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A review by mediaevalmuse
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me about Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything by Chris Hadfield
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.