num_pages: 350
description: Now a CBS All Access series created by Mark Heyman with executive producer Ridley Scott.ROCKET SCIENTIST KILLED IN PASADENA EXPLOSION screamed the headline of the Los Angeles Times . John Parsons, a maverick rocketeer who helped transform the rocket from a derided sci-fi plot line into a reality, was at first mourned as a scientific prodigy. But reporters soon uncovered a more shocking story: Parsons had been a devotee of black magic.George Pendle re-creates the world of John Parsons in this dazzling portrait of prewar superstition, cold war paranoia, and futuristic possibility. Fueled by childhood dreams of space flight, Parsons was a leader of the motley band of enthusiastic young men who founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a cornerstone of the American space program. But Parsons's wild imagination also led him into the occult- for if he could make rocketry a reality, why not magic?With a cast of characters including Howard Hughes, L. Ron Hubbard, and Robert Heinlein, Strange Angel explores the unruly consequences of genius. 
language: English
title: Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons
titlecomplete: Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons
characters: Jack Parsons
genres: Biography, History, Science, Occult, Paranormal, Thelema, Space, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Audiobook
ratings_count: 1429
places: Pasadena, California
publisher: Mariner Books