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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
Just not the right time for me to pick up this book. I can't stay interested in it right now. I'll try again another time, when things are more stable.
What an amazing book! Truly inspiring, thrilling, funny, and entertaining. This will be the book I'll recommend people read for sometime now because it's not just about space travel but the human condition. (Not in a complicated way but the most purest form.)
4 Stars
Astronaut bios are one of my things--real life space exploration is fascinating and, I think, not always given the attention it warrents.
Mike Massimino's story stands out, in my opinion, for the way in which he highlights his own failures and imperfections and talks about how he overcame them. He wasn't a perfect student, he didn't succeed at academia on the first try. He was scared of heights. He had poor eyesight. He redeemed himself time and again through sheer determination and an affable, people-loving personality that enabled him to ask for and get the help he needed. There is much to be said for this lesson, even if astronauts don't interest you at all. But they should.
Astronaut bios are one of my things--real life space exploration is fascinating and, I think, not always given the attention it warrents.
Mike Massimino's story stands out, in my opinion, for the way in which he highlights his own failures and imperfections and talks about how he overcame them. He wasn't a perfect student, he didn't succeed at academia on the first try. He was scared of heights. He had poor eyesight. He redeemed himself time and again through sheer determination and an affable, people-loving personality that enabled him to ask for and get the help he needed. There is much to be said for this lesson, even if astronauts don't interest you at all. But they should.
4.5 stars. Some very riveting passages (such as the foreword) and occasional tell more than show issues, but this was a well done and inspiring read for a space nerd.
*Free book for an honest review.
While most people's introduction to Mike Massimino (Mass) was The Big Bang Theory, I was first introduced to him via StarTalk Radio. Every episode that he has participated in I enjoyed immensely. His humor, intelligence and even just the sound of his voice are engaging when he speaks. So, when I found this book available on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it. I was not disappointed!
From beginning to end this story is incredible. Whenever you think about the journey to become an astronaut you have ideas about what it's like. While some of Mass's experiences are what we'd consider typical (competing with the best of the best to make the cut) there are several that I never would have thought of. Truth be told, it sounds like Mass never would have thought of them either.
One of my favorite messages in this book is that, some of the things in our lives that we think are mistakes, may end up being what we actually need to live our dreams. Had any one thing in his life gone differently, Mass may never have made it to the Hubble telescope for his first space walk. And I can speak from my own experience that, when you reach a plateau of happiness, you can look back and see how your mistakes got you there. Something to keep in mind when you're mind is filled with regrets; It's not over.
I don't read autobiographies often. In fact...I think this may be the only autobiography I've read outside of a literature or history class. I am so glad I made the exception for Spaceman! This is a book that almost had me crying. Twice. In public. For beautiful reasons! The camaraderie of NASA, not just the astronauts, but everyone involved is amazing and heartwarming.
I'm not sure I've ever said this before but, I feel that this is a good read for anyone. Mass is so relatable, even for those of us not dreaming of going into space. This is one of those books that's going to be at the forefront of my recommendations list for a LONG time!
While most people's introduction to Mike Massimino (Mass) was The Big Bang Theory, I was first introduced to him via StarTalk Radio. Every episode that he has participated in I enjoyed immensely. His humor, intelligence and even just the sound of his voice are engaging when he speaks. So, when I found this book available on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it. I was not disappointed!
From beginning to end this story is incredible. Whenever you think about the journey to become an astronaut you have ideas about what it's like. While some of Mass's experiences are what we'd consider typical (competing with the best of the best to make the cut) there are several that I never would have thought of. Truth be told, it sounds like Mass never would have thought of them either.
One of my favorite messages in this book is that, some of the things in our lives that we think are mistakes, may end up being what we actually need to live our dreams. Had any one thing in his life gone differently, Mass may never have made it to the Hubble telescope for his first space walk. And I can speak from my own experience that, when you reach a plateau of happiness, you can look back and see how your mistakes got you there. Something to keep in mind when you're mind is filled with regrets; It's not over.
I don't read autobiographies often. In fact...I think this may be the only autobiography I've read outside of a literature or history class. I am so glad I made the exception for Spaceman! This is a book that almost had me crying. Twice. In public. For beautiful reasons! The camaraderie of NASA, not just the astronauts, but everyone involved is amazing and heartwarming.
I'm not sure I've ever said this before but, I feel that this is a good read for anyone. Mass is so relatable, even for those of us not dreaming of going into space. This is one of those books that's going to be at the forefront of my recommendations list for a LONG time!
The happiest man in space! No, seriously. I've read Hadfield's book, and I thought HE was happy to be in space, but they really did send a big kid up there with Massimino. He's just jazzed to be on the show, man.
This made it one of the more relatable astronaut bios I've read, because it's sort of hard to picture being Hadfield, since he's sort of really good at everything and secretly studied to be an astronaut since he was seven and just... who does that? Massimino, age seven, spent a couple weeks dressed in an astronaut costume his mom made playing with Astronaut!Snoopy and then reverted to his baseball obsession, only coming back to wanting to go to space after college, then accidentally applied to the wrong grad school. That's just... a lot more like something I'd do. It made me feel like the whole space thing was a bit more achievable.
The writing itself is definitely aimed at the YA crowd, but not dumbed down. There are a lot of gentle lessons about not trying to go it on your own, and not listening to fighter pilots when they try to teach you how to cheat the NASA eye exam, and "No matter what goes wrong in space, you can always make it worse" (the old Chris Craft if you don't know what to do, don't do anything axiom). Plus Massimino just thought space was cool, being an astronaut was cool, all the other astronauts were cool, and it was just fun to read about someone enjoying themselves that much, even through the rough patches like Columbia. He reads the book himself, and is funny and relatable.
This book also underlined a pet peeve I have about Apollo era books, which tend to conclude with a scathing attack on NASA after Apollo, to the tune of "We were great then, and we suck now." I'm not a fan of everything NASA has done in the past forty years, but I feel like the theme of the great space age essentially ending when Gene Cernan left the moon is... a bit hard to take. Maybe we haven't been to Mars yet, but there's been a lot of amazing work done in space since the Shuttle launched, and is still being done now.
This made it one of the more relatable astronaut bios I've read, because it's sort of hard to picture being Hadfield, since he's sort of really good at everything and secretly studied to be an astronaut since he was seven and just... who does that? Massimino, age seven, spent a couple weeks dressed in an astronaut costume his mom made playing with Astronaut!Snoopy and then reverted to his baseball obsession, only coming back to wanting to go to space after college, then accidentally applied to the wrong grad school. That's just... a lot more like something I'd do. It made me feel like the whole space thing was a bit more achievable.
The writing itself is definitely aimed at the YA crowd, but not dumbed down. There are a lot of gentle lessons about not trying to go it on your own, and not listening to fighter pilots when they try to teach you how to cheat the NASA eye exam, and "No matter what goes wrong in space, you can always make it worse" (the old Chris Craft if you don't know what to do, don't do anything axiom). Plus Massimino just thought space was cool, being an astronaut was cool, all the other astronauts were cool, and it was just fun to read about someone enjoying themselves that much, even through the rough patches like Columbia. He reads the book himself, and is funny and relatable.
This book also underlined a pet peeve I have about Apollo era books, which tend to conclude with a scathing attack on NASA after Apollo, to the tune of "We were great then, and we suck now." I'm not a fan of everything NASA has done in the past forty years, but I feel like the theme of the great space age essentially ending when Gene Cernan left the moon is... a bit hard to take. Maybe we haven't been to Mars yet, but there's been a lot of amazing work done in space since the Shuttle launched, and is still being done now.
Awesome read, inspiring and comforting at the same time. His enthusiasm for space travel is just infectious! Highly recommended and going straight to my all stars shelf.
Let me preface this review with the fact that my grade school dream was to be the first woman astronaut. I remember watching for shooting stars with my dad and him giving me this star chart so I could read the night sky. That dream didn't end because Sally Ride beat me to it by several decades, but really because I was told I had to be in the military first. While I now know that isn't the only way, my studies took me in other directions, but I am still fascinated by space. Having said all that, it should come as no surprise that I LOVED this book. It was equal parts "how to become an astronaut," "why learning about space is important and very cool," and "how to keep striving for your dreams when you run into walls, no matter what they are." That last point really being my biggest take away. It isn't overly technical (nothing like reading "The Martian") but really is about how a normal but pretty great person followed and achieved his (really cool) childhood dream with many bumps along the way and wants to share his experience with the reader.
Fantastic!
The writing is stellar. The pace is good and the stories are relatable. Everyone who grew up with the space program will find this a walk down memory lane and an inspiration.
The writing is stellar. The pace is good and the stories are relatable. Everyone who grew up with the space program will find this a walk down memory lane and an inspiration.