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craftygoat's review
3.75
3.75. We saw Fred Haise on a book tour, & I was super-impressed with his talk. I had mixed feelings about the book. Parts of it, I felt like I was humoring a beloved older relative by listening to stories from their childhood. Then there were the descriptions of his flying specific aircraft, which were really of very little interest to me. And I felt like some of the transitions between different stories or topics could have been handled better -- especially when listening to the audiobook version.
I enjoyed his NASA memories the most. One thing that really stuck out to me was how much time the flight crew spent training with various simulated failures. Haise credits their cool demeanor during the Apollo 13 emergencies to the fact that problem-solving was "business as usual."
Overall, I'm glad I read this. Haise's character and intelligence shine through his stories. There's certainly a lot of history covered here, but it's told with personal anecdotes and humor that keep the reader's interest.
I enjoyed his NASA memories the most. One thing that really stuck out to me was how much time the flight crew spent training with various simulated failures. Haise credits their cool demeanor during the Apollo 13 emergencies to the fact that problem-solving was "business as usual."
Overall, I'm glad I read this. Haise's character and intelligence shine through his stories. There's certainly a lot of history covered here, but it's told with personal anecdotes and humor that keep the reader's interest.
zigzagzmak's review against another edition
I wanted this book to be more interesting, I kept giving jt tries and it was just so so so dry. List of names after list of names. I think it's an incredible resource of who did what where and when in the early days of the Apollo space program, but it does not make for light and fun reading. It's a historical document wrapped up as a memoir.
Any time it seemed like something cool and interesting was happening, I would get excited. "Here it comes! The bit where he'll be more narrative!!" And then those cool things would be so quickly glossed over and explained with one or two stilted, brief sentences.
I let my library hold lapse and have decided not to renew.
Any time it seemed like something cool and interesting was happening, I would get excited. "Here it comes! The bit where he'll be more narrative!!" And then those cool things would be so quickly glossed over and explained with one or two stilted, brief sentences.
I let my library hold lapse and have decided not to renew.
draeprice's review
4.0
Very dry. I did learn a lot about what astronauts and test pilots did behind the scenes. Interesting.
graywild's review
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
1.5
I have alot of interest in Space so I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately Fred Haise is a "just the facts ma'am" kinda guy. The chapter on Apollo 13 was really interesting especially if you have seen the film. It fills in some of the stuff not shown in the film. Overall too much just the facts and not enough story telling. Sadly not recommended.
mark_lm's review
informative
medium-paced
2.5
Fred Haise's autobiography co-written with Bill Moore. Like other works by astronauts, it is a relatively dry and regimented account. There are many abbreviations and details of interest to a pilot. The author kept a diary so the reader can find out who got food poisoning when, and how many pounds of thrust were generated by every engine on every plane that the author flew. The author's account of the Apollo 13 mission is probably what a typical reader is looking for. It is only a small fraction of the text. Nevertheless, if you are interested in this part of our history, Mr. Haise's story is a significant part of it.