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An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
- Narrated by: Chris Hadfield
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
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An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
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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.
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What listeners say about An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Thomas
- 07-03-14
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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Charles Pierre Michel Duchenne
- 23-02-21
Inspiring!!!
I felt inspired when reading the hard copy and even more so when you have Chris Hadfield reading it to me himself !!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 11-02-21
Wonderful story
Very interesting to hear the experiences of this man. Such a pioneer! It's a bit on the longer side, but every minute was worth it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Pedro_Perez
- 16-03-16
Out of this world
If you could sum up An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth in three words, what would they be?
Humble, inspiring and much more then about being an Astronaut then I expected.
What other book might you compare An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth to, and why?
Like nothing I have listened to or read before, having Chris narrate his own book gives it a special edge.
What does Chris Hadfield bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
A real sense of the who the man is, what drives him and how he just gets on with the job.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
An Astronauts guide to keeping your feet on the ground.
Any additional comments?
This is the only audiobook I will listen to again and again, its that good.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dominic Leonard
- 20-06-15
Pure excellence
Loved every single minute of the book. Chris's humility and attitude to not just being an astronaut but a person is truly inspiring and I have learned a lot from his journey.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- steeledarren1973
- 19-12-15
Spaceman.
Really liked it !
Didn't want this to finish.
Excellently told by the man himself.
Great to hear of his own personal experience on earth as well as in space.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 26-07-17
An inspiring story
Can't rate this audio book highly enough. Chris is a great narrator and goes into great detail on some of the lesser talked about aspects of life In space. Highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- L. A. Trewern
- 17-07-15
Truly Awesome!!
Narrated by the man himself I was completely drawn into his story from the very first chapter, first sentence even!
Chris gives such a colourful account of his life as an Astronaut for NASA that you begin to feel that you've been up in space with him.
I would recommend this title to anyone who has ever been interested in Space and it has left me wanting to hear more!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sarah B.
- 20-10-16
Interesting
Insightful and enjoyable but not all that fast paced in terms of prose. Enjoyable though and good narrative, I learnt a lot about him and the process of becoming amazing at what you do. Learn to play rocket man!
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- Ross Greenhill
- 14-08-15
inspirational
a fantastic, inspirational book which teaches humility and leadership in buckets. What an amazing man.
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