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  • An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

  • By: Chris Hadfield
  • Narrated by: Chris Hadfield
  • Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,934 ratings)
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An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth cover art

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

By: Chris Hadfield
Narrated by: Chris Hadfield
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Editor reviews

Deeply moving in its ability to engage, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth is written by NASA Astronaut and YouTube star Colonel Chris Hadfield with the complete and unabridged audiobook narrated by the author. Hadfield’s writing is exquisite, his stories exceedingly entertaining and wisdom unbounded. His lifelong determination to make his dreams come true is tremendously inspiring. This is one of those books that makes you look internally at yourself and your life and question if you’re living it the way you should. Available now from Audible.

Summary

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth is an inspirational memoir of space exploration and hard-won wisdom, from an astronaut who has spent a lifetime making the impossible a reality. 

Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft, and become a YouTube sensation with his performance of David Bowie's ‘Space Oddity' in space. The secret to Chris Hadfield's success - and survival - is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst - and enjoy every moment of it. 

In his book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Chris Hadfield takes listeners deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. Through eye-opening, entertaining stories filled with the adrenaline of launch, the mesmerising wonder of spacewalks and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of achievement - and happiness. 

His own extraordinary education in space has taught him some counterintuitive lessons: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff. You might never be able to build a robot, pilot a spacecraft, make a music video or perform basic surgery in zero gravity like Colonel Hadfield. But his vivid and refreshing insights in this book will teach you how to think like an astronaut, and will change, completely, the way you view life on Earth - especially your own.

©2013 Chris Hadfield (P)2013 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd

What listeners say about An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

More memoir than diary.

Any additional comments?

This book is more about the preparation for his mission to the ISS than a standard autobiography with many chapters about his life and upbringing, which I'm grateful for.

This is a very enjoyable listen for anyone interested in the space program and that side of science and engineering in general and I really appreciated the detail that Hadfield puts into this side of things in the book. I was interested in what astronauts do in the traning and prep time before their missions. I also appreciated the writing about the impact his choice of career had on his family, it's covered in a powerful and reflective, but never sappy way.

Hadfield is not the best narrator, but to be honest, this is to be expected, I'm pretty sure he makes a far better astronaut, so yes there are better narrations on the site, but I still thoroughly enjoyed listening to him read his book.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable

What made the experience of listening to An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth the most enjoyable?

He's got a great expressive voice for telling His story. It's much more than a narrative of his journey into space (although everything he does tell us about space is fascinating and even exciting), it explores his philosophy for life in general and gives much food for thought.

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7 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Rocket Man

I remember when Chris Hadfield was in space. I remember watching the you tube videos and thinking how cool it looked. When I saw this audiobook I thought I would give it a go. I have never been one to dream about space or being an astronaut, so approached it with an open mind. Chris Hadfield was one of the first Canadian astronaut's and his story is excellent. It is has much a story about dedication and ambition as it was about space and being an astronaut.

Very good listen and very entertaining story.

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6 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Inspiring, insightful and interesting

Would you listen to An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth again? Why?

From humble beginnings, here is someone who had a dream and followed it to completion. Often stating he has been lucky, which everyone needs a little of....but actually, I think it is more like inspiration and perspiration.

The book is very good, especially for anyone interested in the life of the modern day astronaut, and wants to delve deeper than simply knowing what it is like to take off and walk in space. At a time when I am finding elements of my job dull, it is refreshing to hear that, I am not alone out there, but as opposed to letting that get on top of you, you should always make the most of it....

What other book might you compare An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth to, and why?

Moondust

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting stuff

Interesting guy, interesting life, interesting book. More of a personal diary than a philosophical memoir but pretty good none the less

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Well worth a listen

This was not the autobiography I expected. Hadfield gets that out of the way in about two chapters, and spends the rest of the book discussing the intricacies of preparing for and experiencing his final mission, and applying his philosophy to everyday life. In that regard, this book is unusually accurate to its title, and is a must-read for anyone pursuing a challenging career path.

Hadfield is excellent at demonstrating how every individual in the ISS project is playing an important bit-part, including the astronauts themselves. He speaks humbly to an almost infuriating degree - at times I found myself wishing he'd get on with acknowledging how awesome at everything he had to be to end up where he did. Occasionally his philosophy can be a little shallow, assuming that everything in life will turn out for the best (well, DUH, if it didn't you wouldn't have become an astronaut!) but he accompanies this with a very healthy acknowledgement of the risks that he would never have flown.

This wasn't the autobiography I expected, but the details on NASA are fascinating, and it is inspiring to listen to someone who aimed for the sky and made it.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not unlike listening to Hadfield blow himself.

The book was saved from utter repellency as I found interest in the insights within NASA and Roscosmos. Hadfield’s writing and delivery intentionally or otherwise just comes across as self-indulgent, ego stroking, own trumpet blowing babble. The book wouldn’t have been such an endurance without his narcissism and arrogance.

Even so, intertwined with an insider perspective of Nasa and Roscosmos, this cringe worthy self-loving was just about interesting.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best listen to date

Chris has done a remarkable job detailing his life up to this point. Just kind of person you want to be one if the pioneers a stand out from our time though I would guess he would disagree. Listening to this grips you from start to finish, an all round humbling experience that is made all the better with Chris himself being the reader. Enjoy.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Truly exceptional

Fascinating story. Inspiring messages. Exquisitely written and read. This guy should be a role model for us all. Definitely recommend.

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  • mr
  • 15-03-15

Enjoyed

Very interesting insight to astronauts life by a grounded thinking person, enjoyed the story and insight into space travel. Thanks

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2 people found this helpful