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andsheewas's review against another edition
4.0
I love Mary Roach, so I give this three stars in comparison to her other works. The humor is there as is the heart, but I suspect rocket science and NASA leaves this somewhat dry. Overall, a good read and it inspires and sparks curiosity.
kmsabella's review against another edition
3.0
This books was kind of lackluster - interesting at times, other parts dragged.
j_rowley's review against another edition
4.0
Mary Roach researches human (and other mammal space travel). She looks at what early scientists were worried about when humans went into space (insanity). What physically happens to the human body. How astronauts go to the bathroom, how they eat, and whether this knowledge will help when we try for Mars.
schroederius's review against another edition
5.0
I like science fiction. I like science. I like humor. Mary Roach, in general, is solidly in the intersection of these areas, and I do read everything she writes. I felt that there were _some_ areas where I had already read her thoughts on the things in this book, but that's the danger when you read so much by a single author. Plus, what happened to the one-word titles, Mary? Stiff, Bonk, Gulp... and Packing for Mars? Ah well...
kmlb09's review against another edition
4.0
This book has been on my to-read list for a while. I am a huge fan of Mary Roach after reading "Stiff" twice. Since my husband, father and brother were/are all involved in the space industry, it was only fitting that I read this to try and understand some of what they deal with. I'm pretty sure I learned more than even THEY know!
There's a lot of NASA history in this book, some of it very humorous (transcripts from different missions, embarassing rumors that have circulated the industry, etc.). Mary tackles everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about space travel. She covers all the things that must be considered while planning a mission - including going to the bathroom in zero gravity!
Roach's humor makes science that much more fun. This book will make you appreciate all the time that goes into space travel planning. It will enlighten (or frustrate) you as she explains just how much money is spent by the government testing different hypotheticals and researching everything (and I mean everything) that must be considered as we look forward to a future of longer trips in space.
There's a lot of NASA history in this book, some of it very humorous (transcripts from different missions, embarassing rumors that have circulated the industry, etc.). Mary tackles everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about space travel. She covers all the things that must be considered while planning a mission - including going to the bathroom in zero gravity!
Roach's humor makes science that much more fun. This book will make you appreciate all the time that goes into space travel planning. It will enlighten (or frustrate) you as she explains just how much money is spent by the government testing different hypotheticals and researching everything (and I mean everything) that must be considered as we look forward to a future of longer trips in space.
laura_de_leon's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting look at the logistics of space travel. It is possible it spent a little too much time on the logistics of eating and, um, associated activities.
elisability's review against another edition
5.0
Have you ever wondered how different countries pick their astronauts? Or how astronauts train for zero G? How astronauts pee, poop or have sex in zero G? What would happen if they had a tear in their suit in space?
This book will answer these questions, and so much more that you’ve never wondered about (and might not want to know the answer to...). If you’ve read Mary Roach before, you know this will be as informative as it is hilarious. I often laughed out loud while reading it, and amused my colleagues by telling them what I’d just read during lunch (while I was reading the chapter on zero G defecation (seriously, there is a chapter about that), these discussions were not particularly appetizing... but I did learn about 17 synonyms for “poop” and the hilarious concept of fecal popcorning!)
This book will answer these questions, and so much more that you’ve never wondered about (and might not want to know the answer to...). If you’ve read Mary Roach before, you know this will be as informative as it is hilarious. I often laughed out loud while reading it, and amused my colleagues by telling them what I’d just read during lunch (while I was reading the chapter on zero G defecation (seriously, there is a chapter about that), these discussions were not particularly appetizing... but I did learn about 17 synonyms for “poop” and the hilarious concept of fecal popcorning!)
marfbody's review
3.0
Book of highly readable background info about prepping for space travel, including space suits, chimps, Russians, right stuff, Arctic missions -- which sounds sort of dry, but written in a humorous way with lots of fascinating tidbits about eating - breathing - cleaning - pooping in space ... nothing you've ever thought about, but there is a whole lot of research behind the science of voiding in space. Several passages are not only gross, but laugh out loud funny. Recommended.
sankeym's review against another edition
4.0
Have you ever wondered how NASA and other space agencies thought through the non-glamorous realities of space travel (boredom, vomit, bad smells, space psychosis)? Thankfully, there's someone to track this down and reveal the deep and presumably hideously expensive research from prison experiments (on ""non-optimal long-duration hygiene""), submarine crews (after long deployments, one crew wandered around a park rolling in grass and touching tree bark until spotting a woman with a stroller and forming a pack shouting ""it's a BABY!"" and chasing her down the street), parabolic flight (the ""vomit comet""), the 1944 United States Subcommittee on Motion Sickness (which set the etiquette for government barfing--clean it up yourself), bureaucratic jargon machines (landing pulse=crash), Japanese astronaut selection (""make 1,000 origami cranes. They will be graded by a materials engineer""), Russian conflict management (Mir has several blood stains, from ""drunken brawls"") and animal studies (John Glen threw an ashtray at the head of a NASA bureaucrat who made one too many monkey jokes). This is all stuff I didn't even know I wanted to know.