Gravity's Rainbow
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Gravity's Rainbow is a 1973 novel by American writer Thomas Pynchon. The narrative is set primarily in Europe at the end of World War II and centers on the design, production and dispatch of V-2 rockets by the German military. In particular, it features the quest undertaken by several characters to uncover the secret of a mysterious device, the Schwarzgerät, which is slated to be installed in a rocket with the serial number "00000".
First edition cover design
Launch of a V-2 rocket
This image of Wernher von Braun is referred to in the narrative, giving a quite exact timeframe for some events in the book.
Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, with cover art by Frank Miller, released October 31, 2006
Thomas Pynchon
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Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, science, and mathematics. For Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon won the 1973 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.
Pynchon in 1953 yearbook image
Pynchon c. 1955
Pynchon, age 16, in his high school senior portrait
During his time as a US Navy sailor, Pynchon is believed to have served aboard the USS Hank during the Suez Crisis.