posted 08-04-2006 08:25 AM               

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Originally posted by spaced out:
The other book in my top 3 would be "All American Boys" for Cunningham's openness about what he experienced and what he felt, and "Riding Rockets" is in the same vein.

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posted 08-04-2006 12:19 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Dwayne Day:
Can anybody suggest some funnier or interesting and lighthearted sections of the book that I could include as reading requirements?

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posted 08-04-2006 01:07 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by spaced out:
Many people would find much of the material deeply offensive so I'd be very careful about adding it to a college reading list.

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posted 08-04-2006 03:26 PM               

Anyway, I'm sure you're in a better position to judge what's appropriate for your students.

posted 12-02-2010 08:46 PM               

I put his book on the shelf until I finished the book I was reading and finally thought I would give "Riding Rockets" a try.

I can honestly say it is one of the most entertaining first hand accounts I have ever read on the space program. Funny, sad, and above all I believe honest, I could not put the book down. Some of his stories are so funny no one could make that stuff up.

What I enjoyed most of all was the insight into the program, his honest opinions of the people around him and his ability to make fun of himself above all else.

Not enough has been written about the shuttle program and the people who flew the missions. His thoughts and often humorous experiences with people like Hoot Gibson, Rhea Seddon, Hank Hartfield, Fred Gregory amongst others gives insight into the people who take the risks to fly the missions like few other books have.

In particular I found his insight into his friendship with Judy Resnik to be touching. It is obvious he valued her friendship greatly.

I have read many accounts of the Apollo missions, and not enough on the shuttle program so I found it refreshing to read one so well written, sad and at the same time funny about the shuttle program.

posted 12-02-2010 09:39 PM               

At the same time the shuttle and ISS/Soyuz crews also have a great many stories to tell. Some funny some sad, but all worth hearing.

It's rather odd that as the shuttle program comes to a close, I find myself drawn more and more to the space shuttle missions and want to hear about those experiences.

Having read "Sky Walking" and "Riding Rockets" I have hopes we see more shuttle and ISS crews come out with their stories.

I asked Hoot Gibson at the ASF diner when his book would be coming out and he laughed and said "it would only get me in trouble."

posted 12-02-2010 10:00 PM               

That said, I think that Mullane actually answers more effectively than Collins did the central question all of us Earthbounders ask of our space travelers: "What did it feel like?"

Mullane eloquently expresses the emotions, insecurities, and finally the euphoric triumph of looking down upon the Earth from orbit after a life spent in pursuit of that singular goal.

I freely admit that I was an "easy sell" for this book: A big part of my adolescence was spent collecting mission patches, decals, lithos, press kits, and various other NASA ephemera celebrating the Space Shuttle in the starry-eyed pre-Challenger era... I watched Discovery, with Mike Mullane aboard, return from its (and his) maiden voyage from the tower at Edwards AFB.

Reading Riding Rockets as a 35-year-old long disabused of romantic notions about the Space Shuttle program, the astronauts who rode those rockets, or the NASA bureaucrats to whom they answered was a revelation. Pretty much every other page I found myself thinking, "Wow, I had no idea."

posted 12-03-2010 08:19 AM               

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Originally posted by Paul23:
Would this be a good read for someone who knows very little about the people or operations from the Shuttle era?

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The best astronaut autobiography I've read to date is Carrying the Fire (a wonderful read by any standards) but Riding Rockets is probably next on my list, alongside All American Boys (which I particularly appreciated for its candor).

posted 12-03-2010 09:19 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by spaced out:
...Riding Rockets is probably next on my list, alongside All American Boys (which I particularly appreciated for its candor).

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posted 07-15-2014 10:06 AM               

This is a terrific story. The author honestly describes her anxieties and fears about having kids then takes us through her pregnancy and the first years of the children's lives. Since the question of having kids is considered by almost everyone it's easy to relate to the emotions expressed by the author. Laura has a wonderful, conversational way of writing that draws us into her world seamlessly, like you're talking on the phone to an old friend. But this memoir is much more than a book on having children.

With sentences like "I've always had the bad habit of revealing too much early in a conversation" the book opens the door to thoughts about growing up and life in general. The author's blunt honesty is refreshing and enlightening. If you ever felt like an outsider or that you did not quite fit in with a peer group you can relate directly to the author's thoughts about these feelings. In doing so the book asks larger questions of life and living. Dealing with setbacks, careers, friends and family is not easy. Decisions are hard to make and consequences sometimes hard to handle. But as Laura concludes, "Life does pretty much what it wants regardless of our efforts." In summary a great book on finding life's balance, kids or no kids.