Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys
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- Author：Michael Collins
- ISBN：0374537763
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Summary
Reissued with a new preface by the author on the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 journey to the moon
The years that have passed since Neil Armstrong， Buzz Aldrin， and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon in July 1969 have done nothing to alter the fundamental wonder of the event: man reaching the moon remains one of the great events--technical and spiritual--of our lifetime。
In Carrying the Fire， Collins conveys， in a very personal way， the drama， beauty， and humor of that adventure。 He also traces his development from his first flight experiences in the air force， through his days as a test pilot， to his Apollo 11 space walk， presenting an evocative picture of the joys of flight as well as a new perspective on time， light， and movement from someone who has seen the fragile earth from the other side of the moon。
The years that have passed since Neil Armstrong， Buzz Aldrin， and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon in July 1969 have done nothing to alter the fundamental wonder of the event: man reaching the moon remains one of the great events--technical and spiritual--of our lifetime。
In Carrying the Fire， Collins conveys， in a very personal way， the drama， beauty， and humor of that adventure。 He also traces his development from his first flight experiences in the air force， through his days as a test pilot， to his Apollo 11 space walk， presenting an evocative picture of the joys of flight as well as a new perspective on time， light， and movement from someone who has seen the fragile earth from the other side of the moon。
Reviews
Arindam Chatterjee
，
A marvelous book
Eric
，
I picked this up expecting this to mostly be about Apollo 11， but the cover proved more accurate than my expectations。 It really is a journey， going from Collins' time in the air force to his post-NASA ambitions。 The characters he describes are more human than what you'll read in a history book。 Planting the American flag on the moon doesn't seem predetermined until the end， with a lot of uncertainty and questions prior。 You also feel the scientific purpose of the mission， which as Collins comme I picked this up expecting this to mostly be about Apollo 11， but the cover proved more accurate than my expectations。 It really is a journey， going from Collins' time in the air force to his post-NASA ambitions。 The characters he describes are more human than what you'll read in a history book。 Planting the American flag on the moon doesn't seem predetermined until the end， with a lot of uncertainty and questions prior。 You also feel the scientific purpose of the mission， which as Collins comments at the end， conflicts with the nationalistic purpose which was only to beat Russia。 The goal wasn't to endure the splendor of space: each flight was loaded with work and experiments。 Thankfully when Apollo does fly not much （at least， as far as the vessel *Columbus* goes） is left to chance。There's an honesty here that's very appealing。 Collins doesn't hide that he'd have preferred to walk on the moon （obviously）， nor his opinions on the program as a whole or his crewmates。 There's a point where he just bullet-point lists his opinions of various astronauts。 Despite all his training sometimes he just has trouble finding a star， and he has to wing it， and he describes those events。 He struggles and ultimately fails to replace a piece of metal on an orbiting vessel they meet， and it's described in a way that's not buttered up to seem more dignified。The book is less technical than I was expecting。 Collins discusses the particular challenges he faced （lighting a fire under the butt of the Space Suite manufacturer）， but there's a sense he's less interested in the engineering for the sake of engineering and more goal-oriented in wanting to explore space。 This makes perfect sense: he's a test pilot not an engineer。 And the constant references to his flying remind you of this。My impetus for reading this was Collins' death which occurred within months of me writing this。 That means "Preface to the 2019 Edition" contains the last words Collins will put in this book。 It reads， "In the world of Spaceflight， nothing spectacular is being done。" I think this give short shrift to SpaceX， but he does have a point that surprisingly little progress is being made to the next frontier: Mars。 。。。more
David Czuba
，
If you picked up Carrying the Fire because you thought you knew Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin of moon-walking fame but were puzzled by a third person hanging in lunar orbit above them， then strap in and prepare for the journey。 This no-name （in a Google search， he comes in second to the Irish revolutionary and politician） subsumes the reader with his fickle sense of routine frivolity in a comrade-in-arms writing style。 Then he hands out bar stool judgments on fellow astronauts， and you cringe t If you picked up Carrying the Fire because you thought you knew Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin of moon-walking fame but were puzzled by a third person hanging in lunar orbit above them， then strap in and prepare for the journey。 This no-name （in a Google search， he comes in second to the Irish revolutionary and politician） subsumes the reader with his fickle sense of routine frivolity in a comrade-in-arms writing style。 Then he hands out bar stool judgments on fellow astronauts， and you cringe thinking he’s just made a bevy of enemies。 Not to worry， they can take it， you soon realize。 In the hyper-competitive world of test pilots， this guy has it too: ambition。 The Pulitzer-prize-winning author and renowned aviator Charles Lindbergh lends his preface to the book， and that should tell you something of the writer’s character。 Michael Collins， who passed from this planet on April 28th， 2021， takes his immortal place with the pantheon of American heroes。 He would have instead said in understated terms how equivocal life can be。In classical Greek mythology， the god Apollo， inventor of archery and protector of youth and seafarers （among many other assignations）， is the epitome of the brave， hopeful individual venturing out on a bold quest。 Such high-minded symbolism befits the 60s NASA program to place men on the moon。 But in his autobiography， Michael Collins depicts himself as anyone but that guy， serious yes， but seemingly bumbling his opportunities。 Without a doubt， a striver like his astronaut contemporaries， Collins otherwise followed as serendipitous and circuitous a route to destiny as any in storied legend。 He counts himself lucky with each roll of the bureaucratic dice that could have landed snake eyes at any point。 In fact， there were many times he lost the crapshoot to be handed the unenviable low-man-on-the-totem-pole mission。Recounting his moves through the Air Force and unending test pilot training， Collins renders a story that is quite literally down to earth。 There is a steady stream of test pilot lessons where he takes stock of fatalities and near-hits。 He dutifully puts in the hours， files the reports， looking to what could boost him to the next level in this ‘career’。 He moves a lot as he keeps applying to join the astronaut ranks， betting that the dice would inevitably roll in his favor。 After many physical and psychological tests （weren’t they all？）， somehow， he makes the selection。 Soon， he is a rocket jockey。 Through all this， he intermittently treats us to cranky resentment and wistful philosophy。 And there are moments in this book when his words loft like a sounding rocket leaving a vapor trail for non-fliers to ponder。 He takes us in the lead up to his spaceflights （only two！） with deft， chronological precision， doting and grumbling on technicalities。 In the seat of mind-boggling complexity， he regales us with personality piques， uncasting bronze images of spacemen into mere mortals with their foibles。 He offers an unashamed expository on various ‘honeys’， pinups， and babes that populate his landscape。 For the first rest period in his Gemini flight， window covers are unpacked to shade the sun， and there are photos of Playboy bunnies fastened to them。 That sort of hot-blooded masculinity may be uncouth these days。 But then you fly into space shoulder to shoulder with all that testosterone and days-old body odor。After the unexpected ordeal of neck surgery to remove a slipped disk and fuse two vertebrae， Collins gets back in the game。 He won’t let this dice roll call the shots this time。 He doesn’t disappoint when he finally gets to us to his Apollo flight， and what a fine narrator he is。 Even with all the ground to spacecraft chatter， Collins gives his droll commentary like a blue-collar worker。 This is where he most reminds me of Jim Lovell’s fine account of the Apollo 13 mission in his account， Lost Moon， written with Jeffrey Kluger。 Collins wanted no ghost writer。 This is where his writing reaches an achievement， and why his book is considered the best of the Apollo memoirs。 Looking out one of the five windows on his spacecraft， with the perspective of a shining crescent of an orb floating in bleak eternity， Collins describes his wonder。 You may consider yourself a believer in the damage humans do to the climate， yet you will understand all the more when Collins uses the word fragile to describe the Earth。 It isn’t the moon he wants to explore; home is that beautiful place he is relieved to get his moon-walking buddies back and packed up to ‘haul ass’ back to。Unlike many NASA lifers， Collins remained married to the same gal for 57 years。 The reason is simple: after that adventure， with no mission on the near horizon， he resigned the astronaut life to spend time with his family。 He gripes and gives us a taste of sour grapes when he leaves the Air Force three years short of retirement for the undesirable machinations of a Washington operator。 He never did receive the promised retirement assured by none other than President Nixon。 No matter。 He realized the pinnacle attained on Apollo 11 was something he would never repeat and didn’t need to。 Unlike other astronauts whose marriages fell apart because their ambitions wouldn’t quit， Collins cared not one whit for the prestige or trappings。 He says at one point he was flat broke， but he was happy not doing beer commercials or some other indignant money-making scheme。 Compared to Armstrong and Aldrin， this Collins guy is alright。 If there are gin martinis in the afterlife， it’s the five o’clock hour right now and Collins is enjoying the flight。 。。。more
Marc
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A good book written by someone who was a realist about flying to the moon and about life in general。 General Collins doesn't use his book to promote himself。 He pursued the NASA astronaut program and rode with it as long as it suited him。 Realistic narrative。 A different perspective because his position as a Command Module Pilot kept him off the moon's surface。 Still interesting even though it was originally written in the 70s。 A good book written by someone who was a realist about flying to the moon and about life in general。 General Collins doesn't use his book to promote himself。 He pursued the NASA astronaut program and rode with it as long as it suited him。 Realistic narrative。 A different perspective because his position as a Command Module Pilot kept him off the moon's surface。 Still interesting even though it was originally written in the 70s。 。。。more
Leo
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Not what i expected， yet still pleasantly surprised。Interest autobiographical story of what it one man went through in his journey to the moon and back。 Not what i expected， yet still pleasantly surprised。 Definitely worth a read for any NASA\space enthusiasts。
Rod Van Meter
，
Often called the best of the astronauts' autobiographies; Collins wrote this himself， not ghost written。 Fantastic and thoughtful。 We learn almost nothing about his family， though， not even how he met his wife and what she is like。 I think that's deliberate， but it may also simply be his own myopia， not sure。 There's a comment or two about how it's a shame there aren't Black astronauts， but he does seem to take it as given that equipping a spacecraft for women would be harder than equipping it f Often called the best of the astronauts' autobiographies; Collins wrote this himself， not ghost written。 Fantastic and thoughtful。 We learn almost nothing about his family， though， not even how he met his wife and what she is like。 I think that's deliberate， but it may also simply be his own myopia， not sure。 There's a comment or two about how it's a shame there aren't Black astronauts， but he does seem to take it as given that equipping a spacecraft for women would be harder than equipping it for men， let alone that men and women would have to share cramped， stinky quarters and be unembarrassed by bodily functions。 。。。more
Nitay
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Absolutely incredible。 The best space-mission book Ive read thus far。 Human， real， beautiful。
Scott Kardel
，
6 stars out of a possible 5。 Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins' book on his time as a test pilot and astronaut is perhaps the best astronaut biography， certainly the best from the Apollo era。 He provides an engaging， honest and humble accounting of his career and of the first lunar landing mission。 I first read this as a kid when it was published in the 1970s。 It was a great pleasure to read it again with this edition that was published for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing。 6 stars out of a possible 5。 Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins' book on his time as a test pilot and astronaut is perhaps the best astronaut biography， certainly the best from the Apollo era。 He provides an engaging， honest and humble accounting of his career and of the first lunar landing mission。 I first read this as a kid when it was published in the 1970s。 It was a great pleasure to read it again with this edition that was published for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing。 。。。more
Laura Walsh
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I give this book double the five， ！） STARS！！ I am going to miss this book。 An absolute joy， and one sure to be revisited at some time in the future。 So many more other books to get to for the first time！！
Kate
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5books。com
Gary Raham
，
Michael Collins carried the fire wellMichael Collins provides an entertaining and thoughtful review of his experiences as a NASA astronaut。 Readers will be inspired by his insights。
Steve Sarrica
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It turns out that Michael Collins is a hell of a writer。 In Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys you get Mike's take on events extraordinary and mundane — not some lukewarm drivel massaged by PR flacks。 His journeys are very readable and relatable。 I do wonder how much grief he caught for sharing his observations about many of his astronaut colleagues， in particular I can't imagine that Wally Schirra was all that pleased about what Collins shared。While the book has been in my "to read" pil It turns out that Michael Collins is a hell of a writer。 In Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys you get Mike's take on events extraordinary and mundane — not some lukewarm drivel massaged by PR flacks。 His journeys are very readable and relatable。 I do wonder how much grief he caught for sharing his observations about many of his astronaut colleagues， in particular I can't imagine that Wally Schirra was all that pleased about what Collins shared。While the book has been in my "to read" pile for much longer than I would care to admit， Collins' recent passing made me pick it up。 I enjoyed reading his comments in a Facebook group I frequent and am saddened that I never got to meet the man — although I've no idea what I would say if I did。 You can bet I wouldn't ask any of the questions that he came to find so tiresome。 It's a shame that Collins didn't leave a large body of written work for us to enjoy — but I certainly recommend Carrying the Fire to anyone， even to those who aren't space buffs。 。。。more
。
，
"That's one small step for a man， one gaint leap for mankind。" "That's one small step for a man， one gaint leap for mankind。" 。。。more
Fivequotebookchallenge
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In this book Michael Collins; the man left behind on the Columbia spacecraft while his two fellow astronauts walked on the moon for the first time， presents his journey。 Putting yourself in his shoes on this maiden expedition is a transformative experience， as he is completely alone; with his own doubts and apprehensions， subject to the infinite indifference forces of space。 He could have easily been one of the first moon walkers but for chance， and his resigned acceptance of this fact is humbli In this book Michael Collins; the man left behind on the Columbia spacecraft while his two fellow astronauts walked on the moon for the first time， presents his journey。 Putting yourself in his shoes on this maiden expedition is a transformative experience， as he is completely alone; with his own doubts and apprehensions， subject to the infinite indifference forces of space。 He could have easily been one of the first moon walkers but for chance， and his resigned acceptance of this fact is humbling。The book charts Michael Collin's career from the US Air Force， into the expanded NASA program of the 1960s then onto the first lunar landing mission。 Before blasting through the atmosphere with Apollo 11 the reader is taken through the design， planning and testing of the astronauts and equipment needed to complete their mission。 The degree of accuracy in the application of scientific reasoning for the missions is remarkable， especially given this was achieved over 50 years ago。。。Recently deceased， the autobiography provides insights into Michael Collins the man。 I was struck by how grounded and introspective he was through this book。 He offers a unique perspective on the human species and our relationship to the Earth and the universe which is worth the read。Recommended for those interested human space exploration and the future discoveries of our species。Rating: 4。6 / 5@fivequotebookchallenge 。。。more
Dave Schumaker
，
RIP Michael Collins。 His recent passing made me realize that I’ve long had his book on my to-read list。While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were walking on the moon， Collins orbited the moon in solitude， high above them。 This is an awesome account of his life， how he became an astronaut and what it was like to be a part of the crew who were the first to land on the moon。I really enjoyed reading this。 Collins shared his feelings and thoughts about the experiences he went through。Some of my favori RIP Michael Collins。 His recent passing made me realize that I’ve long had his book on my to-read list。While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were walking on the moon， Collins orbited the moon in solitude， high above them。 This is an awesome account of his life， how he became an astronaut and what it was like to be a part of the crew who were the first to land on the moon。I really enjoyed reading this。 Collins shared his feelings and thoughts about the experiences he went through。Some of my favorite parts of the book were recounting his experiences on Gemini 10 and the space walk that he had to conduct， essentially jumping through space to land on an orbiting Agena booster to retrieve a micrometeorite package。 It was real cowboy type of stuff — he was attached to a tether， but misjudged his jump and ended up bouncing off the Agena and floating around the Gemini space craft。 So， wild！One thing that Collins distinctly disliked throughout all of his astronaut training: geology。 He would come back to his forced study of geology throughout the book and talk about how useless he felt it was for him。As a former geologist myself: ouch！ But it was pretty amusing。Definitely a good read for those interested in the early days of the space program。I’ll leave off with this powerful quote about his time on the back side of the moon， out of contact from Earth， Neil and Buzz:“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 on the other side of the moon， and one plus God knows what on this side。” 。。。more
Zebulon Fross
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Fascinating and thorough view of our early astronautsMike does an incredible job of detailing his journey from start to finish， and this is a must read for anyone interested at all in space flight。 The book is incredibly thorough though， so I actually skipped some parts that were a little to detailed for me。 Great book though， and I highly recommend it。
Joe
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I have read numerous books about the Apollo program and memoirs of the astronauts and the sad passing of Mr Collins at the end of April encouraged me to finally read his account of his flying and astronaut career - I believe he wrote this all the way back in the early 1970's when the space program was very much still fresh in his mind。 I found it a very relatable and accessible account of the space program。 The selection process， his comrades， the punishing pace of work。 The loss of many friends I have read numerous books about the Apollo program and memoirs of the astronauts and the sad passing of Mr Collins at the end of April encouraged me to finally read his account of his flying and astronaut career - I believe he wrote this all the way back in the early 1970's when the space program was very much still fresh in his mind。 I found it a very relatable and accessible account of the space program。 The selection process， his comrades， the punishing pace of work。 The loss of many friends along the way。 The most harrowing being having to inform Martha Chaffee that her husband had died in the Apollo 1 fire。 There are many good belly laughs from his account as well and his recollections of Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 are very insightful and enjoyable。 I'm very glad I took the time to read this。 I had real trouble putting it down。 Collins was a very compelling story teller。 R。I。P Mr Collins - as we say in the nights watch。 We shall never see his like again。 。。。more
— maria
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i’m not going to lie i zoned out through most of the technical jargon because i had no idea what any of it meant， but other than that it was an enjoyable listen。 very much enjoyed his humour。 it’s bittersweet knowing how much collins wished to see humanity land on mars someday knowing he’s since passed away。
Matthew Miller
，
I really liked it。 Mike Collins comes across as more human than most of the great figures in history writing books。 He jokes about girls， criticizes the food， and discloses the remarks where he sounds a little off。 There's a bit where he's talking to Houston while orbiting the Moon alone， and because of the time delay， his comments come across as being a little needy。 That's such an utterly human thing to do， screw up his timing and then notice it， while everyone else misses the remark， ignores I really liked it。 Mike Collins comes across as more human than most of the great figures in history writing books。 He jokes about girls， criticizes the food， and discloses the remarks where he sounds a little off。 There's a bit where he's talking to Houston while orbiting the Moon alone， and because of the time delay， his comments come across as being a little needy。 That's such an utterly human thing to do， screw up his timing and then notice it， while everyone else misses the remark， ignores it， or observes it in silence。He also talks about something I've long considered， the difficulty with getting people to do more than one thing。 The irony is that while he was in astronaut training， he only did one thing: be an astronaut。 He complains about the parts of astronaut-being that annoyed him， like PR or meetings， and yet he was in a situation where he totally focused his efforts on the undertaking as a whole， being an astronaut。 Yet in his thoughts on the future， he talks about how important it is to do many things， explore space AND improve the world。 He talks about his love of the USA， specifically， and also how he wants the US to help the world。 Doing many things and seeking areas where they're doable simultaneously is a goal of his， yet from an outside perspective， one could easily observe him as only an astronaut。Yet that's a bit of a slip。 From far outside， he was only an astronaut for a few years， and yet from inside， he was a lab rat， engineer， pilot， and unwillingly spokesman。 He was also a husband， a father， and kind of annoying。 His discussions of perspective， of the reality of knowing the world is small and one， is to him a pure thing。 From nearby he's a complex and myriad person， yet from history he's just this astronaut。 He looks the same way at the world。 From nearby， we've got to give it to the bastards， and yet from far away， we're all the denizens of a small， fragile orb。 The perspective is worth taking， even second hand by reading。 Why else read a book？And this is a good one。 One of the better reads I've had in quite some time and strong recommend。 。。。more
Andrew Breza
，
This is the definitive astronaut memoir。 I've read numerous books about the Apollo program， and Carrying the Fire does the best job of striking a balance between readability and information。 The gripping story kept me up past my bedtime on several nights。 If you want to understand the spirit of adventure that drove Americans to the moon， read this book。 And if you want to understand "what it was like up there，" read this book。 And if you want to learn more about the inner workings of NASA in the This is the definitive astronaut memoir。 I've read numerous books about the Apollo program， and Carrying the Fire does the best job of striking a balance between readability and information。 The gripping story kept me up past my bedtime on several nights。 If you want to understand the spirit of adventure that drove Americans to the moon， read this book。 And if you want to understand "what it was like up there，" read this book。 And if you want to learn more about the inner workings of NASA in the 1960s， read this book。 。。。more
Pamela
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If you ever wanted to know what it was like to be an astronaut， this is the book to read。 Thorough， well-written， fascinating。 Spots of humor through out。
Matt Robertson
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Without a doubt， this is by far best book I've read about the space program。 Collins was uniquely positioned to write such a singularly important book， being the closest eye-witness to one of humanity's towering achievements。 Not participating directly in the landing， but listening to it from orbit 60 miles above the surface of the Moon， gives him an enhanced perspective， detached yet supremely interested， as evidenced by his futile attempts to locate his crewmates via his ship's sextant。 This p Without a doubt， this is by far best book I've read about the space program。 Collins was uniquely positioned to write such a singularly important book， being the closest eye-witness to one of humanity's towering achievements。 Not participating directly in the landing， but listening to it from orbit 60 miles above the surface of the Moon， gives him an enhanced perspective， detached yet supremely interested， as evidenced by his futile attempts to locate his crewmates via his ship's sextant。 This perspective， along with Collins's predispositions， yields fertile ground from which to reap rich meaning and context， commodities perhaps hard to come by for test pilots who have been trained to operate complex machines and collect raw data。 Among his Apollo 11 crew， Collins represents a sort of middle ground between cool and reserved Neil Armstrong and hot and flamboyant Buzz Aldrin， possessing personality traits that served him well while flying solo in Columbia， and while writing this book。 By this I mean that Collins offers the reader a balanced combination of technical information regarding his flights and those of his colleagues， and honest discussions of what all of this meant to him personally。 After all， we send humans in space not only to collect data， but to hear their stories。Project Gemini is often overlooked due to its position between the firsts of Mercury and the Moon landings。 In some ways it's my favorite phase of the early space program though， as it represents， and indeed contains， much of the journey， the trial-and-error figuring out of basic yet complicated problems such as "how do you bring two spacecraft together in orbit？" and "how do you get around outside your spacecraft？" and "how long can astronauts live in space anyway？" Or indeed， "how do you put crews together？" These are things that were top-line prerequisites for going to the Moon。 Collins flew on Gemini 10 with another legend， John Young， and performed one of the hairiest spacewalks in the program。 The chapters covering Gemini are standouts in this superb book。As mentioned earlier， Collins doesn't hesitate to personalize his narrative， to describe frankly his point-of-view and give his opinions on space exploration， politics， conservation， or less serious matters， all the while relating to the reader in a very personal way。 This， along with his unique perspective and excellent writing style， makes Carrying the Fire a perennial essential read。 。。。more
Maxine
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Eloquently written。 I was transported into the world of an astronaut and loved every minute of it。
Eric
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Although the work was only so-so as a work of literature， Collins the pilot/engineer shines through as quite an accomplished human being who happened to be in the right place at the right time to put his own stamp on a small corner of America's space program。 I recall feeling at the time of the moon landing a bit sorry for the guy who circled the moon without landing， but this book put that concern to rest for me。 And it was revealing the amount of reluctance there was among the astronauts at ca Although the work was only so-so as a work of literature， Collins the pilot/engineer shines through as quite an accomplished human being who happened to be in the right place at the right time to put his own stamp on a small corner of America's space program。 I recall feeling at the time of the moon landing a bit sorry for the guy who circled the moon without landing， but this book put that concern to rest for me。 And it was revealing the amount of reluctance there was among the astronauts at carrying out their PR duties。 Well done。 。。。more
Arnór
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Ég las þessa bók fyrir áratug og heillaðist upp úr skónum。 Eftir að þessi stórmerkilegi maður kvaddi í síðasta mánuði ákvað ég að endurnýja gömul kynni。 Bókin gefur góða mynd af því hversu galið verkefni geimferðaáætlun BNA á þessum tíma var - og það sem er enn áhugaverðara er einlæg innsýnin í hugarheim manns sem nær hæstu tindum síns fags， en er þó auðmjúkur og gott ef ekki með dass af imposter syndrome。
Janice
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Read slow at times but as someone is who loves the space program， this is a fascinating read from “the forgotten” astronaut’s perspective。
Ricardo Loup
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Será por el solo hecho de que soy aficionado del programa Apolo， pero este recuento de Mike Collins sobre el esfuerzo que tomó a seres humanos comunes （extraordinarios de tan comunes） en emprender el viaje más importante de la historia， es todo lo que un lector en busca de placer puede pedir。 Un libro imprescindible para quienes comparten esta fascinación por esta hazaña tan poco valorada hasta el día de hoy。
Daniel
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A fantastic book。 Inspiring， thought provoking， and witty。 Collins captures his journey as an astronaut in vivid detail。
Gina
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OutstandingThe absolute best book about the spaceprogram told with the perfect blend of humour and attention to detail。 Bravo General Collins。
Curtis
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