old going from college boy to hard working, train rail driving, miner man. The reader will be amazed of the incredible full, rich true life of Homer Hickam Jr., family and friends had. Coalwood changes but will remain. A great childhood 18 year olds memoirs and a great Epilogue of Homer's later years and fascinating life. 5 stars and recommended! Now starting to read The Keepers Son, first book in another series by the great author Homer Hickam Jr. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Return to Coal Country *by W***N on April 23, 2025* I just finished a delightful memoir -- Sky of Stone, by Homer Hickham Jr. -- that was recommended to me by one of the birders on a recent birding trip to Nebraska. Hickham also wrote Rocket Boys, a memoir that was made into the delightful movie October Sky. Sky of Stone was deeply meaningful to me because I spent twenty-six years as a federal government lawyer representing the Mine Safety and Health Administration in federal court. Sky of Stone recounts the summer when the author, an undergraduate at Virginia Polytechnic institute, returned to Coalwood, West Virginia, to earn tuition money laying track in the mine operated by Olga Coal Company, and to support his father, the mine superintendent, during the investigation of a fatal methane explosion in the mine. The memoir is a coming-of-age story: the author struggles to come to terms with his past, his future, his family, his hometown, the world of mining, and the disorienting attractions of a young mining engineer who fights to become the first female to enter the mine. The memoir is also a detective story: the author struggles to uncover why the powers-that-be are conspiring to pin the blame for the fatality on his father, and why in fact his father allowed a miner to enter the mine alone after a storm cut off power to the ventilation fans. Sky of Stone is especially delightful in depicting the idiosyncrasies of mountain folk and mining folk -- religiosity and ribaldry, hard work and hard play, humble self-deprecation and prickly pride, genteelness and abrasiveness, love of the mine and fear of the mine, devotion to community and insistence on rugged individualism, love of sentiment and insistence on logic, a sense of mission and a sense of skepticism, openness and secretiveness, understatement and hyperbole, high purpose and low humor -- which I encountered indirectly through the MSHA cases I worked on and directly in the MSHA colleagues I worked with. Sky of Stone reminds me of another memoir: Colored People, Henry Louis Gates' gorgeous depiction of growing up in Piedmont, West Virginia, during the era of segregation. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you've read the others, you must finish the series.... *by G***K on June 11, 2026* Hickam's books are charming. I recommend this as the last in the trilogy. ## Frequently Bought Together - Sky of Stone: A Memoir (Coalwood) - The Coalwood Way: A Memoir - Rocket Boys (The Coalwood Series #1) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.gr/products/4103931-sky-of-stone-a-memoir-coalwood](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/4103931-sky-of-stone-a-memoir-coalwood) --- *Product available on Desertcart Greece* *Store origin: GR* *Last updated: 2026-09-02*