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159 reviews for:
Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
Mike Massimino, Tanner Colby
4.5 AVERAGE
159 reviews for:
Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
Mike Massimino, Tanner Colby
4.5 AVERAGE
I love what is in this book. Mike Massimino is the best of America: smart, kind, hardworking, willing to transform himself, able to fly. Mike Massimino is part of the redemptive story of our nation. He made me cry twice in this book: when the shuttle went down and when the astronaut corps stepped up for him when his father was dying.
Spoiling it slightly was what was not in this book. My man visited the remains of Prince Henry the Navigator's school. There's no discussion of what Prince Henry wrought with his travels. There's no real discussion of the role of NASA in the cold war. No discussion of Project Paperclip. No discussion of all the women excluded from the Apollo program. In this book, NASA is Picard's Starfleet without Section 31.
Spoiling it slightly was what was not in this book. My man visited the remains of Prince Henry the Navigator's school. There's no discussion of what Prince Henry wrought with his travels. There's no real discussion of the role of NASA in the cold war. No discussion of Project Paperclip. No discussion of all the women excluded from the Apollo program. In this book, NASA is Picard's Starfleet without Section 31.
Amazing book with a behind-the-scenes look at an astronaut's life, and the hardship it takes to get there. It was very inspiring, especially the audio book, which was read by Mike Massimino himself - his enthusiasm carried extremely well through the medium, and I found myself sharing the thrills with him. The chapter about the Columbia accident was especially touching, and I learned that above all, astronauts are team players, and like a huge family to each other. Great read, even if you are not that much into space travel!
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Bu kadar seveceğimi hiç tahmin etmiyordum. Harika bir kitapmış.
Öncelikle, Mike abimiz bayağı iyi bir hikâye anlatıcısıymış, onu gördük. Tabii ne kadarı kendi başarısı, ne kadarı editörlere ait onu bilemeyiz, zira özellikle anı kitaplarında editörler bazen görünmez kahraman olabiliyor. Ama öyle ya da böyle, ortada baştan sona çok iyi kurgulanmış, çok iyi anlatılmış bir öykü var. Macera romanı tadında. Arada en bilimsel, en teknik konuları bile tertemiz, basitçe aktarmış. Bunun yanında, bildiğimiz ve bilmediğimiz pek çok şeyin de üstünden geçiyor tekrar; eski kazalar, yeni teknolojiler, tabii ki Hubble, tabii ki soluk mavi nokta... Hâlihazırda, misal Apollo 13 filminin hayranıysanız yahut Jules Verne'siz bir hayat düşünemiyorsanız, bu kitaptan kesinlikle zevk alırsınız.
Bir de şunu tekrar fark ettim; mühendisler -veya mühendis zekâlı analitik kişiler- olmasa insanlık bir gıdım ilerleyemezdi. Sorun çözme, bu zihin yapısının temelini oluşturuyor çünkü. Mike abinin kişisel yaşamındaki örnekler bile bunu kanıtlıyor; adam defalarca denemiş, başaramamış, gerektiğinde gözlerini bile "düzeltmiş", vesaire.
Sorun çözebilen insanları yanınızda tutun.
"[Bir şey için] doğru kişi olmak kusursuz olmak değil, hayat karşınıza ne çıkarırsa üstesinden gelebilmektir."
Öncelikle, Mike abimiz bayağı iyi bir hikâye anlatıcısıymış, onu gördük. Tabii ne kadarı kendi başarısı, ne kadarı editörlere ait onu bilemeyiz, zira özellikle anı kitaplarında editörler bazen görünmez kahraman olabiliyor. Ama öyle ya da böyle, ortada baştan sona çok iyi kurgulanmış, çok iyi anlatılmış bir öykü var. Macera romanı tadında. Arada en bilimsel, en teknik konuları bile tertemiz, basitçe aktarmış. Bunun yanında, bildiğimiz ve bilmediğimiz pek çok şeyin de üstünden geçiyor tekrar; eski kazalar, yeni teknolojiler, tabii ki Hubble, tabii ki soluk mavi nokta... Hâlihazırda, misal Apollo 13 filminin hayranıysanız yahut Jules Verne'siz bir hayat düşünemiyorsanız, bu kitaptan kesinlikle zevk alırsınız.
Bir de şunu tekrar fark ettim; mühendisler -veya mühendis zekâlı analitik kişiler- olmasa insanlık bir gıdım ilerleyemezdi. Sorun çözme, bu zihin yapısının temelini oluşturuyor çünkü. Mike abinin kişisel yaşamındaki örnekler bile bunu kanıtlıyor; adam defalarca denemiş, başaramamış, gerektiğinde gözlerini bile "düzeltmiş", vesaire.
Sorun çözebilen insanları yanınızda tutun.
"[Bir şey için] doğru kişi olmak kusursuz olmak değil, hayat karşınıza ne çıkarırsa üstesinden gelebilmektir."
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Just an amazingly inspirational story that makes me admire Massimino so much for his dogged determination in pursuing his childhood dream. I loved how genuine the writing was and how everything he accomplished was done with a sense of wonder and humility.
This is, hands down, the best and most inspiring astronaut biography I have yet read. (And the audiobook, read by Massamino himself, brings it to even more vivid life.) Highly, highly recommended.
Mike Massimino, "Mass," has written a captivating memoir of his quest to become an astronaut and his life serving as an astronaut with NASA. He paints a clear picture for us of the 7-year-old boy in his homemade astronaut outfit clutching the Snoopy astronaut doll that his big brother gave him. Then he takes us through the events that encouraged him to pursue that dream and the obstacles he overcame in order to become a "spaceman." Everything from his fear of heights, passing the qualifying exam for his Ph.D. program, the freeze on flights after the Challenger was lost, and even the problem of correcting his eyesight are shown and put into the path of that small boy making his way to the shuttle.
One of the things that really makes the book enjoyable is the "guy next door" personality of Mass. As he says, he was the most all-around in situations his whole life. He was the guy good enough at sports to talk to the jocks, the kid whose grades were good enough to hang with the smart students, etc. And that ability to fit in and be genuinely interested in other people is what we see as he tells his story. He pulls us in and makes us a part of his circle of friends.
Another fun thing is the references to pop culture. He talks about his reaction to watching the moon landing, "The Right Stuff," and other space related media up to the movie "Armageddon" and his own cameo appearances on "The Big Bang Theory." He mentions books he enjoyed as a child like the science fiction of Jules Verne, and the musical groups he loaded on his iPod to listen to during his shuttle missions. Mass even discusses what it was like to be the first astronaut to tweet from space.
But the thing that really comes through is his love for space and his feeling of belonging to the greatest team that you could possibly want to join. Anecdotes about the ways in which the space community - and the astronauts in particular - support each other, are crowded into the pages. Mass credits his father and watching him work with the New York Fire Department with building his belief that "whatever you do in life, it can't just be about making money. It's important that you work to make the world a better place, that you help improve the lives of the people around you." And he also helps us grasp the majesty of space, the image of the Earth as a spaceship carrying us all, and the drive to expand human knowledge.
I will warn you that many of the stories will make you teary-eyed, or downright make you cry. I went through lots of Kleenex reading about the loss of the Columbia, his father's fight with cancer, and the other sad events. But I also teared up over his triumphs like making the cut to become an astronaut in training or his first spacewalk. This is a story that you cannot read without responding to it.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
One of the things that really makes the book enjoyable is the "guy next door" personality of Mass. As he says, he was the most all-around in situations his whole life. He was the guy good enough at sports to talk to the jocks, the kid whose grades were good enough to hang with the smart students, etc. And that ability to fit in and be genuinely interested in other people is what we see as he tells his story. He pulls us in and makes us a part of his circle of friends.
Another fun thing is the references to pop culture. He talks about his reaction to watching the moon landing, "The Right Stuff," and other space related media up to the movie "Armageddon" and his own cameo appearances on "The Big Bang Theory." He mentions books he enjoyed as a child like the science fiction of Jules Verne, and the musical groups he loaded on his iPod to listen to during his shuttle missions. Mass even discusses what it was like to be the first astronaut to tweet from space.
But the thing that really comes through is his love for space and his feeling of belonging to the greatest team that you could possibly want to join. Anecdotes about the ways in which the space community - and the astronauts in particular - support each other, are crowded into the pages. Mass credits his father and watching him work with the New York Fire Department with building his belief that "whatever you do in life, it can't just be about making money. It's important that you work to make the world a better place, that you help improve the lives of the people around you." And he also helps us grasp the majesty of space, the image of the Earth as a spaceship carrying us all, and the drive to expand human knowledge.
I will warn you that many of the stories will make you teary-eyed, or downright make you cry. I went through lots of Kleenex reading about the loss of the Columbia, his father's fight with cancer, and the other sad events. But I also teared up over his triumphs like making the cut to become an astronaut in training or his first spacewalk. This is a story that you cannot read without responding to it.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
For some reason I have a soft spot for astronauts. Not sure why - perhaps because there's so few, perhaps it's because they all seem so damn nice, or maybe because they get to go to space - which is pretty cool. Mike Massimino's memoir, Spaceman, is a wonderful view of all of the things I listed. He's a nice guy, he's caring, he's charming, and he writes a good book. He delves into his childhood, his training (the dude is smart. Although, to be fair, I doubt NASA sent up many dumb people), his travels, the ups and down (his chapter on the Columbia explosion, a shuttle he once travelled on was especially gut-wrenching), his time on television, and ending with his retirement in 2016. The memoir kept me engrossed from beginning to end and I was kinda bummed when it was over. I'm stingy handing out my five star reviews but I think this book definitely deserves that.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced