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Summary:
In this affecting memoir of his childhood in a "blue sky" family--the aerospace community of California, specifically those working for Lockheed--David Beers mourns the passing of an era of limitless possibility and exploding prosperity. Combining poignant family reminiscence, interviews, and brief essays on culture and technology, this book paints a convincing and elegiac portrait of life in 1950s and 1960s America. Beers's father, Hal, a former aviator turned Lockheed engineer, is at the center of the book, and the author's deep ambivalence toward him mirrors his ambivalence toward the values surrounding his "blue sky" upbringing.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Blue Sky Dream 21st Century Re-Do
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Blue Sky [Tribe] Team The American Dream as described in David Beer's book was fueled by the Cold War under a banner of self-preservation over economy. As the Cold War ended the Blue Sky Dream ended and the Blue Sky Tribes as described by Mr. Beer were dispersed like the Native Americans of the mid-to-late 1800s. The Blue Sky Tribe's migration from California was like a virtual Trail of Tears. Unfortunately 9/11 and the war on terror has brought on a rebirth - a new dream with the same mantra of self-preservation. Just as the orchards of northern California gave way to the manicured subdivisions of the Blue Sky Tribes , places like Tucson, Arizona have seen their natural desert vegetation surrender to planned communities of the new Global Teams with a distinct California flavor. Mr. Beer's eulogy portends the future of the new Global Team environment of the twenty first century. Until we has human beings throughout the world learn to live with each other, our American culture will continue to cycle through eras of self-preservation and the ironic emptiness that it leaves us with. Mr. Beer does an excellent job of portraying the subtle but extensive impact on our traditions of a self-preservation society. All new entrants into this lifestyle should read this book and reflect on its message. If you are not vigilant your time will come.
Out of the blue
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A remembrance both personal and political of the boom-boom aerospace era and its offspring, Beers' story is that of a pilot and an industry, a father and a son. The book grew out of an article, "The Crash of Blue Sky California," which appeared in Harper's and won Beers a National Magazine Award in 1993. Those of us who lived in or near the instant communities fueled by Federal dollars funneled to Cape Kennedy, Huntsville, Houston, Silicon Valley, Boston and other military-industrial-electronic centers can instantly connect to Beers' childhood home. But even from a further remove, his insight into the drive behind our post-war militarism and the rippling effects throughout the country will ring true. From Sputnik to Star Wars to Apple Computer's curious origins to simulated flight games in the multi-megahertz 90s, this work covers the rise and fall of an attitude and an era. And it does so in the context of painful personal experience and the difficulty and joy of finally growing up. This one will definitely make you think.
Amazing.
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This book is amazing. There is a belief that if we just work hard enough, all come together and contribute the right little pieces, we can make everything good, without changing ourselves. This book is an examination of that mythology. In the end it was fear that fed it. The idols, sputnik, Apollo, were false, designed to give the nation(s) something to believe in besides fear. In the end it may be story of how we came to find that massive technology, and massive coordinated efforts were not the answer.
Blame dad
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The author definitely has some issues with his father. It's always easiest to blame the parents. Although well organized, it's still a pretty cheap piece of whining.
Once thre was a Nation
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On reading "Blue Sky Dream" I am reminded that once there was a nation that thought it could do anything-There still is: ISS-International Space Station.
John R. Aubrun Spacecraft Engineer International Space Station Project Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
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