The ebook edition can be downloaded FREE in several popular formats. Uniquely, the paperback edition is also FREE – for a strictly limited period while initial stocks last – all we ask is that you contribute the cost of shipping. We hope you enjoy your free book – just use the links on the right to download or order!
The Rocketbelt Caper: A True Tale of Invention, Obsession and Murder
by Paul Brown
‘We finished the rocketbelt, and from then on there was murder, kidnapping, and all kinds of other stuff’ – Brad Barker
When three friends set out on a quest to build a real-life Buck Rogers-style flying machine, their obsession with the Rocketbelt 2000, or ‘Pretty Bird’, shattered their friendship and set in motion an astonishing chain of events involving theft, deception, a bizarre kidnapping, a ten million dollar lawsuit and a horrifically brutal murder. This gripping book also reveals the secret history of the flying jetpack, involving Nazi scientists, James Bond, and the US Army. From sci-fi to reality, this is the true story of the amazing rocketbelt.
‘A delight to read. Genuinely stranger than fiction. Recommended.’ – Popular Science UK
‘A can’t-put-it-down murder mystery that shows how obsession and betrayal can lead people to commit dastardly deeds.’ – General Aviation News
‘Begins with a brief history of rocketbelts that’s probably the best ever in print.’ – Beam Jockey
‘The story has all the markings of a Hollywood blockbuster, and is a bizarrely unforgettable read.’ – The Crack
‘Reads like good movie material.’ – BBC Focus
‘There’s probably a Tarantino movie in this somewhere.’ – Fortean Times
‘This book is a must have.’ – Airwalker Society of Rocketbelt Enthusiasts
Read an Extract:
The book opens with a test flight of the Rocketbelt 2000 that ends in disaster. Read the first chapter online courtesy of Air & Space magazine.
Watch a Video:
Watch this ABC News report about the rocketbelt murder – it’s in two parts:
You can also watch RB2000 test flight footage, and a History Channel Rocketbelt feature.
The Backstory:
The backstory is that I first stumbled upon the story while in Los Angeles in 2002, when I read a brief newspaper spot reporting that a man had been sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and holding hostage his partner in a scheme to build a Buck Rogers-style rocketbelt. A third partner, the report added, had been murdered.
I wrote a feature for JACK magazine, which was published in 2003. The feedback was pretty good, and there were so many twists and turns in the story that I hadn’t been able to fit it all into the feature, so I expanded it into a book. In 2005 I printed up 250 copies and quickly sold them all, mainly in the US, receiving good reviews and attracting the interest of movie and documentary producers. So I revised the whole thing, and the book was published here in the UK by Tonto Press in 2007. The book was published in the US, and also as an eBook, in 2009.
There may also be a Rocketbelt Caper movie on the way… The book has been optioned by a major Hollywood studio. The 2008 movie Pretty Bird, starring Paul Giamatti and Billy Crudup, is based on the Rocketbelt 2000 story but is not associated with The Rocketbelt Caper book. The movie premiered at Sundance in January 2008, but has yet to be released. A third RB2000 movie, being developed by Gerald Casale of the band Devo and screenwriter Steve Pink, is also unassociated with the book.
More recently, I’ve written about rocketbelts for The Guardian newspaper.
You can find more Rocketbelt Caper news and videos here.
Why is the eBook edition free?
In a nutshell, the eBook edition of The Rocketbelt Caper is free because I want it to be read by as many people as possible. Please download it, read it and – hopefully – enjoy it. If you do enjoy it, you might like to tell your friends, or buy one of the lovely paperback editions, and if you think the eBook is worth paying for, you might even like to make a donation using the secure payment button below. Thank you very much in advance. If you don’t enjoy it, well I’m sorry about that, but – hey – at least it was free.
Completely free for a limited time only!
All we ask is that you pay for shipping.
Paperback Edition ISBN: 9780956227003
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FREE Ebook Edition:
Available for Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone / iPod Touch / Stanza, iRex iLiad, Smartphone / PDA, Adobe PDF and more…
eBook editon ISBN: 9780956227010
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Also available for free at Scribd.com.
Released under Creative Commons license.
Why is it free? and Can I make a donation?
‘Deluxe’ UK Edition:
The 2007 UK paperback edition contains a full colour photo section and Building A Rocketbelt essay. A limited number of signed UK editions are available with FREE worldwide shipping. Direct order via PayPal is £8 UK (approx $11 US / €9 Euro).
Photos: Click to view larger versions.
Links:
Peter Gijsbert’s Rocketbelt site
Stuart Ross’s UK Rocketbelt
Stuart Ross Guardian feature
Air & Space magazine extract
Popular Science UK review
General Aviation News review
The Crack review
Fortean Times review
Fourmilab review
T3 magazine feature
Google Books preview
