Carrying the Fire
by rrusczyk, Dec 8, 2007, 2:38 PM
If any of you have an interest in the space program, or being an astronaut, I recommend Carrying the Fire, by Mike Collins. You've probably heard of Neil Armstrong, and maybe heard of Buzz Aldrin, but probably not Mike Collins. He was the third astronaut on the Apollo 11 mission that brought Armstrong and Aldrin to the moon. He wrote a very readable account of his experience in becoming an astronaut and making this historic flight. (A touch overwrought at times, but still very readable.) One interesting tidbit -- before becoming an astronaut, he was a test pilot. The most prominent item on the big logo they had for the test pilot school: a slide rule. Of course, they don't really show that side of flying in 'Top Gun'. (But, to Hollywood's credit, the heroes of the movie Apollo 13 were rightfully the engineers on the ground.)
February 2012
January 2012