Carrying the Fire

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What to expect

'No other person who has flown in space has captured the experience so vividly' - New York Times Book Review

In July 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon. Fifty years later, it is still one of the greatest achievements in human history.

In this remarkable memoir, Michael Collins conveys, in a very personal way, the drama, beauty, and humour of that adventure. He also traces his development from his first flight experiences in the air force, through his days as a test pilot, to his involvement in Project Gemini and his first spaceflight on Gemini 10. He presents an evocative picture of the famous Apollo 11 spacewalk, detailing the joys of flight and a new perspective on time, light, and movement from someone who has seen the fragile Earth from the other side of the moon.

Updated with a new preface to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon-landing, Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins is the utterly absorbing and truly compelling classic account of what it was like to be a member of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

Critics Review

Collins tells what his space journeys meant to him as a human being [and] discusses the role of man amid the multitudinous mechanical marvels . . . Profoundly affecting
The New Yorker
Michael Collins can write . . . No other person who has flown in space has captured the experience so vividly
The New York Times Book Review
A splendid and affirmative book . . . A magnificent piece of exposition alive with humour, candid in its anxiety, very sensitive in its appreciation of the men involved.
The Atlantic Monthly

User Reviews

Book 4.5
Narration 4.5
4.0
5.0
This detailed account ensures you get first hand insights into the complexities of the space programme in the 1960s and one astronauts’ long journey to his space flights. I learned a great deal about the man and the mission.
Rowingchamp18 20/01/2025
5.0
4.0
Writing strikes the right balance between technical and accessible, narration is in line with the general mood of calm professionalism, apart from one or two passages where it becomes a tiny bit soporific.
aitd90 26/05/2024

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