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Summary
Summary
Travel to space and back with astronaut Chris Hadfield's "enthralling" bestseller as your eye-opening guide ( Slate ).
Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. The secret to Col. Hadfield's success-and survival-is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst- and enjoy every moment of it.
In An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth , Col. Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. Through eye-opening, entertaining stories filled with the adrenaline of launch, the mesmerizing wonder of spacewalks, and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of achievement -- and happiness. His own extraordinary education in space has taught him some counterintuitive lessons: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff.
You might never be able to build a robot, pilot a spacecraft, make a music video or perform basic surgery in zero gravity like Col. Hadfield. But his vivid and refreshing insights will teach you how to think like an astronaut, and will change, completely, the way you view life on Earth -- especially your own.
"Hadfield proves himself to be not only a fierce explorer of the universe, but also a deeply thoughtful explorer of the human condition." --Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
Author Notes
Chris Hadfield was the top graduate of the U.S. Air Force test pilot school in 1988 and U.S. Navy test pilot of the year in 1991. He was selected to be an astronaut in 1992. In May 2013, he returned to Earth after serving as Commander of the International Space Station for the third time.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Guardian Review
Astronaut Chris Hadfield -- famous for his zero-G rendition of Space Oddity aboard the ISS -- gives us a personable, very unstarry account of how he made it into space "I wasn't destined to be an astronaut," says Chris Hadfield : "I had to turn myself into one." Inspired by Neil Armstrong stepping on to the moon, Hadfield's whole life has been a preparation for space. The odds were against him (he was up against 5,329 other Canadian applicants) and even once he had been selected, the training was gruelling. But it was worth all the hard work for his first overpowering glimpse of the "raw beauty" of the universe during a space walk: "Wwwooooowww." Hadfield offers a memorable insight into the space programme and the life of an astronaut, from the relentless preparation and the dangers ("strapping yourself on top of what is essentially a large bomb is plenty risky"), to the difficulty of eating jam in space ("it has a way of floating off your toast and splattering everywhere"), and of course the making of his zero-gravity cover version of Bowie's "Space Oddity" (it was his son's idea). Despite all the derring-do and new-found stardom, Hadfield remains refreshingly grounded: "The blast of glory that attends launch and landing doesn't last long." * To order An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth for [pound]7.19 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over [pound]10, online orders only. Phone orders min P&P of [pound]1.99. - PD Smith.
Kirkus Review
Hadfield chronicles what it took to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut. The author explains how the excitement of watching Neil Armstrong's televised moon landing changed his life. At age 9, he "knew, with absolute clarity that I wanted to be an astronaut." Though the odds were particularly slim due to the fact that he was (and remains) a Canadian, he succeeded in becoming a top NASA astronaut. The author explains how he charted his career with fierce determination. He joined the Canadian air force, studied engineering with a military scholarship and then volunteered to be a test pilot. He was then chosen to be one of a few fortunate Canadian airmen tracked into NASA. By the time of his retirement in 2012, he had served as director of NASA operations in Russia and chief of International Space Station Operations. On his last space mission, Hadfield served as commander of the International Space Station, where he spent 146 days in space while making 2,336 orbits around the Earth. The author provides a satisfying behind-the-scenes look at the life of an astronaut, which is a useful corrective to the popular celebrity image. He explains that being in space helped him to keep his perspective even while enjoying the excitement of his job--"most people, including me, tend to applaud the wrong things: the showy, dramatic record-setting sprint rather than the years of dogged preparation or the unwavering grace displayed during a string of losses." The author emphasizes that becoming an astronaut involved developing physical capabilities and technical skills through tireless practice and a fanatic attention to detail. However, he also delivers a lively account of his experiences with the joys of weightlessness as well as the discomfort of leaving the ship for a space walk. A page-turning memoir of life as a decorated astronaut.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.