A Twentieth-Century Argonaut: One Man's Quest for an American Dream

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...