His memoir, Endurance: A Year In Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, is a small classic of exploration literature as well as space literature ...brings life in space alive — the wonder and awe of it, and also the jagged edges, the rough parts of living in confined quarters in an alien element, far from everything familiar and beloved ...with its honest, gritty descriptions of an unimaginable life, a year off Earth, is as close as most readers will come to making that voyage themselves.
If Scott Kelly has any say on the matter, we shall go to Mars and beyond, with the discipline and determination that fill the pages of his memoir chronicling the extraordinary life he’s lived on Earth and in space ...narrative is split between Kelly’s year in space — a zero-gravity journey of 'unprecedented' duration — and his personal development from a child reading The Right Stuff into a decorated naval test pilot ...in Endurance, Kelly’s humor and self-awareness when relating his experiences at home make them just as absorbing as those aboard the station ...sharp self-observation and narrative poignancy make for a fascinating tale of a life lived on Earth, too...brilliant insight into the human aspect of space travel by paying equal attention to the origin story as to its climax among the stars ...lessons and truths within the pages of Endurance as the blueprints for their own trips into the unknown.
...Endurance, astronaut Scott Kelly’s memoir (written with Margaret Lazarus Dean) of his record-setting year on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015, offers Earthlings an informative and gripping look at both the adventures and day-by-day experiences of living in a metal container that is orbiting Earth at 17,500 mph ... brings our dreams crashing down to Earth, vividly reminding us of the many challenges — some mundane, others quite scary — of that cosmic frontier ...filled with minutiae on the ISS’s modules and equipment, which space aficionados will probably lap up, yet it remains a fascinating read ...language is earnest and straightforward, just the style one expects from an astronaut.
...he's written a memoir that tells the story of his NASA career, his adventures in zero-gravity and his unlikely shift from underperformer to space station commander ... Much of Endurance is about the realities of life in that environment –– the mundane activities like eating, walking and tooth-brushing that become fascinating in zero gravity ... He's just as honest about his own shortcomings - the end of his first marriage, the troubles in his relationship with his daughter ...will be intriguing to anyone excited by NASA, space travel and the International Space Station.
Endurance satisfies a reader's curiosity about daily life on the space station, down to the challenges of eating and going to the bathroom while floating ...writes about space station colleagues with respect and affection...Kelly reminds us how much astronauts and cosmonauts depend on each other...his book is 'not just about flying in space. It's about this kid who couldn't do his homework or pay attention getting motivated and having some pretty incredible opportunities.'
Kelly, who holds the American record for the longest time in space, recounts his years as an astronaut, in the Navy and growing up in New Jersey in Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery ... There’s a sense of fun that comes through ... makes a point of staying clear of the political fray other than to say he did vote from space... His chapters about being in space begin with summaries of dreams and, like anyone’s, some of his are weird ... Kelly shares some very personal information ... And by the end, Kelly’s back on Earth, where he found he did have the right stuff.
In his new book, Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, astronaut Scott Kelly chronicles his life and his record-setting 340 days in space in 2015-2016 aboard the International Space Station (ISS) ... All space-travel challenges don’t take place up there: Kelly writes of the effects on his marriage and family ... Kelly’s account is insightful, at times humorous, heart-tugging at others. And it’s inspiring enough to change the life of some lost kid, just like The Right Stuff did for him.
Why go into space in the first place? Kelly ponders that existential question early on, the whys and wherefores of entering into the strangest of strange environments and potentially suffering all manner of consequences ...his book opens with an alarming portrait of edema, rashes, and malaise, and hence another answer emerges... Some of Kelly’s descriptions seem a little by-the-numbers, the equivalent of a ball player’s thanking the deity for a win...Kelly’s book shines in its depiction of the day-to-day work of astronautics and more particularly where that work involves international cooperation ... It’s fascinating stuff, a tale of aches and pains, of boredom punctuated by terror and worries about what’s happening in the dark and back down on Earth ... A worthy read for space buffs, to say nothing of anyone contemplating a voyage to the stars.
Kelly, a former astronaut who spent a record-setting year aboard the International Space Station (ISS), shares his experiences of space travel in this fascinating memoir ...shifts between the many aspects of his year-long project... Throughout, Kelly gives the reader a sense of what life is like inside the ISS...often displays a sense of humor... His is an inspirational story of true endurance under pressure.
