posted 09-05-2019 10:59 AM               

"The sun is setting, signalling the end of my first orbital day. I catch a glimpse of the Milky Way; I recognize Cassiopeia. There is something so poignant about contemplating it from up here, from inside this metal box, this not particularly cutting-edge bundle of technology that allows us to be here where no human being should ever be."

Six years ago, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti spent two hundred days orbiting around Earth on the International Space Station. In this riveting memoir, she tells the story of her extraordinary journey: from grueling years of training to daily life in space, from great events to small discoveries, from old rituals to jokes about the meaning of life. With honesty and warmth, Cristoforetti chronicles her journey to becoming an astronaut — the many years spent traveling around the world, from Star City to Houston, always between languages and cultures, technology and nature.

Gripping and inspiring, Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut is an enthralling story about what it takes to pursue your dreams.

• Hardcover: 400 pages
  
• Allen Lane (December 1, 2020)
  
• Language: English
  
• ISBN-10: 0241371384
  
• ISBN-13: 978-0241371381

posted 08-12-2021 09:53 AM            

My first impression of this book was – warmth. Italian astronaut and recent space station inhabitant Samantha Cristoforetti wants to concentrate on the positives. And while it's hard to tell if it is due to the book being originally written in Italian, or a pungent, sense-heavy writing style, the book is vivid with descriptions of color, of movement, of feeling.

Who else has ever evoked Caravaggio when describing the light and shade of a space shuttle launch? Quoted Virginia Woolf when talking about space experiences? Or described their last few days before leaving Earth as if scenes painted in a church fresco? We're along with her for the ride. We live in space with her...