Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story

Probably the only thing better than "Flying to the Moon" is the return trip home. Michael Collins was the Command Module Pilot on the historic first Moon landing mission, Apollo 11. That glorious spaceflight will forever be embedded in my mind and a fascinating history lesson for those not yet born in July of 1969. The author tells a GREAT story and Educators can be grateful to Mr. Collins for writing this book for the younger set. It should be a required reading in grade school History.I also read Michael Collins earlier book titled "Chariots of Fire" which recounts his career in far greater detail as an Air Force test pilot and his training as a NASA astronaut during the two man Gemini and subsequent Apollo trio manned spaceflights.His first mission was on Gemini 10 and later selected to be on Apollo 8, the first flight to circumnavigate the Moon on Christmas of 1968. Due to a pinched nerve in his spinal cord he was replaced on that flight by Jim Lovell of the now infamous, Apollo 13 Moon flight.Of course, he fully recovered from what could have prematurely ended his NASA career. Seven months after the wonderously successful flight of Apollo 8, he flew on the even more successful and most memorable Apollo 11. I think he must be very happy with how things turned out. On Apollo 11, Michael Collins became the first person to ever orbit the Moon by himself, completely alone. I can only begin to image what an absolute thrill that must have been. Nevertheless, as he writes in both his books, he was geniunely more concerned with the safe return of his crew mates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, after making the first ever landing on the Moon.Sadly, all of the Apollo astronauts are getting on in years - all are well into their late 70 and early 80s and several have already left us. Most have written their own books to share their experiences for all of us to better remember those long ago, buty still thrilling events. We can all be justly proud of their personal sacrifices, professional committment and outstanding achievements in pioneering manned spaceflight. BRAVO!!!

I turned 15 during the Apollo 15 mission and wish this type of book had been around at that time. Collins involves the young reader from the opening page. His eloquent and tactful explanation of the Apollo 1 fire is well thought out as well as his step by step rendering of how the Apollo program was developed and the importance of the landing. This is a wonderful book to share with your children who may be interested in this area. An excellent introduction.

Collins dislikes being called a hero, so I won't call him my hero. I will say that I have admired him since his Gemini X days for his astronaut adventures, excellent writing style, and humor. This is a wonderful book because it is so descriptive that you will feel as if you've journeyed to the moon and back with Collins. I would give the book 10 stars if that was possible. Fantastic. Wonderful. Educational. Humorous. Triumphant. How many of these adjectives will you use after reading this book? All these, and at least a hundred more, it's that good.

Michael Collins has made the NASA experience understandable while keeping the thrill of discovery alive. While written for a young audience it was informative and delightful to read as an adult.

I reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in the subject of space travel. Mike Collins tells the story of his adventures in space really well, from his beginnings in Gemini and later on Apollo 11, he gives a great account of being part of the crew that made the first moon landing, a must read

After reading Collins’ fantastic book “Carrying The Fire,” I wanted to learn more and read this. Beautiful writing, I’ve read over 30 books on the Apollo program and these two stand above the rest for me. Highly recommended

This is a good background on Mike Collins. It is not as detailed as”Carrying the Fire,” but is still a good read.

This children's book is yet another masterpiece by astronaut Michael Collins.

I read a report on this book which said it was the best moon walk story written and I can agree that it is - although it is the only one I have read so far.It is so easy to read that you don't want to put it down - you need to keep finding out what happened next - just like the usual un-put-downable works of fiction that I normally read.He tells you the story in layman's terms, with enough technical info to make you understand what it was like for the early astronauts. They did an amazing job when you realise how much we have learned since then and due to them.I would recommend this book to anyone with a slight interest in the subject , like me I think your interest would soon increase!

I think there are better books, better written on the space experience. It felt directed to the younger school age enthusiast. That said it remains worth the read and must be part of your library if space is your thing.

The product description didn't make it clear that this was a book for children. I have not read the whole book yet, but have seen parts describing planes as 'this one went fast' and 'I liked the red stripe on this plane', so I don't hold out much hope of it also being suitable for adults.

Concentrating mostly on Apollo 11, this was an absolute bargain at less than £3 when I purchased it. Collins writes so well, so for anyone interested in the subject matter, I can't recommend it highly enough.

Was OK but very brief. Nothing like compared to carrying the fire.