Chris Hadfield: A Former Astronaut's Guide to Navigating Life on Earth

Ima Christian: We bought this as a gift for a 16 year old. He loved it! Highly recommended for those who like to read about science and space exploration.

United States on Aug 18, 2023

AkhilAkhil: A journeys going through and understanding how does an Astronaut live in space.
And the life in space.

India on Mar 02, 2023

Sue-in-devon: From the opening paragraph I was hooked and remained transfixed throughout this book.
… My only regret is that it had to end!
This is a completely fascinating life story told in such an engaging way that it becomes a gift for one’s own life!
Since first reading it in 2014 I have bought multiple copies for others, and have found that I often quote the concept of being a +1 that Chris Hadfield discussed in this book.
As an disabled artist who had the privilege of being asked to speak at NASA Houston (on ‘that’ stage, Ie that one sees press conferences and award ceremonies being delivered from!), had had discussions about filming a new aspect of the artwork in the neutral buoyancy lab and is now a flexwing pilot, the challenges of that journey have been extreme; particularly when finding a way through other’s preconceptions of what they consider ‘impossible’ in order to create a space were the imagery planned ‘becomes possible’.

Working underwater and then in the air has at times been life threatening. But since 2014, having read this book has made that journey distinctly easier through the insights it gives into how very much more extreme...

United Kingdom on Oct 22, 2022

M. LaPlante: In An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, former CSA astronaut Chris Hadfield shares a variety of tales from his extensive career both on and off the planet, as well as the personal philosophy that helped him through it all.

Hadfield is the kind of individual that you want as role model your children. His work ethic is exemplary, and he emphasizes the critical nature of ongoing personal education and development as key to his success. Don't determine your self worth based on where you end up, he says, but on the effort you will put in to get there. If something is worth doing, it is worth committing to and doing well, regardless of the payoff. Perhaps not revolutionary ideas in and of themselves, but backed by the life story of someone who has embraced these principles and embodied them. Hadfield's career is a feel good story for anyone who believes in the power of hard work and education.

While An Astronaut's Guide spends a lot of time on the author's attitudes and ethics, it's by no means a self help book. The text is also a candid biography, giving great insight into the years of development that went into building the career of a star (no pun intended) astronaut....

United States on Jun 18, 2016

Aditya Prasad: If you are as obsessed with space/ astronomy/ planets/ Mars missions etc. as much as I am, you would love reading this one.

Chris Hadfield is one of the most experienced astronauts in the world, been part of 3 space missions, 2 space walks and has lived in the space for almost 6 months. That's some achievement to write on your resume. But sadly he recently retired.

Christ talks about his experiences from space missions, trainings that run into years, moments and feelings about his launch, docking with International Space Station, space walks, living there, returning to earth and how each and every small detail in life becomes so critical. He even goes on to say that we are not super humans, astronauts are just too detailed about everything. He says 'we constantly think what could be the next thing that would kill us!'.

The book is all about life lessons (for people on earth) with examples from his space missions as well as time spent training at NASA, helping other astronauts and assisting in other launches in the US as well as his life in Russia where he was also posted to assist combined space programs plus most of the launches happened from...

India on Jan 16, 2014

ks227: OK, I admit it - I'm something of a space junkie. As an engineer, I have been fascinated by accounts of the US space program during the 60s and the extremely fast pace of space technology development. On a more personal level I was less than two months old when STS-1 inaugurated the Shuttle era, and as a kindergartener I witnessed the Challenger disaster in my school classroom. I begged my parents to send me to Space Camp. As a child I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and going into space, but as I got older I realized that was unlikely to ever happen - that hasn't stopped me from having an interest in both manned and unmanned space exploration. I have my own DVD copies of  From the Earth to the Moon , When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions  and  In the Shadow of the Moon , and have read several astronauts' memoirs including  Forever Young: A Life of Adventure in Air and Space  by John Young,  The Last Man on the Moon  by Gene Cernan, and  Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13  by Jim Lovell and Jeremy Kluger. What is lacking thus far in the astronaut memoir genre is much in the way of writing from Shuttle-era...

United States on Dec 02, 2013

Martinsci: If you, like me, are not one of the 536 people (November 2013) who have been into space but dreamed of being an astronaut (Poor eyesight blew it for me, at least that's what I tell myself) or wondered what it would be like to be an astronaut then this is about as close as you are going to get. Chris Hadfield gives an absorbing and detailed account of the process of becoming an astronaut and the practicalities of being in space. He tells us how he dealt with all the formidable challenges to prove himself capable of joining the elite group of men and women who are capable of moving a few billion dollars (roubles) worth of highly complex technical equipment in to orbit around our planet with just a few hundred tons of highly explosive fuel to get them there. He tells us of all the detailed preparations that each member of a vast team must make in order for each mission to be a success and he tells us of the almost unimaginable level of multi-skill each astronaut must demonstrate before they even have the possibility of space flight and how, after years of training, most candidates will never be chosen for an actual mission.
And this is the other side of the book, the reason it is...

United Kingdom on Nov 28, 2013

A. Volk: Chris Hadfield is not Canada's only astronaut, but he's almost indisputably the most famous one. This book is the story of his life leading up to being an astronaut, and its filled with both anecdotes and lessons.

For me, the anecdotes and stories are what's most interesting. Have you ever thought about flying in space? If so, this book is for you. There's a ton of information on what it's actually like to fly in and out of space, as well as living life in space. It really is an alien environment, but it's one that has almost become commonplace enough for people to dismiss as now being safe and easy to do. It's not safe, and it's definitely not easy living in space. But he does convey the majesty of being in space. In particular, how it doesn't seem that grand until you open your eyes and see the glorious view of the Earth in front of you and then the blackness of space all around you. Vision is the sense that most appreciate space.

His life story and lessons are also interesting, even if they don't (for me) match up to the grandeur of space flight. One of Chris' biggest life events and lessons is that he discovered at a very young age (9) what he wanted to do: walk...

Canada on Oct 30, 2013