Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
I love this dry, hilarious little book. This is definitely not for the casual reader. I think if I’d started with this book, I might have ran away from reading about astronauts altogether. It’s a lot packed into one book. The writing can be really dense and dry at times, but I think since I’ve read so many astronaut bios by now, I actually found most of this either super informational or an outright knee-slapper. Collins led a very interesting life that was often full of hard-working, exhausted moments, but also full of beautiful, unexpectedly inspiring passages. When he finally gets the chance to go to the moon, all he could talk about was the Earth, and I just love so much how truly astronauts adore our planet. Here they were, Mike, Buzz, and Neil, on their way to the most incredible journey of mankind ever, and all they could think about was going home to their big, blue, beautiful planet. Like with Chris Hadfield’s An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth (I’m going to keep recommending this book until the end of time, so it’s linked there), this really changed the way that I looked at the world. Not in this overwhelming, my life is brand new kind of way, but more of a stop and pause, and go, huh, well would you look at that. I’m alive, and it’s amazing. Thank you, Earth. It just makes me think sometimes.
For my, a 5-star rating is really about the timing of this book. Again, if I’d read it first or even toward the very beginning of my space-loving career in reading books, I might have given this 4, or even 3, stars. But, after having worked my way through Hadfield, Mullane, Smith (not an astronaut himself, but wrote about the 12 men who went to the moon), Roach (again, not an astronaut herself, but wrote extensively about space flight), and several other, albeit fictional, moon-related or YA space books, I was definitely ready to take on the massive, almost 500-page, tome that is Mike Collins’s fantastic life story. Next up: John Young.
For my, a 5-star rating is really about the timing of this book. Again, if I’d read it first or even toward the very beginning of my space-loving career in reading books, I might have given this 4, or even 3, stars. But, after having worked my way through Hadfield, Mullane, Smith (not an astronaut himself, but wrote about the 12 men who went to the moon), Roach (again, not an astronaut herself, but wrote extensively about space flight), and several other, albeit fictional, moon-related or YA space books, I was definitely ready to take on the massive, almost 500-page, tome that is Mike Collins’s fantastic life story. Next up: John Young.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I carried the fire for six years, and now I would like to tell you about it, simply and directly as a test pilot must, for the trip deserves the telling.
This was a really good book. Little altlovesbooks wanted to be an astronaut so badly as a kid, until my dad told me I had to join the Air Force. Then I wanted to be an astronomer, but mid-grade altlovesbooks was only passable at math and physics. Adult altlovesbooks now just stares up at the sky and wonders what it's like to be up there and watches SpaceX launches on YouTube. Not quite the same thing, but I'll take what I can get.
Michael Collins, the "third man" of Apollo 11 who stayed behind while the other two astronaut rock stars walked around on the moon, is a talented, engaging writer. He has this sense of pragmatism about him that really made reading about his early days trying to get into the space program, the training once getting in, and the rigors of spaceflight extremely compelling. He's also got a nice way of breaking down complex concepts into easy to understand passages, which is especially nice when talking about something as complex as spaceflight. He's also funny, has a nice, dry humor, and seems really adept at summing up the people and personalities around him. I especially liked the segment, almost an epilogue of sorts, after regaling us about Apollo 11. He goes into detail about where they all ended up and why, about his thoughts on the past and future of the space program, and a general sense of his hopes and wishes for mankind going forward. It was funny, moving, philosophical, and something that's relatable.
This made my favorites of 2020 list, and I'm really glad I spent some time reading it. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was extremely easy to listen to. Highly recommend to anyone and everyone.
This was a really good book. Little altlovesbooks wanted to be an astronaut so badly as a kid, until my dad told me I had to join the Air Force. Then I wanted to be an astronomer, but mid-grade altlovesbooks was only passable at math and physics. Adult altlovesbooks now just stares up at the sky and wonders what it's like to be up there and watches SpaceX launches on YouTube. Not quite the same thing, but I'll take what I can get.
Michael Collins, the "third man" of Apollo 11 who stayed behind while the other two astronaut rock stars walked around on the moon, is a talented, engaging writer. He has this sense of pragmatism about him that really made reading about his early days trying to get into the space program, the training once getting in, and the rigors of spaceflight extremely compelling. He's also got a nice way of breaking down complex concepts into easy to understand passages, which is especially nice when talking about something as complex as spaceflight. He's also funny, has a nice, dry humor, and seems really adept at summing up the people and personalities around him. I especially liked the segment, almost an epilogue of sorts, after regaling us about Apollo 11. He goes into detail about where they all ended up and why, about his thoughts on the past and future of the space program, and a general sense of his hopes and wishes for mankind going forward. It was funny, moving, philosophical, and something that's relatable.
This made my favorites of 2020 list, and I'm really glad I spent some time reading it. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was extremely easy to listen to. Highly recommend to anyone and everyone.
Interesting, intelligent, irreverent, inspiring, illustrious, incredible!