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Carrying the Fire

Carrying the Fire

List Price: $27.98
Your Price: $27.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No Question About It--The Best Astronaut Memoir Ever!
Review: There have been several excellent Apollo astronaut memoirs, especially Gene Cernan's "The Last Man on the Moon" and Jim Lovell's "Lost Moon," which was made into the feature film "Apollo 13." This one is still the most honest and reflective of them all. It extends a tradition of the aviator as litterateur into the age of space travel.

Collins had an illustrious career as an astronaut. Chosen in the third group of astronauts in 1963, he served as backup pilot for Gemini VII, pilot for Gemini X, and command module pilot for Apollo 11. On that last mission he became the loneliest man in the universe when his two crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, landed on the Moon while he remained in orbit around the Moon in the Command Module. In "Carrying the Fire" Collins writes of his solitude in lunar orbit in July 1969. As he disappeared on the backside of the Moon from Earth, he recalled, "I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life, I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God only knows what on this side. I feel this powerfully-not as fear or loneliness-but as awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation. I like the feeling. Outside my window I can see stars-and that is all. Where I know the moon to be, there is simply a black void, the moon's presence is defined solely by the absence of stars." He compared it to being in a skiff in the middle of the ocean with only the stars above and black water below. It proved a profoundly moving experience for him.

Michael Collins left NASA in 1970 and became the first director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, continuing to write eloquently of the possibilities of spaceflight. Among other works he published "Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space" (1988) and "Mission to Mars" (1990), a powerful exposition on the value of a human mission to Mars.

"Carrying the Fire" is the first candid book about life as an astronaut. The author comments on other astronauts, describes the seemingly endless preparations for flights to the Moon, and assesses the results. He also describes what he thinks of as the most important perspective that emerged from his flight, a realization of the fragility of the Earth. He wrote that "from space there is no hint of ruggedness to it; smooth as a billiard ball, it seems delicately poised on its circular journey around the Sun, and above all it seems fragile...Is the sea water clean enough to pour over your head, or is there a glaze of oil on its surface?...Is the riverbank a delight or an obscenity? The difference between a blue-and-white planet and a black-and-brown one is delicate indeed."

It is a powerful and moving memoir. Read it more than once and lend copies to your friends. You, and they, will not be disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No Question About It--The Best Astronaut Memoir Ever!
Review: There have been several excellent Apollo astronaut memoirs, especially Gene Cernan's "The Last Man on the Moon" and Jim Lovell's "Lost Moon," which was made into the feature film "Apollo 13." This one is still the most honest and reflective of them all. It extends a tradition of the aviator as litterateur into the age of space travel.

Collins had an illustrious career as an astronaut. Chosen in the third group of astronauts in 1963, he served as backup pilot for Gemini VII, pilot for Gemini X, and command module pilot for Apollo 11. On that last mission he became the loneliest man in the universe when his two crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, landed on the Moon while he remained in orbit around the Moon in the Command Module. In "Carrying the Fire" Collins writes of his solitude in lunar orbit in July 1969. As he disappeared on the backside of the Moon from Earth, he recalled, "I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life, I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God only knows what on this side. I feel this powerfully-not as fear or loneliness-but as awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation. I like the feeling. Outside my window I can see stars-and that is all. Where I know the moon to be, there is simply a black void, the moon's presence is defined solely by the absence of stars." He compared it to being in a skiff in the middle of the ocean with only the stars above and black water below. It proved a profoundly moving experience for him.

Michael Collins left NASA in 1970 and became the first director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, continuing to write eloquently of the possibilities of spaceflight. Among other works he published "Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space" (1988) and "Mission to Mars" (1990), a powerful exposition on the value of a human mission to Mars.

"Carrying the Fire" is the first candid book about life as an astronaut. The author comments on other astronauts, describes the seemingly endless preparations for flights to the Moon, and assesses the results. He also describes what he thinks of as the most important perspective that emerged from his flight, a realization of the fragility of the Earth. He wrote that "from space there is no hint of ruggedness to it; smooth as a billiard ball, it seems delicately poised on its circular journey around the Sun, and above all it seems fragile...Is the sea water clean enough to pour over your head, or is there a glaze of oil on its surface?...Is the riverbank a delight or an obscenity? The difference between a blue-and-white planet and a black-and-brown one is delicate indeed."

It is a powerful and moving memoir. Read it more than once and lend copies to your friends. You, and they, will not be disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best
Review: This is an excellent book. One of the best in regards to the space program and the ultimate in goals, the moon.
My interests are in the Mercury through Apollo era. This one goes through many aspects in a easy to read yet not dull form.
Fact filled, humorous, humble even.
This is a must read or must own if you are a space enthusiast.
Mr. Collin's other book, "Liftoff" is another excellent book. It held my interest as did this one.
But, that is another review.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best
Review: This is an excellent book. One of the best in regards to the space program and the ultimate in goals, the moon.
My interests are in the Mercury through Apollo era. This one goes through many aspects in a easy to read yet not dull form.
Fact filled, humorous, humble even.
This is a must read or must own if you are a space enthusiast.
Mr. Collin's other book, "Liftoff" is another excellent book. It held my interest as did this one.
But, that is another review.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: By far the best "space book" written.
Review: This is not an "as told to" book and the reader is the better for it. Collins writes wonderfully. He manages to touch all of the bases: humor, poignancy, wonder, and also manages to throw in just the right amount of science and technospeak to properly inform the reader without confusing him. This book is twenty-five years old and still no other book about the space program compares. My thanks to Michael Collins.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kudos to Mike Collins!
Review: Without doubt this is one of the most wonderful books I have ever read in my life. Mike Collins is an exceptional writer who brings to life the excitement of his Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 missions. The author tells the story like it was and tells it with candor and frankness. In reading the book, I often felt like I was a part of the Apollo 11 adventure. Some previous reviewers have commented on the fact that Mr. Collins sometimes lets his ego show through in his book! Who cares! Who among us would not be bursting at the seams with pride if we had been lucky enough to say that we had been to the moon? One of the best things about this book is that the reader realizes the sacrifices these wonderful astronauts made. Today we often complain of long work hours, but look what these astronauts went through almost everyday. Flying T-38's to contracting plants all over the country or spending countless hours lying on their back in the spacecraft simulators. Consider that along with trying to juggle having a family and being harangued by the press all the time and not to mention autograph seekers. The job might seem glamorous, but it was tough. While the astronauts are are people just like us, they do deserve all the credit in the world for risking their lives on a daily basis. They are heroes and Mike Collins is one of them. All in all, this book is truly fascinating. No matter how often this story is told and retold, it never gets old. The great achievment of the 20th century is the moon landing and Mike Collins was part of it. "Carrying the Fire" certainly represents the best in space exploration literature as evidenced by continual strong sales even though it was published in 1974. If you care anything about the early space program and the Apollo 11 moon landing, look no further than "Carrying the Fire". You will love it. Thank you Mr. Collins for this wonderful book.


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