altlovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I carried the fire for six years, and now I would like to tell you about it, simply and directly as a test pilot must, for the trip deserves the telling.
This was a really good book. Little altlovesbooks wanted to be an astronaut so badly as a kid, until my dad told me I had to join the Air Force. Then I wanted to be an astronomer, but mid-grade altlovesbooks was only passable at math and physics. Adult altlovesbooks now just stares up at the sky and wonders what it's like to be up there and watches SpaceX launches on YouTube. Not quite the same thing, but I'll take what I can get.
Michael Collins, the "third man" of Apollo 11 who stayed behind while the other two astronaut rock stars walked around on the moon, is a talented, engaging writer. He has this sense of pragmatism about him that really made reading about his early days trying to get into the space program, the training once getting in, and the rigors of spaceflight extremely compelling. He's also got a nice way of breaking down complex concepts into easy to understand passages, which is especially nice when talking about something as complex as spaceflight. He's also funny, has a nice, dry humor, and seems really adept at summing up the people and personalities around him. I especially liked the segment, almost an epilogue of sorts, after regaling us about Apollo 11. He goes into detail about where they all ended up and why, about his thoughts on the past and future of the space program, and a general sense of his hopes and wishes for mankind going forward. It was funny, moving, philosophical, and something that's relatable.
This made my favorites of 2020 list, and I'm really glad I spent some time reading it. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was extremely easy to listen to. Highly recommend to anyone and everyone.
This was a really good book. Little altlovesbooks wanted to be an astronaut so badly as a kid, until my dad told me I had to join the Air Force. Then I wanted to be an astronomer, but mid-grade altlovesbooks was only passable at math and physics. Adult altlovesbooks now just stares up at the sky and wonders what it's like to be up there and watches SpaceX launches on YouTube. Not quite the same thing, but I'll take what I can get.
Michael Collins, the "third man" of Apollo 11 who stayed behind while the other two astronaut rock stars walked around on the moon, is a talented, engaging writer. He has this sense of pragmatism about him that really made reading about his early days trying to get into the space program, the training once getting in, and the rigors of spaceflight extremely compelling. He's also got a nice way of breaking down complex concepts into easy to understand passages, which is especially nice when talking about something as complex as spaceflight. He's also funny, has a nice, dry humor, and seems really adept at summing up the people and personalities around him. I especially liked the segment, almost an epilogue of sorts, after regaling us about Apollo 11. He goes into detail about where they all ended up and why, about his thoughts on the past and future of the space program, and a general sense of his hopes and wishes for mankind going forward. It was funny, moving, philosophical, and something that's relatable.
This made my favorites of 2020 list, and I'm really glad I spent some time reading it. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was extremely easy to listen to. Highly recommend to anyone and everyone.
mark_lm's review against another edition
4.0
Mike Collins' wrote his famous memoir himself. He is quite frank, including a list of his colleagues' personalities, and a bit of a kvetch, but he gives an exciting and in-depth account of his training, NASA politics, and both his Gemini and Apollo missions.
gabe_reads's review against another edition
4.0
A really well written, interesting perspective on an objectively incredible story. He's a very good writer, managing to turn what could be a dry, technical account into an engaging read. He talks more than I expected about his early career, and his first spaceflight in the Gemini program. I liked that, it made it feel like more than just a tale of the Apollo 11 mission. It gives you a good perspective on what being an astronaut is like. The process of getting the job and training and the day to day work you've got to do. And then what doing a space mission is like from their perspective. There was less introspection than I (or I suspect many people) were hoping for, but he does talk about how astronauts aren't the introspective type! And that he sometimes wishes he knew more about what Armstrong and Aldrin were thinking and feeling.
jam_scot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Great book, informative, plenty of detail without rendering it boring as a story. If you have any interest in space, the moon landings, engineering or astronomy then this book is definitely for you
josieruby1's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
The first two thirds or so of this book are intensely full of technical terms and in depth explanations about Collins time at NASA. It makes for a bit of a slog to get through.
The last third however, the book gets a new lease of life as Collins prepares to and does leave the planet, first with Gemini and then with Apollo
The last third however, the book gets a new lease of life as Collins prepares to and does leave the planet, first with Gemini and then with Apollo
canthaltme's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
andrueb's review
4.0
I'll be honest, this is a great book that was a slog to get through. I'll occasionally read a book like this, not because it's endlessly riveting, but because it's so informative. That said, Michael Collins makes the lead-up to the Moon landing as interesting as possible, and occasionally even spellbinding.
Michael Collins was the third astronaut aboard Apollo 11, alongside Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. He was tasked with transporting the spacecraft around the dark side of the moon while Buzz and Neil landed on it, waiting to rendezvous with the other astronauts once they'd completed their mission exploring the lunar surface.
This book really shines when Collins waxes rhapsodic about his 2 journeys through space (the first time in an earlier Gemini mission, where they literally open the top of their shuttle, allowing him to stand up into space and take pictures of infinity with a film camera!!!). Collins is acerbic and brilliant at all points in his narrative, but he can be downright poetic, delivering passages that I believe will be read with amazement centuries from now.
Much of the rest of the story is covering Collins' past as a pilot, engineer, and designer of various elements of the Apollo program. These passages are thick with engineering details, and don't have the lyrical brilliance of the book's mountaintop moments. They're still valuable, and I'm glad to have a more practical knowledge about how the 60's space program actually worked (I had NO idea that the astronauts actually helped design the shuttles and landers and pressure suits!), although I can't say that I found each and every page to be equally fascinating.
All in all, it's a great and important book, and anyone would do well to read it. I enjoyed Michael Collins' sardonic brilliance greatly, and felt that he would be a person I'd love to know in real life.
Michael Collins was the third astronaut aboard Apollo 11, alongside Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. He was tasked with transporting the spacecraft around the dark side of the moon while Buzz and Neil landed on it, waiting to rendezvous with the other astronauts once they'd completed their mission exploring the lunar surface.
This book really shines when Collins waxes rhapsodic about his 2 journeys through space (the first time in an earlier Gemini mission, where they literally open the top of their shuttle, allowing him to stand up into space and take pictures of infinity with a film camera!!!). Collins is acerbic and brilliant at all points in his narrative, but he can be downright poetic, delivering passages that I believe will be read with amazement centuries from now.
Much of the rest of the story is covering Collins' past as a pilot, engineer, and designer of various elements of the Apollo program. These passages are thick with engineering details, and don't have the lyrical brilliance of the book's mountaintop moments. They're still valuable, and I'm glad to have a more practical knowledge about how the 60's space program actually worked (I had NO idea that the astronauts actually helped design the shuttles and landers and pressure suits!), although I can't say that I found each and every page to be equally fascinating.
All in all, it's a great and important book, and anyone would do well to read it. I enjoyed Michael Collins' sardonic brilliance greatly, and felt that he would be a person I'd love to know in real life.