Philip St. John 1st Ed 1954 Rockets to Nowhere Winston Sci-Fi Alex Schomburg DJ

Up For Sale Today is

Rockets to Nowhere

by

Philip St. John

Jacket and Endpaper design by

Alex Schomburg

Hardcover. 8vo. The John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, PA. 1954. 215 pgs. First Edition/First Printing. 

Alex Schomburg designed DJ has shelf-wear present (DJ is lightly rubbed and worn; crown of the spine is lightly chipped). Bound in grey cloth boards with titles present to the spine. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities. No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid.

Young Danny Cross couldn't understand the telegram from the Security Commission ordering him home from college. He wondered whether it had to do with the reported death of one of America's leading atomic scientists in a rocket explosion over White Sands. He was surprised to find that it was only another thorough security check and a change of security card - the vital "open sesame" to anyone living in Alamogordo, New Mexico, at the dawn of the Space Age.

Clearly, there was a change in the atmosphere at the proving grounds. More and more specialists seemed to be vanishing in "rocket explosions" miles above the Earth - explosions without debris, and without much investigation other than the security checks.

Then Danny's cousin, an ace pilot, joins the legion of the Vanished. Danny, with a brilliant incisive mind, begins to approach the truth: that these missing people are all alive, building - IN SECRET - a space station to be inhabited by them!

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

 The Winston Science Fiction set comprises 35 science fiction juvenile novels by famous science fiction authors such as Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova, and Lester del Rey, one anthology, and one non-fiction book Rockets through Space: The Story of Man's Preparations to Explore the Universe by del Rey which details the factual science and technology of rocket flight. The set was published by The John C. Winston Company between 1952 and 1960, then by Holt, Rinehart & Winston until 1961. The dust jackets feature classic science fiction illustrations by artists like Hugo Award winners Ed Emshwiller and Virgil Finlay along with Hugo nominees like Mel Hunter and Alex Schomburg.

Juvenile science fiction hard covers had been published for some time prior to the beginning of the Winston series, most notably the Tom Swift series published from 1910-1941. However, as the Tom Swift series declined, and the economic pressures of World War II escalated, juvenile offerings became slim.

The Winston Publishing Company had a history of publishing material for youth since the early part of the 20th century, such as the Young People's Library of Entertainment and Amusement and The Forward Series for Boys and Girls. After the publication of Robert A. Heinlein's Rocket Ship Galileo in 1947 revived the juvenile science fiction market, The Winston Publishing Company decided to develop a juvenile science fiction series that would be set apart from the pulp fiction of its time. Known and respected SF authors were hired, and each novel was to include a factual foreword explaining the science and technology referenced in the novel.The publisher's announcement of the series in Publishers Weekly clearly outlines the goals of the series:

Five compelling tales designed TO SELL to the expanding science fiction market! Only writers who have won the respect of the science fiction audience have been signed to write these accurate yet absorbing books. Each contains an explanation of new terms and a discussion of its scientific aspects. ... For all ages.

The series began in 1952 with the publication of the first 5 books: Earthbound by Milton Lesser, Find the Feathered Serpent by Evan Hunter, Marooned on Mars by Lester del Rey, Son of the Stars by Raymond Jones, and Five Against Venus by Philip Latham. Later in the year a second group of five novels were added to the series: Sons of the Ocean Deep by Bryce Walton, Mists of Dawn by Chad Oliver, Rocket Jockey by Phillip St. John, Islands in the Sky by Arthur Clarke, and Vault of the Ages by Poul Anderson. Each book was an original written especially for the Winston series, and marketed for the juvenile audience.

Differing from static characters like Tom Swift and the Lucky Starr series the Winston heroes show dynamic growth and character development throughout their novels and series. This fact has contributed to the lasting influence of the series on its readers, creating accessible role models for young readers

The first edition dust jacket illustrations by famous science fiction artists have made the Winston set highly collectible. Contributors include Hugo winning artists like Alex Schomburg (who also created the endpapers used in every book of the series) and Virgil Finlay, as well Hugo nominees like Mel Hunter, and Ed Emshwiller. There is even a cover ("The Ant Men") by Paul Blaisdell, best known for his imaginatively extreme monsters in low-budget science fiction movies of the 1950s, such as "It Conquered the World"

Winston cover art features colorful images of spaceflight, exploration (of Earth, Space, and Time) and other fantastical subject matter describing important scenes from each book. The art is similar in style to pulp fiction art of the time, but like the novels themselves, the art tends towards a believable and accurate portrayal of the subject matter. Artists like Mel Hunter had extensive training in scientific and technical illustration, and a broad knowledge of space technologies. This gives the covers a more serious feel than some other art of the time, and compliments the educational attitude the authors took in writing their factual forewords describing the science and technology that appears in the books.