A Twentieth-Century Argonaut
One Man’s Quest for an American Dream
by
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It was startling to see an actual Nazi swastika on a giant German airship, and I sensed a contradiction, what with the criticisms of the propaganda the Nazis were spewing even as they used our U.S. airfields in their dominance of lighter-than-aircraft technology. I was not old enough to realize the airship used hydrogen for lift, or to have any idea that someday I, and my son, would be in the forefront of flight using that same element in rockets, and to know, in the first person, the Germans who would launch them, not only to the moon, but also at their fellow earthmen
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About the Book
Ernest Baldini started out as a bullied kid in Detroit, and he could have easily slipped into a life of mediocrity. Instead, he chose a different path—making careful decisions and working hard to eventually become a rocket scientist. Along the way, he survived World War II and learned that money is not the key to fulfilling dreams; instead, it’s only another tool to use in building dreams.
Over the course of eighty years and a series of carefully considered choices, he set the bar high in a bid to reach the heavens. Although he rubbed elbows and collaborated with some of the century’s greatest scientists and engineers, his life parallels the lives of millions of other Americans whose years have been clouded by wars, disasters, booms, and busts.
Take a trip through history, enjoy modest adventures, and relish the tales of a man with a romantic heart whose love for life never wavered in A Twentieth-Century Argonaut.
About the Author
Ernest Baldini, a native of Detroit, served in World War II and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology. He worked with Detroit Edison Company and General Motors before joining General Dynamics Corporation, serving as the launch conductor of the first Atlas-Centaur rocket launch. He was also the systems director for the Aerospace Corporation at Cape Canaveral, Florida, directing satellite launches. He currently lives in Suntree, Florida, with his wife, Jean.