I recently got the opportunity to read Ky Michaelson's new book, "Rocketman: My Rocket-Propelled Life and High-Octane Creations," and I have to say it was one of the most pleasant experiences I have had in a very long time. I have known Ky now for over 10 years, but until I read his book, I didn't realize that I really didn't "know" him in the sense that I did when I finished reading the book.

Ky is a well known enthusiast within the hobby rocketry circles, and may be one of the most polarizing personalities in the hobby, the result of people who don't know how to take him. He comes across to some as a person who is self-aggrandizing, a self-promoter, or in the worst case scenario, he is thought of as a person who is just plain full of it. But after reading his book, it confirmed my thoughts about him, that the people who feel as I previously stated, they just don't know the man, and while I still don't claim to know him as well as some of the characters in his book, I do feel like I know him a lot better than I did. And what I see, folks, is a man of pure genius.

Michaelson's new book is a must-read.

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Ky Michaelson is a purpose-driven individual who turns adversity into a tool, who eagerly accepts a challenge and doesn't know the word quit. He is human in the fact that he is very emotional and takes his goals seriously, and like any human, plainly feels the results of personal setbacks that others could term defeat. He is the quintessential businessman and knows a money-making opportunity when he see one, even when many around him don't see a thing, which takes a special entrepreneurial insight. This book is a chronicle for people who are inspired by success.

While I thought I knew who Ky was, the things that I didn't know were very personal for me, because I experienced some of Ky's touch on my life in a parallel world, and those events as I read about them took me back to a very special place in my youth and brought with it some very fond memories from days gone by.

I still recall my early years, coming up through the 60's and being amazed at the global Space Race. Like many of you, I was a model rocketeer in my early teen years, and personally enjoyed the thrill of Estes' and Centuri's space race of their own. But this was the late 60's, a time when America was hooked on horsepower and high octane fuel. Hot rodding and drag racing were experiencing a huge boon, being fueled by the U.S. auto manufacturer's who were battling on the drag strips on Sunday and in the showrooms on Monday. Like many youngsters who were getting of age for their driver's license, I eventually lost my teenage thirst for model rocketry to the very real temptress of fast cars. After all, cars were real, and model rockets were just ... toys.

It happened when I was 14, when I went to visit my cousin's near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and while there I went to my first real drag race. There were these cool old Anglias and Willys dragsters there, altered wheelbase A/FX factory experimentals, I even remember a 40 Ford coupe that belonged to Stones, Wood & Cook, along with many, many altereds and rail dragsters, I was hooked. When I returned home, I brought with me a armload of Hot Rod, Car Craft and Popular Hot Rodding magazines, trying to absorb all I could, and eventually I got that license and my first car and started attending drag races at sanctioned events around my home.

That's what made Ky's book really special for me. I had heard of the Pollution Packer rocket-powered dragster all of those years while involved in drag racing, knew it as plainly as the nose on my face, but never put his name with the car. Or the evolution of rocket cars in organized drag racing, and how much of a part Ky played in that era of the sport. I was there that day in March of 1975, when Russell Mendez died at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, 45 miles from my home, after crashing the Free Spirit rocket dragster. I remember those early pioneers who paid the ultimate price for living on the bleeding edge of their crafts, and felt a bit nostalgic reading about things I definitely recalled. Finally putting all the pieces into place, and seeing Ky being a part of my youth that I never knew existed, that was ... well ... cool.

Many people don't know this side of Ky, and for this, I thank him for writing his book. He has clearly earned the right to his moniker "Rocketman," more so than some of the others I have seen who try to hijack it for their own use. Most of the people in the sport of hobby rocketry attribute the name Ky Michaelson to great recovery products and other innovative hobby rocketry items of interest, but this book represents a rare opportunity to look inside of the life of someone who is dedicated to achievement.

That drive is what propelled Ky to attempt what no one else had ever done: putting the first civilian rocket into space. True to his promise to his mother, Ky persevered until the job was done, but not before overcoming obstacles that would have sidelined and conquered 99% of the rest of us. The story of the Civilian Space eXploration Team is worthy of a book all unto itself, but by being included in this book, the tale is truly a bonus.

Most people cannot begin to understand that the biggest obstacles to putting a rocket into space isn't the launch vehicle itself. The launch vehicle is the least of a person or team's worries. It's the hoops you have to jump through to even be allowed to make the attempt that would waylay all but the most dedicated. Personally, I do not know how Ky maintained the strength to see the project through, but the results are what they are: CSXT did it, and their name was there first.

The trials, the tribulations, the multiple failures, although only setbacks not permanent endpoints, Ky has illustratively laid it all out for everyone to read. His heart is on his sleeve and the reader is given a rare glimpse inside this pursuit of excellence. I can only say to the many naysayers who questioned the project, the flight, and the resulting analysis of the event: Ky did it. The results speak for themselves. And no one who hasn't gone through what he endured to make this stellar achievement should have the right to question the claim. It is what it is, and no amount of doubting Thomas' will change that.

Like Hickam's October Sky, Michaelson's book is but isn't about rocketry — it's about overcoming obstacles, perseverance and the indomitable human spirit. It's a personal journey of a man who is inspired by all things rocket and strives to bring them to life. It's a story of engineering and creativity, laced with humor and sprinkled with inspiration. It made me proud to say I know the author, that I will always cherish his personal words of encouragement he wrote inside the front cover of my book: "If you can dream it, you can do it."

Thank you, Ky. You done good.