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Summary: Excellent story, but Collins' ego leaks through occasionally
Review: "Carrying the Fire" is powerful, illuminating apowerful and crazy time in our history. Collins is brutally honest attimes, making me wonder how this moon stuff was ever done. His only problem is the occasional self-centered remark (on the order of "ain't-I-special" stuff) that pops in occasionally. Then I remember, oh yeah, he is an astronaut, formerly a test pilot, former a jet fighter pilot. The only people I have ever met with bigger egos are surgeons. All in all, a great book, I love aviation and space, this book tells some great "inside" stories.
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Summary: Remembering America's finest hour
Review: Any cognizant member of the human race can answer a question that begins "Where were you when ...?" The memorable event is largely defined by nationality, culture and interests. For instance I recollect where I was when JFK was shot, when the Berlin Wall came down, and when the WTC towers were destroyed. On the other hand, I can't say the same about when John Lennon was shot or when Princess Di was killed. With millions of others worldwide, I remember that day in July 1969 when one of our species first set foot on another world and our planet figuratively held its breath to watch and listen. We shall not again see that degree of universal interest until, perhaps, there's a manned Mars mission. There were Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon's surface, of course. But who was the guy left orbiting in the Command Module?CARRYING THE FIRE is by Michael Collins, the poor devil left behind while his two colleagues rocketed off to most of the glory. In his book, Collins provides a narrative history of his time in the U.S. Air Force from his early days as a test pilot at the Edwards and Nellis test centers in the California desert, to his selection as a NASA astronaut (on his second application), to the training for and flight of Gemini 10, and finishing with Apollo 11 and the effects of that mission on his subsequent life. CARRYING THE FIRE is a solid, relatively dead-pan, and competently written look at America's astronaut training and the experience of being "in space", or at least to the degree experienced by the author. Spending his adult life as an engineering test pilot, surely the most glamorous job for a techno-nerd type, it's to Michael's credit that he's penned a book as readable as this. During those later chapters in which he shares the Apollo 11 experience, the volume nearly becomes one that is difficult to put down. Not quite, but almost. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" has always struck me as one of the least inspiring famous lines ever spoken. Jeez, who wrote Armstrong's material? (It's so inane that I can't even find the full text of the statement in the edition of LIFE magazine issued to commemorate the event, so maybe I have it wrong.) I only mention this because what was very evident in Michael's narrative was the drabness of the non-technical communications among the Apollo 11 astronauts themselves and between them and Mission Control, as least as recorded for posterity by the author. Even the banter falls flat. Perhaps this is a factor of the no-nonsense, test pilot approach to business, or perhaps it was an effort by NASA to keep it appropriate for family listening. It didn't sound like our three heroes had much fun. To be fair, however, there is one photo in CARRYING THE FIRE captioned "Do you see what I see?" that perhaps gives evidence to a Collins sense of humor after all. For anyone wishing to know more about that day almost 33 years ago - gosh, has it been that long? - when America stood taller and prouder than any day before or since, then I recommend this book.
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Summary: vERY EXCEPTIONAL/ WELL WRITTEN BOOK
Review: aSTRONAUT mICHAEL cOLLINS WAS NOT ONLY A FINE PILOT/ASTRONAUT, BUT CAN--IN WORDS, MAKE ONE KNOW AND FEEL FOR SURE THAT HE OR SHE WAS ON A TRIP TO OUTER SPACE AND OR THE MOON! MR. COLLINS HAS A REAL WAY WITH EXPRESSING AND USING WORDS TO CAPTIVATE AND KEEP THE READER WANTING FOR MORE AND MORE! HE TELLS OF WHAT IT TAKES, IS INVOLVED, AND JUST ABOUT THE WHOLE STORY OF BECOMING AN ASTRONAUT, ALONG WITH HIS PERSONAL EXERPTS, AND EXPLAINING CERTAIN TERMS AND WHAT TERMS OF ASTRONAUTS MEAN. COULDN'T BE A MORE CONCISE, BETTER BOOK WRITTEN BY AN ASTRONAUT!
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Summary: Too much Philosophy-lies became confusing & not liked......
Review: Author: B.Eriksson Book: "A book not read" Score: Collins-Eriksson 0-1
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Summary: Best astronaut autobiography of them all!
Review: Having read all that I could get my hands on, this the by far the best of the astronaut autobiographies. Amazingly, it was actually written by the astronaut. A thoroughly human story.
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Summary: Inspirational, 20 years on
Review: I admit it, I took this book out from the school library when I was 12 and still have it 20 years later. Even at five cents a week, the overdue fees are not worth thinking about. As a schoolkid in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, not many of us dreamed we could ever be astronauts. After reading this book, I did. It didn't matter that by the early 1980s when I read Carrying the Fire there was no manned space programme to speak of. It didn't much matter that I didn't become an astronaut, just a military pilot. What matters is that Colins's story touched, inspired and motivated me to believe I could do anything I put my mind to, and showed that there's more to success than glory, adulation or being the one kids can remember in history quizzes. Good on you, Michael Collins. You're an inspiration. All you Amazonians out there who've leapt onto the space history band-chariot since Apollo 13/Earth to the Moon, take note. This is where it started. Find a copy and read it (just don't bother trying to get one from the Hutt Valley High School Library - it's out on loan right now.)
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Summary: The best book ever written about space flight
Review: I first read Carrying the Fire at the age of 14 and it changed my life. Because of it I'm a Physicist an Engineer and a professional pilot. I make a hobby of collecting, reading and rereading books about space flight. After a quarter century this is still the finest book ever written on the subject.Thank You Michael Collins
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Summary: Tops for tongue in cheek humor...Space Style...
Review: I first read this book when I was about 19, in the Army in Europe. The saying that comes to mind is "They who wait, also serve." Excellent book. Mr. Collins tells it like it is in such matter of fact ways. You will not be disapointed.
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Summary: Great Book - Tells What it Was Like
Review: I found this book by referral from other's reviews of lesser astronaut books. Several reviews said, in effect, "don't read this book but find yourself a copy of Carrying the Fire." So I did and now I know what they meant. Michael Collins was the third astronaut on the famous Apollo 11 flight that landed on the moon in July, 1969. Unfortunately, because he wasn't one of the two in the Lunar Module, he isn't often mentioned. He stayed in lunar orbit as the Command Module Pilot. This book is Collins' telling of what it was like to be an astronaut, both in the Gemini and Apollo programs. He talks about the astronaut selection process, and what it was like to go through it. And he tells the story - from a very personal perspective, of what it was like, what he felt, what he worried about, what angered him, and well...you get the idea - of preparing for and flying a Gemini and Apollo mission. Because this is his story, and his first person telling of the story, there isn't really anything here about the lunar landing itself. Rather, he talks about what he was doing when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed and walked on the moon. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It often made me laugh out loud and I certainly believe that I now know how Collins felt during his tenure as one of America's Astronauts. I found the book both well-written and engaging. I also found, to my surprise, that this is a humble, revealing and candid story. Highly recommended if you are interested in the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book - Tells What it Was Like
Review: I found this book by referral from other's reviews of lesser astronaut books. Several reviews said, in effect, "don't read this book but find yourself a copy of Carrying the Fire." So I did and now I know what they meant. Michael Collins was the third astronaut on the famous Apollo 11 flight that landed on the moon in July, 1969. Unfortunately, because he wasn't one of the two in the Lunar Module, he isn't often mentioned. He stayed in lunar orbit as the Command Module Pilot. This book is Collins' telling of what it was like to be an astronaut, both in the Gemini and Apollo programs. He talks about the astronaut selection process, and what it was like to go through it. And he tells the story - from a very personal perspective, of what it was like, what he felt, what he worried about, what angered him, and well...you get the idea - of preparing for and flying a Gemini and Apollo mission. Because this is his story, and his first person telling of the story, there isn't really anything here about the lunar landing itself. Rather, he talks about what he was doing when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed and walked on the moon. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It often made me laugh out loud and I certainly believe that I now know how Collins felt during his tenure as one of America's Astronauts. I found the book both well-written and engaging. I also found, to my surprise, that this is a humble, revealing and candid story. Highly recommended if you are interested in the genre.
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