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sareasley's review against another edition
3.0
Parts were fascinating but I found the "guide" aspect a little tiresome and self important. Overall Hadfield is about as humble and "down-to-Earth" as an astronaut can be, but the book could still get a little preachy at times.
blueisthenewpink's review against another edition
5.0
Usually, I’m not really into space and astronaut stuff but this is a highly enjoyable book. It’s as interesting and funny as Colonel Hadfield’s Twitter and Facebook updates, and YouTube videos. It is also very personal. After all, we follow his life from him watching the first men (Buzz Aldrin is the name of the second one, please remember that) step on the Moon to his retirement after being commander of the International Space Station. However, at times it seemed to be a bit repetitive. Maybe that is why I couldn’t read more than one chapter at a time, despite all the interesting stories being told.
He described launch so vividly, I actually felt like I experienced it myself. Which makes me think about the repetitions. Maybe it was deliberate, to show the reader how uninteresting (and repetitive) the mundane reality of being an astronaut is. We are told, over and over again that an astronaut spends most of his time on Earth, and it is good, and important. Maybe he never leaves the planet which is okay. Of course, going to space is what everyone wishes for but even that is not heroic, and life after it is not boring at all. They are preparing for years, practicing every movement they will be making, they plan for the worst, study long and hard, and are humble servants of a greater purpose only. Towards the end, I started to wonder who he was trying to convince. Me or himself? For most of the book, I believed him but by the last chapter, I felt he was really labouring the point.
Anyway, I think this is a wonderful path; from watching the first Moon landing on TV as a kid, through highly conscious career choices and hard work, taking part in the installation of a robotic arm that helped build the International Space Station (ISS) which he becomes the commander of in the end.
It is full of great life lessons (they would make superb memes) and really interesting details, all told with a brilliant sense of humour. I was especially fascinated by the effects of being in space on the human body. From the fact they are wearing diapers at launch because it may take much longer than expected, through the nausea everyone experiences at first, to the results of living in zero gravity for months. Without the pull of gravitational force, their muscles weaken, of course. But also their hearts! Their hearts even shrink. Their spines, on the other hand, elongate. Coming back to Earth, then, after spending months floating in a peaceful, quiet environment with only a couple of other humans is like being a newborn, he says. After a rather tough ride, they are faced with all the noise, the people, the rush, and merciless gravity. “No wonder babies cry in protest when they’re born.” – says Hadfield.
Oh, and he’s afraid of heights. The ex-commander of the ISS. Would you believe that?
He described launch so vividly, I actually felt like I experienced it myself. Which makes me think about the repetitions. Maybe it was deliberate, to show the reader how uninteresting (and repetitive) the mundane reality of being an astronaut is. We are told, over and over again that an astronaut spends most of his time on Earth, and it is good, and important. Maybe he never leaves the planet which is okay. Of course, going to space is what everyone wishes for but even that is not heroic, and life after it is not boring at all. They are preparing for years, practicing every movement they will be making, they plan for the worst, study long and hard, and are humble servants of a greater purpose only. Towards the end, I started to wonder who he was trying to convince. Me or himself? For most of the book, I believed him but by the last chapter, I felt he was really labouring the point.
Anyway, I think this is a wonderful path; from watching the first Moon landing on TV as a kid, through highly conscious career choices and hard work, taking part in the installation of a robotic arm that helped build the International Space Station (ISS) which he becomes the commander of in the end.
It is full of great life lessons (they would make superb memes) and really interesting details, all told with a brilliant sense of humour. I was especially fascinated by the effects of being in space on the human body. From the fact they are wearing diapers at launch because it may take much longer than expected, through the nausea everyone experiences at first, to the results of living in zero gravity for months. Without the pull of gravitational force, their muscles weaken, of course. But also their hearts! Their hearts even shrink. Their spines, on the other hand, elongate. Coming back to Earth, then, after spending months floating in a peaceful, quiet environment with only a couple of other humans is like being a newborn, he says. After a rather tough ride, they are faced with all the noise, the people, the rush, and merciless gravity. “No wonder babies cry in protest when they’re born.” – says Hadfield.
Oh, and he’s afraid of heights. The ex-commander of the ISS. Would you believe that?
vickeyfoggin's review against another edition
5.0
Colonel Chris Hadfield has lived an amazing life so far, and his advice about how to approach your career and personal development is pretty damn inspiring. It's a really motivating read, it is funny, and it has great stories of life in space. I loved it.
erhoeppner's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. All the anecdotes were both entertaining and informative. It did change my viewpoint in several different ways. However, the weird celebration/flattery of elon musk in the afterword was unexpected and unwanted. Especially considering the current events.
juniperd's review against another edition
3.0
read for library zoom book club - this review is for the audiobook edition, read by the author.
i wouldn't have chosen this book, left to my own devices. hadfield is a popular canadian, who has had incredible media coverage since his 5 months in space more than 10 years ago. first canadian to walk in space. member of the order of canada. commander of the international space station. viral sensation for his acoustic cover of david bowie's space oddity... played while in space. dude's got some skills. :) but, having read a lot about him in newspapers and magazine, and having seen him interviewed a few time, i felt like i already had the gist of what's included in the book. also, my brain is mush and i am barely reading.
i listened to this, read by hadfield, so i could participate in my book club's discussion. it was fine. hadfield had laser, singular, focus, and incredible internal motivation. he's achieved more in one lifetime than most ever will. he comes across as a nice guy. humble, even. and respectful of the power of a team. he isn't driven by ego. it's hard to not be impressed by hadfield.
i tell you what i do want to read, though: a book written by his wife, helene. that's a story and perspective i'd be interested in hearing.
i wouldn't have chosen this book, left to my own devices. hadfield is a popular canadian, who has had incredible media coverage since his 5 months in space more than 10 years ago. first canadian to walk in space. member of the order of canada. commander of the international space station. viral sensation for his acoustic cover of david bowie's space oddity... played while in space. dude's got some skills. :) but, having read a lot about him in newspapers and magazine, and having seen him interviewed a few time, i felt like i already had the gist of what's included in the book. also, my brain is mush and i am barely reading.
i listened to this, read by hadfield, so i could participate in my book club's discussion. it was fine. hadfield had laser, singular, focus, and incredible internal motivation. he's achieved more in one lifetime than most ever will. he comes across as a nice guy. humble, even. and respectful of the power of a team. he isn't driven by ego. it's hard to not be impressed by hadfield.
i tell you what i do want to read, though: a book written by his wife, helene. that's a story and perspective i'd be interested in hearing.
just_kidding_cosplay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
psekar's review against another edition
5.0
The book was engaging till the end. It's nice to learn about an astronauts life from aspiration to retirement. Chris has a nice tone overall on many things.
kaflurbaleen's review against another edition
5.0
This book started out a bit like space-lifehacker and morphed into "space is really awesome and whoa, going to space made me really appreciate life and being a human and Earth and getting to go to space." Lots of interesting stories about what this guy's life is like. Some of it felt kind of jumbled together, like lots of things crammed into each chapter that sometimes seemed unrelated, but that's okay! More astronaut stories to read that way.
nermrlib's review against another edition
5.0
I stumbled on Chris Hadfield's Twitter feed while he was on the International Space Station. He tweeted some of the most incredible photos of Earth. It made me wonder--what the heck is a Canadian astronaut doing on the space station and how did I miss the fact that there is this amazing work going on above our heads every day? I'm happy to say that this book answers so many of those questions, and more that I didn't think to ask. Cmdr. Hadfield has written a book not just about space flight and how he got to the space station, but about his philosophy of life. It is a fascinating look at space, science, exploration, geography, politics, all rolled into one interesting ride. I actually listened to the audio version, read by the author. Highly recommended!