You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.


This was a really great and fascinating read into astronaut Michael Collins's experiences and backstory from his time as a fight pilot through the Apollo 11 mission and a few years after. It goes into incredible detail (that some may find boring at times, but I personally found fascinating) about all of the training, learning, practice, and knowledge that goes into being an astronaut. The complexity and importance of the issues he and the other astronauts as well as all of the engineers at NASA, MIT, and beyond was covered in a way that really makes you appreciate the general success and safety of the Gemini and Apollo missions outside of the few tragedies that occurred. Overall, just an awesome read (or listen, as I consumed the audiobook) that I would highly recommend to anyone. The only negative feedback I would have is the some of the slight sexism peppered throughout in minute but noticeable moments, but that is pretty tame for a book authored by a mid-40s white guy who is military-adjacent in the 1970s.
funny informative inspiring medium-paced
adventurous funny inspiring reflective medium-paced
hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Almost as good as the Right Stuff. This book gave me the closest experience to bring an astronaut. I really liked The Last Man on the Moon, but this exceeds that in interesting ways. Where Last is about getting it done, and what it takes to be an astronaut, this book describes what it's like and how it feels.
informative slow-paced

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
funny informative lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

A masterpiece! So detailed, so technical but still so personal. I'm an even bigger fan of Michael Collins now then before I read this book. Read it

Collins' voice gives this book personality and humor- he's a great storyteller. You can tell he is very... Down to earth. It seems he neglected no details about his journey to his journey to the moon, and I happily soaked it all up.

As a small warning to readers, I was taken aback at a couple of comments he made about women, especially women as astronauts. He is a "man's man" of his time, which is mildly disappointing.
He is also a big name dropper, which I'm sure is fun if you are familiar with all the names tied to space flight (I am not).