Posts: 2176
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999

Posts: 1896
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: May 2000

posted 08-18-2000 10:08 PM               

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I read "Of the Planet" right after "Dragonfly", which I'd recommend to you. Although Linenger's book is specifically about his mission, it's much better than Buroughs' ...well, 5 stars instead of 4.5!

"Off the Planet" is very well written, i.e., in the middle of the fire and conspiracy, he takes time out to talk about "the glories of earth gazing"! Good work, Jerry!

Posts: 1896
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: May 2000

Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 01-27-2001 11:47 PM               

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You got my vote on that book too. Jerry really did a great job at describing how it was to be on Mir. I didn't realize how close to a major disaster they were when there was that fire. I also found his description fascinating about how freaked out he got when he was taking that space walk outside of the station.

***** 5 stars! Great book.

Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-28-2001 01:14 AM               

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While Hanks is not attached, "Dragonfly" has been optioned by Universal Studios under their production unit Overbrook Entertainment. Will Smith (of "Men In Black") is producing.

Geoff Rodkey ("Poltically Incorrect") is currently tasked with converting the book into a screenplay. The movie has tentatively been titled "Star City".

(Of course, all the above information is current as of August 1999, the last time an update was made public. What status the film is currently is anyone's guess...)

Posts: 169
From: Canada
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 02-24-2001 08:05 AM               

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I just finished Dragonfly and Off the Planet. It's interesting to see where the two books are surprisingly the same and then offer very different points of view. I find Linenger tends to clarify many of the "difficult issues" that Burrough had written off as Jerry's usually abrasive and difficult personality. That being said, off the planet was published two years after Dragonfly and it makes you wonder if he didn't do this intentionally.

Has anyone read the Foale account, and does anyone know if Blaha, Thagard, or Lucid wrote personal accounts of their stays on MIR?

Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 03-09-2001 02:14 AM               

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French Female cosmonaut-physician Claudie André-Deshays wrote a book (only available in French I believe) on her training and her stay onboard MIR, during which two women were onboard... she and Lucid.

Does anybody know where Linenger is having a doctor practice these days?

Posts: 169
From: Canada
Registered: Dec 2000

Posts: 42
From:
Registered: Oct 2000

Posts: 216
From: West TN, USA
Registered: Jun 2000

Posts: 344
From: UK
Registered: Jan 2001

Posts: 1896
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: May 2000

Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 05-11-2001 03:48 PM               

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I have only read half of "Dragonfly" so far, but I would say that "Off the Planet" is definately better!

Both are good of course, but I just found that I couldn't stop reading OTP until I was done with it. Excellent - and scary - book.

Posts: 1896
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: May 2000

Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 06-17-2013 09:42 AM               

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Read this over the weekend and found it a surprisingly positive counterpart to Dragonfly. I remember that book as constant whining and complaining, but Jerry's book is much less like that. It puts the trials of Mir into perspective by reminding us how large a role was played by his personal life (wife and kids) as a distraction to the troubles in space.

As others have said this may have been Jerry's intent as this book was published after Dragonfly, but it remains an interesting account of 5 months aboard the Mir station. Also, given the retirement of the Orbiter fleet, Jerry's comments about the capabilities of the space transportation system are both relevant to future programs and a poignant reminder of what we've lost.

Posts: 108
From: Crestwood, MO
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 06-20-2013 05:05 PM               

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"Off the Planet" is a very good read. I remember when I first read it I did have problems with the beginning when Dr. Linenger is introducing himself. My first thoughts were "Wow is this guy proud of himself or what!" After he stopped bragging about being of superior intelligence and physical abilities over all us MIR (spelling intended) humans the book went into a very good story. Overall I rate the book very high.

After reading Jerry's account I became more interested in finding out more about his time on Mir without much success. I found a couple of references saying that Jerry's account isn't accurate and that some of his decisions during the fire were inappropriate and even disruptive. However, I couldn't find anything that was specific so I'm not sure if the complaints have any merit. The one reference above to Jerry's "abrasive and difficult personality" reminded me of the first chapter when he was giving his background. However, when he got into the mission and the couple of interviews I've seen Jerry seems to be very pleasant and entertaining. I liked the way he talked about his Soviet crew members and didn't think he was giving gratuitous criticism to the Soviet system. He did have problems with some of their program but then our cultures are very different and I'm sure they also have problems with some American methods.

I also picked up "Letters from Mir" also by Jerry Linenger after I read "Off the Planet." "Letters from Mir" is a good book but it is letters from a father to a very young child to be read later in case Dad didn't come home. It is a good personal account that talks about much more than being in space. It is not a book to pick up thinking it extends the story in "Off the Planet."