Overview

"This is a Pinnacle Award Recipient and a silver medalist in the Readers' Favorites awards, Christian Living. Blessed are the engineers who give us some answers to life's little perplexities. Mister B's jaunty calculating rhythm offers timely subject matter. A tender little laugh, a swept floor in reticence, a literary window into the home of a surviving physicist and his caregiver. Mister B proves he could care less about being politically correct. That's not his style. Can these multi-generational housemates discover why they still matter? Find out now, for a celebration of full life. PRAISE FOR MISTER B: Mister B springs from earthbound corners of immigration and poverty in rope-tied-baggy pants, Seeing as his newest design is to live forever, how will life unfold when a chauffeur-cook decides to move into the home of this self-centered, 98-Year-Old Rocket Scientist... will she really lend aid? ""A wonderful book, brimming with humor and spirituality. The characters are lovingly drawn and Byk provides her readers with a day-by-day recounting of how her life intersects with the indefatigable Mister B, whose memory seems almost photographic even at the age of 98! The book is enlivened by photographs from early-to-middle twentieth century America. A very worthwhile multi-generational read."" -Jan Kalickion ""Byk fully constructs Mr. B, from the Rhode Island coastal awe in his voice to his penchant for mustard on peeled egg. In these small, perfectly executed moments, Byk brings her fascinating family to life for readers with warm and genuinely funny wit..."" - KIRKUS REVIEW A jaunty & terrific confessional of unusual love. If you liked Driving With Miss Daisy, or No Highway in the Sky, Mister B's survival tactics may also help you stay above the curve. - Verified Reader Born in 1916, to a Polish-speaking mother, physicist Joseph Byk began his early schooling in rope-tied-baggy-pants-poverty. He was every teachers' dreaded student, however, he aspired to design vehicles that defy gravity. Joseph B IS the loveable, bumbling scientist portrayed in Nevil Shute's romantic character, Mr. Honey, (Jimmy Stewart) in the movie, No Highway in the Sky. For curiosity seekers of aerospace and structural science, how did it all start? Here is the story of a forgotten stress engineer whose philosophy, calculations, and outspoken opinions saved many lives. Greatest Generation story lovers, World War II hounds, and family members caring for aging parents, think of Mister B as a national treasure. A real-time memoir with a caregiver, Mr.B causes unsuspecting readers to become mindful of things that matter in many shades of life. As this materials analyst steps into a stress manufacturing field, his story encompasses his part in WWII and the cold war race to the moon against Russia. Joseph Byk stress tests reconnaissance planes and helped to design structural aspects of the space shuttle Gemini, the first moon landing gear, and the beginnings of Google Earth. Hidden figures of NASA include not only brilliant women of color but also this underprivileged son of a Polish immigrant mother who pulled himself up by his bootstraps. Armchair philosophers and would-be scientists appreciate Mister B's wry interactions and shrewd, pointed conversation, but is there more to what meets the eye?"

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9780997162561

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Reviews

This is a book - and a man - you won't forget. Mr. B is quite the character! I often found myself laughing out loud. I felt like the Byks were my neighbors by the end of the book, and I received a basic education in rocket science as well! Lynn Byk's interactions with his stories are genuine and insightful. I was enthralled right to the end. Actually, there isn't and 'end' since Mister B continues to interact and challenge with his questions and idiosyncrasies. __ Sue Lockwood Summers, teacher/author of: Changing the World through Media Education, and Get Them Thinking! I laughed and cried reading Mister B. The tragedy that put these three folks together may be something that displaced families around the world have felt, but the combination of characters in the book, and the juxtaposition of cultures in spiritual corners, made this memoir explode for me. This is a must read for anyone who has ever struggled with bridging generational gaps. It's a must read for anyone involved in family relationships. The time spent reading Mr. B. is time well spent. __ Verified Amazon Purchaser I had no idea how the space industry began. Seriously?! Fascinating that at 98, a person can be so compelling! Great read for my students too. - extremely enjoyable. (Verified Paperback Reader)

-It's Not Rocket Science To Launch Mister B as the 2016 Pinnacle Achievement Award Winner in the category of Memoir.- -- NABE -This is a book - and a man - you won't forget. Mr. B is quite the character! I often found myself laughing out loud. I felt like the Byks were my neighbors by the end of the book, and I received a basic education in rocket science as well! Lynn Byk's interactions with his stories are genuine and insightful. I was enthralled right to the end. Actually, there isn't an 'end' since Mister B continues to interact and challenge with his questions and idiosyncrasies.- __ Sue Lockwood Summers, teacher/author of: Changing the World through Media Education, and Get Them Thinking! -I laughed and cried reading Mister B. The tragedy that put these three folks together may be something that displaced families around the world have felt, but the combination of characters in the book, and the juxtaposition of cultures in spiritual corners, made this memoir explode for me. This is a must read for anyone who has ever struggled with bridging generational gaps. It's a must read for anyone involved in family relationships. The time spent reading Mr. B. is time well spent.- __ Verified Amazon Purchaser -I had no idea how the space industry began. Seriously?! Fascinating that at 98, a person can be so compelling! Great read for my students too. - extremely enjoyable.- (Verified Paperback Reader)

Author Information

Lynn Byk managed a Berean Bookstore after graduation from Colorado Christian University where she obtained a B.A. in Contemporary Composition. In this memoir, she is informed by her caretaker relationship with her father-in-law, Mister B, the rocket scientist, himself. Joseph Byk received his PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Alabama. He taught pilots in the air corps with Spartan Company and then worked through WWII with Vultee and the cold war with Martin Company performing projects for NASA and the Department of Defense. Kathryn Kowalchik Swezy is a career graphic artist in Colorado and is the Art Director/Principal at KS Design and a Consultant in Marketing & Communication at Lakeshore Staffing. She has worked for 5280 Magazine, several well known travel magazines and Craig Hospital PR. She studied Graphic Design at Ray College of Design

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