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Overview
NASA astronaut Michael Collins trained as an experimental test pilot before venturing into space as a vital member of the Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 missions. In Carrying the Fire, his account of his voyages into space and the years of training that led up to them, Collins reveals the human tensions, the physical realities, and the personal emotions surrounding the early years of the space race. Collins provides readers with an insider's view of the space program and conveys the excitement and wonder of his journey to the moon. As skilled at writing as he is at piloting a spacecraft, Collins explains the clash of personalities at NASA and technical aspects of flight with clear, engaging prose, withholding nothing in his candid assessments of fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and Buzz Aldrin, and officials within NASA. A fascinating memoir of mankind's greatest journey told in familiar, human terms, Carrying the Fire is by turns thrilling, humorous, and thought-provoking, a unique work by a remarkable man.Synopsis
In 1969, Michael Collins went to the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the historic Apollo 11 flight. When he came back, he wrote the finest account we have of the training and the experiences of a test pilot and astronaut. This is the story of one of the great adventures of this century. New epilogue by the author.
Atlantic
Collins's account of the five years that went into the testing of the men for Apollo, the designing of the spaceship and the equipment, the apprehension of what might go wrong is a magnificent piece of exposition, alive with humor, candid in its anxiety, very sensitive in the appreciation of the men involved. This is a splendid and affirmative book.
Editorials
Atlantic
Collins's account of the five years that went into the testing of the men for Apollo, the designing of the spaceship and the equipment, the apprehension of what might go wrong is a magnificent piece of exposition, alive with humor, candid in its anxiety, very sensitive in the appreciation of the men involved. This is a splendid and affirmative book.The New York Times
Collins can write…. He is breezy, glib, collegiate, and frequently funny. There are marvelous things in Carrying the Fire that catch a reader unaware every few pages.Book Details
Published
June 1, 2009
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pages
512
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780374531942