Excerpt from A Girl's Guide to Missiles by Karen Piper, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Finally, Kennedy got up and ended his visit with a one-minute speech in which he said it was nice to see all the healthy- looking children in California. He always liked the children. Then he said, "I cannot think of a prouder occupation when asked what our occupation may be than to say, 'I serve the United States of America.' " This is the part that everyone quotes, but it is not the most important part.

Kennedy was driven away down Blandy Avenue, named after the man in charge of the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests. Admiral Blandy once defended his actions amid antinuclear protests by saying, "I am not an atomic playboy, exploding these bombs to satisfy my personal whim." Kennedy was a playboy, though he denied it too. Women could tell, even in China Lake. They threw themselves at his car as he drove away, trying to stop him from leaving.

Adapted from A Girl's Guide to Missiles by Karen Piper, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2018 by Karen Piper