posted 07-02-2013 01:19 PM               

In "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth," Little, Brown writes, Hadfield 'takes readers 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 mesmerizing wonder of spacewalks, and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of real 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.'"

posted 07-02-2013 01:37 PM               

Hadfield will also record an audio book version of "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth."

posted 07-03-2013 02:56 PM               

As Commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield captivated the world with stunning photos and commentary from space. Now, in his first book, Chris offers readers extraordinary stories from his life as an astronaut, and shows how to make the impossible a reality.

Chris Hadfield decided to become an astronaut after watching the Apollo moon landing with his family on Stag Island, Ontario, when he was nine years old, and it was impossible for Canadians to be astronauts. In 2013, he served as Commander of the International Space Station orbiting the Earth during a five-month mission. Fulfilling this lifelong dream required intense focus, natural ability and a singular commitment to "thinking like an astronaut." In An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Chris gives us a rare insider's perspective on just what that kind of thinking involves, and how earthbound humans can use it to achieve success and happiness in their lives.

Astronaut training turns popular wisdom about how to be successful on its head. Instead of visualizing victory, astronauts prepare for the worst; always sweat the small stuff; and do care what others think. Chris shows how this unique education comes into play with dramatic anecdotes about going blind during a spacewalk, getting rid of a live snake while piloting a plane, and docking with space station Mir when laser tracking systems fail at the critical moment. Along the way, he shares exhilarating experiences, and challenges, from his 144 days on the ISS, and provides an unforgettable answer to his most-asked question: What's it really like in outer space?

Written with humour, humility and a profound optimism for the future of space exploration, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth offers readers not just the inspiring story of one man's journey to the ISS, but the opportunity to step into his space-boots and think like an astronaut — and renew their commitment to pursuing their own dreams, big or small.

• Hardcover: 320 pages
  
• Publisher: Random House Canada (Oct 29 2013)
  
• ISBN-10: 0345812700
  
• ISBN-13: 978-0345812704

posted 09-04-2013 04:44 PM               

Free Astronaut Mustache! Order the ASTRONAUT'S GUIDE, mail in receipt, get yours (for lucky US folks, @littlebrown)

posted 10-23-2013 10:34 AM               

BBC Radio 4 FM only.
9.45 am (repeated at 12.30am)
Monday 10/28 to Friday 11/1

Chris Hadfield recalls remarkable stories from his career of more than 4,000 hours in space travel, starting with the moment it all began - when in 1969 he watched Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

posted 10-28-2013 07:47 AM               

• An Astronaut's Guide to Rugby
  
• An Astronaut's Guide to Laundry
  
• An Astronaut's Guide to High Tea

posted 10-28-2013 07:49 AM               

Astronaut Chris Hadfield launching on book tour for 'Guide to Life on Earth'

Astronaut Chris Hadfield is embarking on another mission around the planet. This time however, he is not heading into outer space, but instead sharing "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth."

Hadfield, who was the first Canadian to walk in space and command the International Space Station, is launching on a four-country, three-month tour to promote the release of his first book. In "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth," Hadfield recounts what his three missions and 166 days in orbit taught him about "ingenuity, determination and being prepared for anything," as his memoirs' subtitle reads.

"An Astronaut's Guide" is being published Tuesday (Oct. 29) in Hadfield's home country by Random House Canada and in the United States and elsewhere around the globe by Little, Brown and Company. The same day, Hadfield is scheduled to attend the first of more than two dozen book signings.

See here for further discussion of Chris Hadfield's book signing tour.

posted 10-29-2013 12:08 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by cspg:
Is it me or there seems to be a lot of marketing behind this book (compared to other astronaut-related works)? Not a bad thing, just curious.

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Social media - and if you use "just" Twitter, Facebook and YouTube - has exploded in popularity and use over the past few years. Hadfield's use of such sites has made him a household name and people eager for more. I don't doubt had such things existed earlier, there would be similar interest in other astronaut books. (I can picture Mullane's YouTube videos and Twitter feed in conjunction with 'Riding Rockets,' - and how recent was his book? - or what Brian O'Leary would do with social media and 'The Making of an Ex-Astronaut'....)

posted 11-10-2013 11:37 PM               

I have read dozens of space books since 1959, but Chris Hadfield's book "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth" is different. While he includes some biography, the book is about how astronauts think and how they approach training and spaceflight. More than that, he suggests that these lessons can help us in our daily lives.

posted 11-18-2013 05:28 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by alanh_7:
Check out Chris Hadfield on 60 Minutes.

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posted 11-18-2013 07:07 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by cspg:
Is it me or there seems to be a lot of marketing behind this book (compared to other astronaut-related works)? Not a bad thing, just curious.

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posted 11-18-2013 07:41 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Hart Sastrowardoyo:
I haven't seen it, but which shoulder? I always thought it was the host country on your left, your country of origin on your right, at least with the US spacecsuits.

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posted 11-25-2013 09:03 PM               

Astronaut Chris Hadfield's guide to writing 'An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth'

If you're wondering what gift to get the astronauts aboard the International Space Station this holiday season (and if not, why aren't you?), you can rule out a certain bestselling book.

"This is 'An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth,'" Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield says. "It is for reading before and after, I think, not while you are in space."

For the rest of us Earthlings though, Hadfield's "Guide" is fair game — as many have already found out.

posted 12-08-2013 08:53 AM               

The way he goes about planning for success is to train as if it's going to happen. For instance if he's going to be at the same concert as Elton John, he learns to play Rocket Man in the off chance an opportunity occurs to perform with the rock star. He takes this advance effort to extremes, both in his personal and professional life. These stories are repeated many times in the first half of the book as we learn how he prepared in advance for many different situations. I found these sections slow going.

But the book quickly gets back on track - describing an astronaut's career. Col. Hadfield waited a decade between some flights and he describes what astronauts do when they're not flying very well. He also tells specific stories of how others support a space mission - instead of the usual "their are thousands of people behind us" we get specific instances of how an individual (say the CAPCOM) participates in the planning, the sims, then the flight itself; becoming integral to its success. He talks at length at supporting other astronauts, doing your job, maintaining a positive attitude and always trying to contribute more. Although well written it sometimes seems this guy has never had a sad moment or a bad day his entire life.

Another well written part is the description between visiting space for a week and living in space for months at a time. They offer surprisingly different rewards, and the difficult recovery after returning from a long duration mission is described in detail too.

In my opinion Col. Hadfield may be this generation's Buzz Aldrin in that he has the excitement and desire to spread the word on how important space exploration is, plus the enthusiasm and stamina for the media appearances, video postings and tweets from space that are required these days. By the way the book describes how his Space Oddity video was produced and it's not as simple as it looks. And perhaps most important, he's a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

posted 12-08-2013 09:39 AM               

He is not saying "this is what will work for you" as some authors do. He is saying "this is how I did things or worked towards my goals and objectives and these methods could be used by others in their own lives".

Hadfield goes into his achievements and accomplishments in a very low key manor. For example he never talks about the fact that he his a two time winner of the NATO William Tell Fighter intercept competitions.

The recurring theme I found interesting the approach of the astronaut corps is "sweat the small stuff and that will often prevent you having to sweat the big stuff" How often could we use that advise in our own lives?

posted 12-12-2013 01:30 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by garymilgrom:
It will be interesting to see what Colonel Chris Hadfield gets up to next.

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posted 03-25-2017 04:55 AM            

I worked with some difficult people, too, One particularly abrasive astronaut flew on several shuttle flights for which I was lead CAPCOM: we had to work together closely, particularly during the missions he commanded.

...except when I had to work with this guy. He was highly skilled, technically, but also arrogant and confrontational, the kind of person who regularly swore at me, berated me and told me in no uncertain terms that I was a bumbling fool.

Once flying up to Washington in a NASA jet, I stopped to refuel and a military guy I'd never met before noticed the plane and said, Hey do you know _____? What an ******* !

posted 03-25-2017 03:16 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Kevmac:
And besides, what if someone in this thread pegs the wrong person without any firsthand knowledge of any type, then you've just axed this guy's reputation on mere speculation only.

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I'd like to think, perhaps naively, no-one here would do that, if it were even possible for this site to "axe" an astronaut's reputation. Trouble is, this has been published (perhaps Hadfield should have either skipped the subject entirely or named names). Talking about it here may well not achieve anything positive, but not doing so won't make it go away either. Unfortunately, a bunch of entirely innocent people have already been dragged into this by the manner of this incident's publication.