Book Description

In 1969, Michael Collins went to the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the historic Apollo 11 flight. When he came back, he wrote the finest account we have of the training and the experiences of a test pilot and astronaut. This is the story of one of the great adventures of this century.

First published in 1974
New epilogue by the author
Drawings, color and b&w photos ... Read more

Reviews (31)

No Question About It--The Best Astronaut Memoir Ever!
There have been several excellent Apollo astronaut memoirs, especially Gene Cernan's "The Last Man on the Moon" and Jim Lovell's "Lost Moon," which was made into the feature film "Apollo 13." This one is still the most honest and reflective of them all. It extends a tradition of the aviator as litterateur into the age of space travel.

Collins had an illustrious career as an astronaut. Chosen in the third group of astronauts in 1963, he served as backup pilot for Gemini VII, pilot for Gemini X, and command module pilot for Apollo 11. On that last mission he became the loneliest man in the universe when his two crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, landed on the Moon while he remained in orbit around the Moon in the Command Module. In "Carrying the Fire" Collins writes of his solitude in lunar orbit in July 1969. As he disappeared on the backside of the Moon from Earth, he recalled, "I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life, I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God only knows what on this side. I feel this powerfully-not as fear or loneliness-but as awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation. I like the feeling. Outside my window I can see stars-and that is all. Where I know the moon to be, there is simply a black void, the moon's presence is defined solely by the absence of stars." He compared it to being in a skiff in the middle of the ocean with only the stars above and black water below. It proved a profoundly moving experience for him.

Michael Collins left NASA in 1970 and became the first director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, continuing to write eloquently of the possibilities of spaceflight. Among other works he published "Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space" (1988) and "Mission to Mars" (1990), a powerful exposition on the value of a human mission to Mars.

"Carrying the Fire" is the first candid book about life as an astronaut. The author comments on other astronauts, describes the seemingly endless preparations for flights to the Moon, and assesses the results. He also describes what he thinks of as the most important perspective that emerged from his flight, a realization of the fragility of the Earth. He wrote that "from space there is no hint of ruggedness to it; smooth as a billiard ball, it seems delicately poised on its circular journey around the Sun, and above all it seems fragile...Is the sea water clean enough to pour over your head, or is there a glaze of oil on its surface?...Is the riverbank a delight or an obscenity? The difference between a blue-and-white planet and a black-and-brown one is delicate indeed."

It is a powerful and moving memoir. Read it more than once and lend copies to your friends. You, and they, will not be disappointed.

One of the best
This is an excellent book.One of the best in regards to the space program and the ultimate in goals, the moon.
My interests are in the Mercury through Apollo era.This one goes through many aspects in a easy to read yet not dull form.
Fact filled, humorous, humble even.
This is a must read or must own if you are a space enthusiast.
Mr. Collin's other book, "Liftoff" is another excellent book.It held my interest as did this one.
But, that is another review.

Funny stuff!
I thought Collins's book was the best of any I have read about the golden age of the US space program. Collins was funny; made me laugh out loud a bunch. I also recommend "Deke!" and "A Man on the Moon."

I can't gush enough!
Michael Collins is one of the best pilots NASA ever saw, but you won't know that from this book.He is a very humble man who writes with wonderful humor and clarity.His story of his role in the race to the moon is interesting, informative, funny and absolutely incredible.He teaches physics,politics and good writing form in one incredible book.Because Collins is able to so clearly explain the science of flying, I highly recommend this book as a starting place for anyone interested in learning about the early days of the space program.To learn more about the respect others at NASA have for Mike Collins, I recommend "Deke!" and "Last Man on the Moon."

If You Intend to Loan This Book Out, Be Prepared to Buy Two
I hate reviews that alternatively gush or are entirely critical of an author's work. Such reviews could be boiled down to a simple "buy the book" or "don't buy the book". Having got that out of the way, this is the best autobiography I have ever read. Period.

Michael Collins has produced what should be the definitive text for any writing class and for any history class dealing with the latter half of the 20th Century. The writing is clear and concise. The technical subject matter does not overwhelm the human story. Humor is woven throughout (Collins alone in the bar telling the bartender that he's going "up there" - which earns him considerable distance from the bartender and no more drinks after the first). For someone who was literally one of the chosen few and came out on top in a competition among the "best of the best", the self-deprecating style is delightful and, quite frankly, refreshing. Nothing can be better than an important story, well told. This is it.

Three sad points, however. First, I am unaware that Michael Collins ever wrote another completely unique book (his second outing was a somewhat simplified version of this book). We are all poorer off as a result. Using this work as an example, I would buy a book on the pros and cons of wet socks if it was written by Michael Collins.

Second, while men like Michael Collins are probably still around, I am not sure that we are giving them the opportunity to show us the greatness we can achieve when we put our minds to it. This book reminds us that real heroes aren't judged on what their latest movie did at the box office or what their latest baseball contract is worth. Men like Collins signed on to risk their lives as part of a group accomplishing something that was truly exciting and worthwhile. Can any of us even name one astronaut from the latest shuttle or ISS mission (not including kid singers who want to buy a ride - or have others buy it for them)? The fact that times have changed so much from Collins' heydays is sad.

Third, this is the second copy of this book that I have had to purchase. Against my better judgment, I loaned my first copy to a friend (just who I can't now recall) and never saw it again. I'm telling the next guy who asks to borrow this one to go out and buy his own. I suggest you do the same.

And oh yeah - buy the book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Reeve Lindbergh's memoir offers a uniquely intimate portrait of her family led by her intensely private father, aviator Charles Lindbergh, and mother, writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Under a Wing captures both her parents' complex personalities with immediacy and intimacy. Reeve explores the contrast between a loving father who "would parade imaginary animals across our backs" and the exacting patriarch who, upon return from his frequent absences, called each of his five children into his office to peruse a handwritten list of their achievements and failures. She seems anguished in her response to one of Charles's notorious, bigoted speeches: "How could someone who spoke the words my father did in 1941," she asks, "how did such a person then raise children who by his instruction and his example, day after day and year after year, had learned from him ... that such words were repellent and unspeakable?" She offers too a blunt but tender portrait of Anne in old age--she has been physically and mentally impaired by a series of stroke--that proves she has a mature understanding of a deeply loving woman who nonetheless always held some part of herself in reserve for her writing. This impressive memoir brings readers close to the private people within two legendary public figures. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Raves for Reeve
This beautifully written book tells what it's like to grow up as one of the Lindbergh children. What otherwise was a most private family, Reeve opens the door to their New England home and lets us see the personal side of Charles and Anne. She writes honestly, though at times it must hurt, and does address the subject of the kidnapping head on. If you've ever had an interest in any facet of the Lindberghs' life, do not miss this important book.

Opens the door to a mysterious family
There can be no doubt that Reeve Lindbergh's memoir is the most touching book about that family that I have read. Through her eyes we go beyond the covers of other books and see what it really meant to be a Lindbergh.

They were almost a closed society onto themselves, yet they still experienced the same joys and sorrows as the rest of us. We find the man who was depised as an isolationist to be a concerned and loving father who read to his children.

We dine with the children at their grandmother's house and we soar above the Connecticut house on Saturdays. The famed aviator at the controls and a bored child in the rear seat.

After reading this book I felt very attached to this famous family. Being the same age as Reeve herself, my only knowledge of the Lindbergh's was the famous flight and the kidnapping as I read in history books. Now, after this book, I feel as though I have become part of them.

It can only be summed up in one word, wonderful.

Brilliantly written autobiographical essays
Previous reviews are accurate about the quality of this book and the content, but neglect to mention that it is an extraordinary work of literature. Ms. Lindbergh has composed a series of memory-reflections (she consciously eschews hyphenations like that but I don't know how else to say it), connecting each to the next like a string of pearls. The prose is beautiful, the depth of detail always just right, the psychological observations and self-reflections are compelling, and though her book is more thematically focused, I would rank it with Arthur Miller's "Timebends" among brilliant autobiographical essays. A little-known gem of a book. And look at that cover photo!

Read More by Reeve Lindbergh
I have nothing to add about this fascinating, well-written book. But I do want to urge people who have read Under A Wing, and other books about the Lindberghs, or by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, to also read Reeve's novel, The Names of Mountains. It provides another side of the story of this family. A fictionalized account of growing up Lindbergh, it provides insight into Reeve's experiences and her relationship with her mother, and the sorrows and joys they shared.

The cover tells a story of its own.
I have read Mr. Bergh's book, and the fairly recent Biography of Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I also have come across references to Mr. Lindbergh in many histories of WW II. Finally, I have read about the trial that followed the death of their first child.

The book's cover is telling and comments made by Ms. Lindbergh about her Family seem to fall into 2 categories, her Father, and everyone else. Mrs. Lindbergh clearly was the parent to whom credit for the children of this Family must be given.

What does it say when a family feels "relief" whenever the Father leaves. Ms. Lindbergh expresses the same feeling at his death. Her sense of relief did not read as though she was happy his sickness was over, rather relief he, or part of who he was had gone.

Her awareness of her Father's anti-Semitic speeches, and his role as spokesperson for America First, slammed into this woman in College. It was not a minor discovery for her. Her Father may have been the first man to make a given flight, and for that there is nothing to detract from. His conduct after the celebrity set in was anything but well handled. As a Father one other reader described him as a tyrant, I believe his kids were terrified of him, and one Son's story she touches upon sheds light on the issue.

The book was a little light in presentation, just like A. Scott Bergh's book was. But even that book described a man who built a wire enclosure outside and instructed his first child be placed in it, mid-winter to "fend for himself".

Ms. Lindbergh shares much although not necessarily in the sharpest of focus. What I would love to read are the writings of Anne Morrow Lindbergh if and when they ever are released. Some have been, some have not.

This was not Jimmy Stewart playing Lindbergh, this was the real man, and he was seriously lacking.

Mrs. Anne Morrow Lindbergh played herself, and from all I have read, that person was someone very special. ... Read more

Book Description

"...a rewarding personal portrait." --Washington Post Book World ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Biography for Elementary Students
This biography of Charles Lindbergh is especially good for younger readers. It covers the span of his life from boyhood in Minnesota to his death in Hawaii. The book gives children an idea of why he began to fly and what drove him to achieve all that he did. It briefly covers the baby kidnapping, in only a few paragraphs and without much detail, but enough information for the younger children. It also covers his service to our country during WWII. This book was my 3rd grader's Biography Project and was very useful. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Charles Lindbergh is fascinating both as a complicated man and as a case study of the problematic nature of "heroes." Lindbergh's famous flight put him in the history books and made him the toast of America. The tragic kidnapping of his child made his name even more familiar.But his peculiar politics and wartime actions, which included Nazi affiliations and leadership of the original "America First" movement opposing war against Germany, added a notorious quality to his fame.Pulling no punches, this biography tells the interesting story of the man and the legends that surround Lindbergh.The well-researched book draws from interviews and includes period photos. (Ages 10 and up) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An inspirational read
This biography about Charles A. Lindbergh covers his whole life from childhood through his eventual depression and death.

Charles Lindbergh lived an interesting life. His first son was kidnapped and murdered. His father was a politician for the state of Minneapolis. His grandpa spent a lot of time with him and also was a great inventer. All of these helped me really get into the book. At certain points I didn't want to put the book down!

I also liked this book because I could relate to him. He was bad in school but turned out to be a hero. He didn't like school, went to collage and didn't do well once again. Then, he went to flight school and found flying was what he really enjoyed. After discovering this interest, Charles Lindbergh soon became a hero. This story was inspirational to me.

An American Hero
This is a fascinating and interesting book, full of hiddenfacts that force the reader to become involved in the book. Togetherwe share his triumphs and tragedies: we are with him when he flies theAtlantic, we are there when he loses his son. A must read for all those who have fantasised of being a hero. ... Read more