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An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield - A review
Dates - December 2015
Book Number of 2015 - 74 of 60
Synposis -
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.
My thoughts -
As I read this book, I thought a lot about the nature of heroism. The question that I was asking myself as I read about the quiet extraordinary life of Colonel Chris Hadfield. How much can an individual who is pursuing their dream career even thought they do it extremely well can be truely called a hero. Would I put Chris Hadfield into the hero bucket? By the time that I got to the end of the book I had decided that yes I would but him into the hero category, not because of the fact of his multiple space voyages or the space walks and the dedication and professionalism shown by Colonel Hadfield to get there, but for his work to popularise Space exploration, talking to groups all over the world whilst he was both on Terra firma and in space. It was as if this was his additional mission, and one that he did better and more extensively than many before him and many after him will do so. From lunchtime chats to schools to traveling around the North America giving talks on the work of Nasa to David Bowie covers.
The book only briefly covered the early years of Chris Hadfield’s life and spent much more time talking about his life at Nasa and the training he went through and then the space travel. However I would have loved to have read more about his early life on the farm and then his life in Canadian Military, Hadfield has lived a life that could have generated two or more autobiographies, and I think there could be an interesting book to come from the rest of clan Hadfield about living with a famous father, husband, son and the pressures of having someone in space. One of the most memorable parts, other than the crazy traditions of pissing on the wheel of the support van on the way to a launch was about the support that astronauts give to the families of those who are in space.
At the end of this book, I came out of it thinking that Chris Hadfield has the charachteristics of what you would want to see in a favourite uncle, kind, interesting, engaging, a little bit anal but also rather fun and humble for a man who has been to space three times.
I highly recommend this book.
Would I recommend it - Yes
reddit: the front page of the internet
The literature: Col. Chris Hadfield's AN ASTRONAUT'S GUIDE TO LIFE ON EARTH
The libation: If your friends are as nerdy as ours are, please allow us to introduce you to your new favorite party trick. Procure 2 liters of vodka (decent-ish, vodka, please - we're not in college anymore), 9 liters of tonic water, and 3 bottles of Rose's Mojito Passion Fruit mix. Combine in a punch bowl under a black light. Serve in clear glasses and add ice only immediately before drinking.
Ooh. Aah. Drink. Contemplate your place in the cosmos. Drink. Boogie. Set your phasers on funky.
Photo © Melody ST
Col. Chris Hadfield is going on a book tour and is stopping in New York City! His new book is called An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything and will be available on bookshelves October 29. Click here for more info.
I'm going and you should too!
But seriously, if you want a Canadian to abandon their stereotypical pacifism, then keep on insulting Col. Chris Hadfield.
Probably NOT a good idea to use a certain Canadian astronaut for one of your "white cishet male tears" gifs. We've had three major disasters in one month here in Canada, he has become a symbol of perseverance through our struggles, and a symbol of hope for us especially. I can't believe in the year 2013 I have to explain why it's potentially offensive to use anybody seen as a "military hero" or "war hero" or "symbol of hope" in their country for that purpose to a bunch of people who consider themselves well-read in social justice. But I guess thinking about what somebody means to people outside of the USA is just too hard for your radikewl feefees.
And no, I'm not a white cishet man.
Sometimes I like to imagine Col. Chris Hadfield sitting in his home in Canada
And telling a story about life on the ISS with a lot of props all over the floor, because he keeps lifting them up to eye-level and letting go.