Outer Space - Observation & Exploration, Airships & Spacecraft, Scientists - General & Miscellaneous - Biography, 20th Century American History - Space Program, Astronautical Engineering - Spacecraft

Carrying the Fire

Name: Carrying the Fire
Author: Michael Collins
ISBN: 9780345245601

by Michael Collins

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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.

About the Author, Michael Collins

Michael Collins, a NASA astronaut, was the third American to walk in space (Gemini 10) and the pilot of the command module during Apollo 11's mission to the moon in July, 1969. Following his career as an astronaut, he served as the director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. He has since retired and lives in Marco Island, Florida.

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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.