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The veteran of four space flights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly inimical to human life. He describes navigating the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight, both existential and banal: the devastating effects on the body; the isolation from everyone he loves and the comforts of Earth; the pressures of constant close cohabitation; the catastrophic risks of depressurization or colliding with space junk, and the still more haunting threat of being unable to help should tragedy strike at home--an agonizing situation Kelly faced when, on another mission, his twin brother's wife, Gabrielle Giffords, was shot while he still had two months in space. Kelly's humanity, compassion, humor, and passion resonate throughout, as he recalls his rough-and-tumble New Jersey childhood and the youthful inspiration that sparked his astounding career, and as he makes clear his belief that Mars will be the next, ultimately challenging step in American spaceflight. A natural storyteller and modern-day hero, Kelly has a message of hope for the future that will inspire for generations to come. Here, in his personal story, we see the triumph of the human imagination, the strength of the human will, and the boundless wonder of the galaxy.… (more)
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In addition to a fascinating record of Kelly's year in space, the book is also about his life before he became a Navy pilot. A poor student, there were two occurrences in his young life that caused Kelly to decide to seek the near impossible goal of becoming an astronaut. The first was his mother's success in becoming the first woman police officer in West Orange, NJ in the 1970s. He watched her practice for the physical test day after day on the obstacle course his policeman dad had built in the back yard, and recognized that fierce dedication and determination caused her to meet the goal. Then, as a failing and directionless college student, he casually picked up a copy of Tom Wolff's book The Right Stuff and on reading the last line decided he was going to be an astronaut. Both his life journey and his space journey are incredible.
Written in a straightforward way, the book is easily readable. I do have one quibble and that's with the progression of the story. It seems very popular in fiction now to move back and forth between the past and present. Unfortunately, this was written the same way and I thought it caused the reader to have to sometimes think about what time frame a new chapter was about. Are we on the ISS or are we in flight school twenty years before? Otherwise a winner.
Endurance is chock full of information about the education and training as a Navy pilot and astronaut, as well as a detailed account of the work done during a year of life on the space station. These men and women are astonishing for their differences in attitude from country to country, and also their strength of character and physical endurance, and their ability to work hard day after day and still get along with one another in less than ideal conditions.
I was never bored reading it, I didn't skim over any of it (rare for me), and I'm sorry I have to return this copy to the library.
But hopefully he'll write a sequel, about the twin comparisons (would also like more about being a twin, but this is pretty much off-subject).
His memoir is a
Also, the super dry humor that I mentioned above also sneaks into the book. Blink and you'll miss it but it's certainly there. I thought it was pretty amazing that what you see in person is something that you find in the book. Often that kind of humor is hard to put to a page, in my opinion.
This book is billed as a memoir and it certainly is that. The story of the year Kelly spends in space is interspersed with the story of him growing up and his path to becoming an astronaut. But what I really enjoyed about it is how much I learned about what living on the International Space Station really means. You've probably heard it plenty of times, but it can never be overstressed: Living in space(ish) means that you can never ignore the details, no matter how small. Indeed, the small details are the ones that could kill you. And there's so much we take for granted about living here on Earth, with gravity, so much we never think about, and you just can't live like that in space.
For example, maintaining the CO2 levels can be a Herculean task. If they go up just 1 or 2mm, it can change everything about everyone's mood, cause headaches, impair cognitive function, etc. There's a machine called the Seedra (CDRA: Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly) which is supposed to remove the CO2 but it constantly breaks down and needs to be fixed. And you can't call the neighborhood SEEDRA repairperson! It's up to the team on board to fix it.
These kinds of details really made the book interesting for me. Another fascinating aspect was the comparison to how the Russians do things. With the space shuttle program in retirement, all trips to and from the ISS are done through Russia's Soyuz vehicles. So at least in terms of the space program, we have a close relationship with Russians, and part of the crew on the ISS is made up of Russians. Kelly is friends with many of them and has spent time in Russia. He often describes the differences between how our 2 countries do things or how those relationships are maintained when things on the (literal) ground are more than rocky. When you're floating 240miles above the surface of the Earth with 5 other people, you have no choice but to get along because relying on each other is literally a matter of life or death.
I highly recommend this book.
Note: I received a copy of this book from Knopf Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.
I now a little secret about dill, as well. Ha!!
I think it’s great that we are cooperating with Russia in order to learn more about space and the secrets it holds. So many different things that I learned about were very extraordinary.
A really good book that I enjoyed very much. Thanks to Bookish for providing me with a free copy of the book (a hard copy) in order for me to review.
This memoir is a page-turner from start to finish, and I appreciated that it wasn't structured chronologically, but rather followed Kelly's storytelling with flashbacks and flashforwards to create a riveting narrative.
Endurance is not just about Kelly's time on the ISS, but also
As "civilians," we're fortunate to have this intimate glimpse into day-to-day life in space, and how the astronaut-adventurers come together to handle adversities, from space walk repairs to those dreaded phone calls from earth that something may be wrong with their loved ones back home. Endurance provides food for thought about our relationships with other nations and how precious our home planet truly is.
I had to carry a book of tape flags with me while reading this because I had to mark so many eye-opening passages that I didn't want to forget. I tortured my family with expositions and factoids that began, "Listen to this, I read in Scott Kelly's book . . . "
Without a doubt, you want to read this.
Many thanks to BookishFirst and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the copy in exchange for my honest review.
Kelly draws upon Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage as a parallel to some of the challenges he faced on the remote ISS (the title similarity is obvious, but Kelly also brought Lansing's book into space among his personal items). He also references Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff, both as an inspiration for him to join NASA and for the frankness with which he describes his experiences. The NASA that Wolfe described is long-gone, but Kelly describes a vibrant, flawed, but well-meaning professional organization that can achieve great things if it again received the level of public support (funding) it enjoyed during Project Mercury. Kelly doesn't shy away from pointing out areas for improvement, but he also extends this constructive criticism to himself, and this honesty makes his book all the more compelling. He also relates stories that will make the reader laugh out loud before explaining something that will inspire. A must-read for those interested in human spaceflight.
The book definitely held my attention. Kelly describes life aboard the ISS, as well as his life outside of being an astronaut.
Follow Scott Kelly as he spends a record amount of time on the ISS International Space Station.
I enjoyed reading about the life on the space station and what it must do to your psyche. I do not think it is for everyone, although, I am sure
Endurance takes you on the journey of not only the space travel, but also a look into his life growing up.
This is a great companion book for my library copy of Journey to the Stars. I started with the picture book and continued to the young readers edition.
Thank you Librarything for the chance to read this wonderful journey.
But in any case, this book had some fun
I find outer space fascinating I follow the flight paths of the
Retired Astronaut Scott Kelly is the longest occupying American resident of the ISS with 340 straight days in 2015-2016.
Endurance is his memoir of that record-breaking stay and the rest of his “Lifetime of Discovery.”
Selected to a "year-long mission" starting with Expedition 43, he then commanded Expedition 44 and 45, Mr. Kelly had put into practice what it was like to live on the Space Station two years before with his 5 months stay on the ISS during Expedition 26. His life journey through hardships in his childhood, his service in the Navy as a Pilot, fighting Prostate Cancer and those months of Expedition 43 prepared him for what came next.
Endurance is the closest I will ever get to space and I ate up every word Mr. Kelly wrote. His struggles from being away from his family, his relationships, his joys, his mental and physical health, working with various countries Astronauts delving in Biomedical Engineering, his vivid explanations of the day to day jobs he completed were like a sci-fi novel turned reality.
Can you imagine what it would be like to look at the earth and see it in all its glory, it’s distinguishing attributes? You don’t have to, Mr. Kelly gives you his view and feelings on what it is like. He makes you feel as if you are there, working, playing and traveling through zero gravity.
The knowledge that you don’t have control over anything that happens on earth to your family is something that Mr. Kelly finds out about when his sister-in-law Congresswoman Gabriella Giffords is shot in Arizona at a Safeway grocery store parking lot meeting with constituents. Mr. Kelly had a few months left of his stay.
A few things of what Mr. Kelly says of that experience, while leading the nation in a moment of silence concerning the horrific assassination attempt and deaths of six people and 13 injured that day in Tucson struck me as something to really chew on and change, and also some huge foreshadowing, “Those of us who have had the privilege to look down on the Earth from space get the chance to take a larger perspective of the planet and the people who share it. I feel more strongly than ever that we must do better” He explains after the moment of silence "on the space station, we followed our normal routine. But I knew that on Earth somethings would never be the same.”
Mr. Kelly’s life experiences told throughout this book show everyone that someone can come from obscurity and land into whatever they dream of becoming and beyond those dreams. This book is worth reading especially if you have any inkling of journeying from your own life to someone else’s and obviously if you love space exploration. This book hits one of my top five memoirs. Read it, you won’t regret it.
Thanks to Bookish First for sending me a copy of Endurance: A Year in Space, A lifetime of Discovery I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book was given to me in lieu of my honest opinion.
Astronaut S. Kelly
Besides spending a very long time on the ISS, Kelly also flew the shuttle on the Hubble repair/upgrade that updated their gyros, before Massimino's repair journeys. He was pilot then, not one of those doing the Hubble EVAs.
Fascinating book, glad I read it.
The quote from this that speaks to me at the moment is, "I've learned that most problems aren't rocket science, but when they are rocket science, you should ask a rocket scientist." In other words. seek out experts.
One of the more humorous quotes, based on serving with the Russians on the ISS, and thus needing to learn the language, is, " I've learned that Russian has a more complex vocabulary for cursing than English does, and also a more complex vocabulary for friendship."