Carrying the Fire

I read this book first in paperback as a teenager, nearly 30 years ago. So wonderful now to re-read it again as an adult, to appreciate the grace, humility and subtle wit Gen. Collins imbued into his tale. He give us, the readers, an honest and compelling tale of the real human being as astronaut: his talents, his flaws, his skills and his weaknesses, all. He is honest with himself as to his own struggles and triumphs, and he is honest with us the reader in letting us all see those struggles and triumphs clearly and honestly. This is truly the best of the many astronaut biographies and autobiographies from the Apollo era. If you read only one, let this one be that one. In fact, skip the rest - they’re mostly awful. But this one, oh, this one is wonderful.

I have just finished listening to the audiobook and found it to be intensely satisfying. I was on the edge of my chair for much of it, despite the fact that most of the events described in it occurred over fifty years ago. I was born in 1948 and followed the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs intently as they occurred. Over the years I read many of the astronaut biographies, but somehow missed this one until now. I'm glad I finally found it, because the amount and type of technical detail were nearly perfect for someone of my background as a career fighter pilot with a degree in astronautics from the Air Force Academy. It answered questions about Gemini, Apollo, and the inner workings of the astronaut program that I have been carrying around with me my entire life. Far and away the best Astronaut biography I have read. I can not recommend it highly enough.

Mike Collins does an outstanding job humanizing what is surely the worlds most amazing adventure. His writing is thoughtful, clever, humble, insightful and often quite funny. It's certainly not a technical read, and at times I wished it might have had a little bit more of that. But there are plenty of other books that do, and this one loses nothing for not having it. Collins' unique perspective and first-person view of his role as the "loneliest man in the world" create a friendly and casual view to a story we all know and too often take for granted. Having read many of the Apollo era biographies, autobiographies, and other literature, "Carrying the Fire" is absolutely one of my favorites and still stands out 30+ years after it was first written. I'm delighted it's now available in Kindle edition. Highly recommended.

"Carrying the Fire" may be the best of the former astronaut books. Done without a ghostwriter, Collins covers his astronaut career in great detail. He's insightful and honest about his thoughts and feelings at the time, and is surprisingly funny as well. It's a great read.

Sitting glued to a black and white TV watching history and future all in one setting. I was child of the space age.This book was a crisp look at NASA and that time. That it was written by one of my childhood heroes only makes it better.The insight on the fragility of the earth, resounds loudly as a cautionary tale for our world today. Perhaps we should ship anyone in power to space to take a peek from afar, to see the frailty first hand.Recommend to any space buff.

This memoir by Michael Collins, which was first published in 1973, is his account of his journey from his early days in the Air Force to his role as command module pilot during the historic flight of Apollo 11. It is highly personal and well as sometimes quite technical but it gives you an in-depth look at the training and sacrifice required of the astronauts during the early NASA missions. You also get a firsthand perspective about the workings of NASA, the scientific and technical challenges that had to be met and the political influences that had to be managed. Collins has written an updated introduction for this 50th anniversary edition.I can still recall sitting in front of the TV on that Sunday night in July 1969 and watching in wonder as Neil Armstrong placed his boots on the surface of the moon. After reading this memoir, I am gobsmacked by my new understanding of what it took for that amazing event to take place.

Collins has the unique ability to put us there with him as an astronaut. I really enjoyed the time spent on the Gemini flights as I feel that program is not fully appreciated. One of, if the not best astronaut stories.

Not the Mike Collins that I thought I knew from the press coverage of his celebrated Gemini and Apollo flights. I had also thought him to be more cerebral than many of the other Astronauts, but the book reveals a hard drinking jet jockey and test pilot, much more in common with his fellow Astronauts than it appeared. He spells out the decisions and circumstances that led him to this career that he had not necessarily planned. What I especially appreciated is the detailed descriptions that he gives of the things we public take for granted that work. He describes the physical connections and inherent dangers of his space walk. Also the celestial navigation that occurred and the capability they had to be ready to accomplish if it didn’t. He explains the crew assignments and rotations that evoked under Deke Slayton guidance as head of the Astronaut Office. I especially appreciated the description of the non-intuitive nature of what it took to fly and control the Apollo Capsule, and the knowledge and process that it took to set and reset the 400 plus switches in the command module. As the sole author, his book could have used some editing to help reduce the number of times he would run on and frequently re-address material he had already covered. That said, I very much enjoyed reading this 50th Anniversary Edition as he is able to look back and give perspective to the book he wrote relatively shortly after his retirement from NASA.

Very interesting explanation of what it was like to be an Astronaut, fly Gemini and fly Apollo to the moon and back. Mike Collins concentrates on the space program and has a good way with words. Very well put and always interesting. Gene Cernan's book is good too. The other moon men, well, not so good. If you want to know about alcoholism read Buzz Aldrin. I admire Buzz Aldrin's achievements but he should have stuck to the space stuff. I recommend Collins, and Cernan.

A very interesting book if you are keen on Space travel and the Apollo program. It goes in to detail and can be a bit deep, going from Training to coming home what they endured in Training the missions and private life. I enjoyed it

If you only read one book by an astronaut make it this one. A beautifully written and revealing account of the experience of space flight, what it felt like, looked like and even smelt like!

Absolutely love this book. Michael Collins writes so beautifully and recollects all the different events throughout the Gemini and Apollo history. Its funny, it's sad, everyone should read it.

Really good (if you are into Apollo stuff)