Superb book - Rated 
This is a great read for anyone with even a slight interest in Space flight and the whole 1960's Space race involving the Gemini and Apollo programs. Collins has a very good style of writing which is warm and well informed but easy to understand he doesn't complicate the Technical stuff too much, thus making it easier to grasp.
Overall it fully deserves the rating of 5 stars.
Interested in Space flight ? Then buy this book.
The best Apollo auto-biography - Rated
This book did not disappoint. Michael Collins has lived one of the greatest adventures of all time, and, unlike others, he is able to convey how things were and how he felt about them. Who wouldn't want to know what it must have felt like to have been cut off from contact with all human kind as Collins piloted the command module around the moon whilst his fellow astronauts took the glory trail onto the moon itself. Collins' insights into the strained Armstrong/Aldrin relationship is worth the read on its own. If you want to read only one book about the Apollo space program this is it !!
Engaging and readable by someone who was there... - Rated
I have read many books on the Apollo program, and agree with other reviewers that this is one of the best. If you want detail on every mission then consider Andrew Chaikin's "A man on the Moon". But he cannot match Mike Collin's style, which is supremely light and easy to read, (in a good way!). Technical aspects are handled in a way that is clear and easy to understand, and a joy to read.
The obvious questions (How do you go to the toilet? Were you lonely? Were you afraid?) are handled in a way that lets the less knowledgable reader know, without ever being in danger of boring the more advanced.
He does not duck difficult questions, (such as which astronauts were difficult to work with), but it never gets in the way of the writing.
If you want to know what it was like to be an astronaut at the centre of the Apollo program, this book is perfect. If he had not chosen a career as an astronaut MC could have had a fine career as a professional writer.
Simply the best - Rated
I first read (and re-read) 'Carrying the Fire' as a teenager and enjoyed it immensely. As an adult I continue to enjoy it even more. Well written, easy to read and understand, it is simply the best of the genre. Add this to your collection, you will not be disappointed.
Remembering America's finest hour - Rated 
Any cognizant member of the human race can answer a question that begins "Where were you when ...?" The memorable event is largely defined by nationality, culture and interests. For instance I recollect where I was when JFK was shot, when the Berlin Wall came down, and when the WTC towers were destroyed. On the other hand, I can't say the same about when John Lennon was shot or when Princess Di was killed. With millions of others worldwide, I remember that day in July 1969 when one of our species first set foot on another world and our planet figuratively held its breath to watch and listen. We shall not again see that degree of universal interest until, perhaps, there's a manned Mars mission. There were Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon's surface, of course. But who was the guy left orbiting in the Command Module?
CARRYING THE FIRE is by Michael Collins, the poor devil left behind while his two colleagues rocketed off to most of the glory. In his book, Collins provides a narrative history of his time in the U.S. Air Force from his early days as a test pilot at the Edwards and Nellis test centers in the California desert, to his selection as a NASA astronaut (on his second application), to the training for and flight of Gemini 10, and finishing with Apollo 11 and the effects of that mission on his subsequent life.
CARRYING THE FIRE is a solid, relatively dead-pan, and competently written look at America's astronaut training and the experience of being "in space", or at least to the degree experienced by the author. Spending his adult life as an engineering test pilot, surely the most glamorous job for a techno-nerd type, it's to Michael's credit that he's penned a book as readable as this. During those later chapters in which he shares the Apollo 11 experience, the volume nearly becomes one that is difficult to put down. Not quite, but almost.
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" has always struck me as one of the least inspiring famous lines ever spoken. Jeez, who wrote Armstrong's material? (It's so inane that I can't even find the full text of the statement in the edition of LIFE magazine issued to commemorate the event, so maybe I have it wrong.) I only mention this because what was very evident in Michael's narrative was the drabness of the non-technical communications among the Apollo 11 astronauts themselves and between them and Mission Control, as least as recorded for posterity by the author. Even the banter falls flat. Perhaps this is a factor of the no-nonsense, test pilot approach to business, or perhaps it was an effort by NASA to keep it appropriate for family listening. It didn't sound like our three heroes had much fun. To be fair, however, there is one photo in CARRYING THE FIRE captioned "Do you see what I see?" that perhaps gives evidence to a Collins sense of humor after all.
For anyone wishing to know more about that day almost 38 years ago - gosh, has it been that long? - when America stood taller and prouder than any day before or since, then I recommend this book.
|
