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mollimoll's review
5.0
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. An easy and joyful read, it straddles the line between memoir and a self improvement book. Hadfield gives a rare honest glimpse into the life of an astronaut while sharing clever philosophies that can be applied to many different situations, even for those of us that don’t work at NASA.
sarahlostctrl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
annebienia's review against another edition
4.0
I don't normally read non-fiction but this was great. Life affirming, funny and a bit geeky too. Really enjoyed reading this and even picked up a few new space facts. He's such a great guy, I vote to make him president of the world. Makes any stupid first world problem feel that little bit less significant.
mediaevalmuse's review
4.0
I found this book at a used bookstore, and since I had seen a couple of YouTube videos featuring Hadfield, I picked it up. I like space but haven't delved much into the ins and outs of being an astronaut, so I figured this would be an accessible entry point.
Overall, I think this book was very good about explaining what being an astronaut is like without being bogged down by technical jargon or complex science. Hadfield's prose is very straightforward and clear, so even I was able to understand things related to flight or technical operations or what have you.
But the memoir isn't as focused on those things as it is communicating the humanity of astronauts and imparting some life lessons. The former, I found was executed well; Hadfield does a great job talking about his mindset and attitudes and I think there is enough levity and humor to make his extraordinary experiences more relatable.
The advice/lessons were, for me, more of a mixed bag. Part of my reaction might be due to my own feeling that many of Hadfield's insights were overshadowed by his stories and the advice itself didn't seem too dependent on being an astronaut, specifically. I guess that's good, since Hadfield aims to give some advice that is applicable to most people, but the advice felt a bit trite at times. There's also the sense that Hadfield doesn't get very emotional or show much vulnerability in his prose. This isn't, by definition, a bad thing, but when you've had experience that very few people in life will have, I feel like you need some robust, lyrical prose to really provoke a reaction in the reader.
TL;DR: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth is less valuable for its life lessons and more valuable as a piece of science education/communication. Learning about the life of an astronaut was genuinely very interesting, and I think this book could get more people interested in space exploration. But as an insightful book of life lessons, it was just too flat and broad.
Overall, I think this book was very good about explaining what being an astronaut is like without being bogged down by technical jargon or complex science. Hadfield's prose is very straightforward and clear, so even I was able to understand things related to flight or technical operations or what have you.
But the memoir isn't as focused on those things as it is communicating the humanity of astronauts and imparting some life lessons. The former, I found was executed well; Hadfield does a great job talking about his mindset and attitudes and I think there is enough levity and humor to make his extraordinary experiences more relatable.
The advice/lessons were, for me, more of a mixed bag. Part of my reaction might be due to my own feeling that many of Hadfield's insights were overshadowed by his stories and the advice itself didn't seem too dependent on being an astronaut, specifically. I guess that's good, since Hadfield aims to give some advice that is applicable to most people, but the advice felt a bit trite at times. There's also the sense that Hadfield doesn't get very emotional or show much vulnerability in his prose. This isn't, by definition, a bad thing, but when you've had experience that very few people in life will have, I feel like you need some robust, lyrical prose to really provoke a reaction in the reader.
TL;DR: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth is less valuable for its life lessons and more valuable as a piece of science education/communication. Learning about the life of an astronaut was genuinely very interesting, and I think this book could get more people interested in space exploration. But as an insightful book of life lessons, it was just too flat and broad.
swagnerdavid's review
5.0
What an inspiring book! Chris Hadfield has lived a crazy life full of doing things nonstop. His curiosity and undying optimism come through the book on every page and are such an inspiration to me. When he came back from extended time in outer space, his body had been practically destroyed by zero gravity. He would faint in the shower, had constant back pain due to spinal expansion, zero aerobic endurance, and just was decrepit in every way. Despite this, he was so grateful for his chance to live his dreams in space, never complaining or regretting his actions that left his body broken for an extended period of time.
My favorite quote is where he talks of a rocket's direction, or attitude, and says "Attitude predicts success."
My favorite quote is where he talks of a rocket's direction, or attitude, and says "Attitude predicts success."