Liftoff

War hero, test pilot, American astronaut, and U.S. Senator—for John Glenn, serving his country has always been a joyous adventure. This superbly illustrated book follows the life trajectory of a very focused, highly competitive man, driven by a sense of duty to his country and an innate sense of obligation towards others.

How does a boy from a small Ohio town grow up to become one of the most enduring heroes in American history? Young readers find out as they follow Glenn's inspiring story from his schoolboy days in New Concord, Ohio, to his adventures as a highly decorated Marine Corps pilot in both World War II and the Korean War, a test pilot, one of the seven Mercury astronauts and the first American to orbit Earth, a successful businessman, a U.S. Senator, and, at the age of 77, the oldest human being in space.

National Geographic's award-winning Photobiographies series provides middle-grade readers with pictorially based biographies of famous pioneers in their fields. With an emphasis on first-person accounts and extraordinary archival photographs, this stunningly designed series is both handsome and compelling. Maps, chronologies, resource guides, bibliographies, and indices make this the perfect choice for report writers.