Customer Reviews

Off the Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was wrong. I picked up Jerry Linenger's long-overdue book expecting it to be a somewhat bland account of an astronaut's existence aboard Mir. Instead I found it to be eminently readable, and a truly facinating tale, with enough intensely dramatic content to keep me reading beyond each chapter heading. Other reviewers have mentioned his account of the fire aboard Mir - a very harrowing description indeed, but I was fascinated by some of the smaller vignettes, such as his terror at standing on the end of a robotic arm, thrust out and away from the shuttle, feeling like he was in perpetual freefall off a cliff. I've read many books by and about a lot of space explorers, and it was nice to find a solid, human account of life as a recent NASA astronaut. All too often these days the astronauts just seem to be the same person going up on the same shuttle doing the same things, and little is known about them beyond their names. Thank you Jerry for humanising the shuttle-Mir program. But above all else I wish to congratulate him for a superb book written without the ubiquitous ghost-writer. The words are his own, and I feel he's crafted this book superbly. I certainly enjoyed it a great deal, and wish it every success.

Jerry Linenger gets rapped in Dragonfly as being a total egotist, and this book does nothing to dispell the notion. He makes sure to mention in great detail the number of advanced degrees he has, his skills as an athlete, the fact that he got a shuttle flight only two years after being chosen as an astronaut, and so on. (Dragonfly makes it clear that the only reason he got a flight was that the Russians forbade rookies aboard Mir, so he had to get a quick flight before reporting for Mir training. Linenger doesn't mention this, nor his mission commander's dissatisfaction with his performance on his one flight.) There's not a whole lot about anyone else in here, and even most of the photographs are of him and him alone. The quality of the writing also makes it clear that he wrote the book himself without the aid of a professional-not that it's bad, but that it could be better. Gene Kranz did the same, but in that case it seemed to work because one got the feeling that the words were coming straight from the heart.

That being said, this remains an interesting book. Linenger is one of only five American astronauts to spend time aboard Mir and the only one (so far) to write a book it. So hearing his thoughts on the preliminary training and the experience itself remain well worth reading, whatever his faults. The most gripping part is his account of the fire onboard Mir, which was far more dangerous than NASA was originally led to believe. He also provides something of the feel of that unique experience, spending five months in cramped and alien quarters with only intermittent contact with his family.

So, in short, Linenger is not someone I'd enjoy spending much time with, I don't think, but I did enjoy reading his book. Recommended for the space enthusiast or anyone interested in a first-person account of the space program.

It was all I could do to finish this book. I nearly stopped in the middle of the introduction because of the author's incessant egotistical blather. I have never read a more self aggrandizing biography in my life. I am sure that he is the only person interested in the number of doctoral degrees - honorary or otherwise - that he possesses or that he was good enough to win some medals and trophies in his age class in triathalons. Talk about an ugly American. In one breath he decries the abyssmal living conditions facing most Russian citizens and in the next he is complaining that the Russians had not completed his own "duplex" living quarters, palatial by comparison. It is no wonder he was not accepted by the Russians with open arms. Being an Astronaut, I always thought, was about accepting the enormous risks for the honor and thrill of it all and, as a by-product, making the world a better place. It certainly should not be to complain about the risks and then to try to line your own pockets. Obviously, astronauts need and do have healthy egos, but they should be inteligent enough to know how distasteful such an unmitigated display would appear in print. It is a wonder that they could find a helmet big enough to fit this guy

What is it with this guy? Perhaps the answer comes from Bryan Burrough's book, "Dragonfly"(a must-read, if only as an antidote), which yields a far more balanced view of this self-centered egomaniac. While in astronaut training, Linenger's colleagues dubbed him "Hollywood", a name he richly deserves.

No, seriously, I don't question that riding Mir for five months took some heavy stones -- but why no kiss-and-tell books from Linenger's unfortunate Mir-mates? One gets the feeling they wish he'd just go away.

Dangers in space? Well, duh!! Linenger wants it both ways - the "aw shucks, t'ain't nothin'" veneer of a Chuck Yeager, with the recognition of a rock star and our endless appreciation for his "daring". What on earth (pardon the pun) did he expect? An airbone Hilton like the movie 2001? Throughout his odyssey, Linenger adopts the attitude of "what's in it for me?" rather than trying to find ways to contribute to the success of the mission. Gen-x space.

During his five months in orbit, Linenger blew off his ground support crew, antagonized his colleagues, and managed to fully live up to the stereotype of "ugly American."

This book is an embarassment...it's no wonder NASA began distancing itself from Linenger the minute his shuttle flight home touched down. Arguably, other Mir visitors (Michael Foale, in particular) had even hairer moments -- but they've accepted it as part of a very risky job, and not used it as a springboard to stardom. Foale is still on flying status -- Linenger is not. 'Nuff said.

It's interesting to note that most of the truly heroic astronauts(John Young - first shuttle flight, two Apollo flights, Neil Armstrong - first moon walker, Story Musgrave - two Hubble missions, including the repair mission) have shunned the spotlight, while the hacks (Buzz Aldrin, the Ed McMahon of astronauts, and Linenger himself) have tried to trade starlight for limelight.

No Doubt that Jerry Linenger is a very brave very intelligent guy. But this book is 253 pages of self praise and I could barely get through it, particularly the first few chapters. "I am formally Dr.,Dr.,Dr.,Dr.,Dr. Jerry Linenger" "My name properly written is Jerry Michael Linenger, M.D, M.S.S.M.,M.P.H.,Ph.D." The words 'me,my, I' predominate. Other people in the book are glossed over and no one is as smart and clued in as Jerry. The sequence of events is also organized in a disjointed way, it leaps from the present to the future to the past all within one chapter, and there are 27 chapters. It reads like a collection of articles. And he states and restates the same facts over and over. The book does cover some interesting ground, but overall it was disapointing.

What a wasted opportunity. If Dr. Linenger could only have put aside his "mildy" egocentric personallity, and let someone else write this book--I wonder if an editor was even allowed a glance. Yeager, by Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos is a far superior read for someone interested in space pioneers. Too bad the services of someone like Mr. Janos were not employed. I believe everything Dr. Linenger wrote and yet the book had a very defensive tone. He cares too much about what other people think of him as evidenced by his endless rambling-on about how wonderfull he is. Somehow this encredible story comes across as a boring book.

I read this book after reading the superior 'Dragonfly' by Bryan Burrough, and I was hoping that Burrough's stories of Jerry Linenger's monumental ego were false. Sadly, this book confirms them all- Linenger even admits it (though he says he is not the worst of the astronauts). Some of the opening chapters grate somewhat because of this, as Linenger describes just what an incredibly sucessful specimen of humanity he thinks he is. (For an example of this writing style, see the review he has posted on this page- how he says he is still amazed what a good book he has written every time he rereads it.)

Linenger's book does get really good, though, when he gets to MIR. The description of the onboard fire make the whole book worth reading- the bonechilling image Linenger gives is the best I have read, and Linenger's description of the extent and danger of the fire shows just how much it was played down elsewhere at the time. Linenger also gives a wonderful picture of the sheer hard work of life on MIR that Burrough and Colin Foale never quite get across in their books on the same theme.

So, in all, a great read. In some ways, though, I hope it sells badly. Linenger needs the wind knocked out of his sails a bit.

This book is easy to read and has lots of good pictures, so when I first thumbed through the pages I thought it was going to be another PR job for NASA. Much to my delight, when I actually "dug in" I discovered an original, candid and insightful discussion of US-Russian collaboration and of the author's experiences on Mir. Sure, Linenger comes off as a "right stuff" astronaut: after all, you can't earn a series of degrees and succeed as a military officer, as a physician, and a spacefarer unless you have outstanding qualifications and high self confidence. Despite the author's occasionally overbearing "can do" mentality, Linenger offers a balanced view of life aboard an aging Space Station. It is full of useful but usually tasteful detail on how people survive psychologically and relate to one another under prolonged isolation and confinement. The stories are interesting, and in the telling Linenger gives us insights into everything from interpersonal to international relations. I finished this book reminded that living and working in space is a complex, multifaceted endeavor that defies simple analysis. Dr. Linenger's book not only entertains, it increases our understanding of people in exotic and stressful environments. I have read at least two other major books about life on Mir, and still found this one engaging and informative.

Jerry Linenger belongs in space -- the earth is not big enough to fit his ego. The book is pretty boring and repetitive. How many times do we have to be reminded that the shuttle orbits at 17,500 mph ! Most of the good stuff, Mir breakdowns, ground control politics, etc, takes only a few pages to describe. A lot of the rest is constant reminders of how highly Linenger thinks of himself interspersed with tired space cliches. Don't waste your money.

I wonder what political office or career that Dr Linenger has in mind. I found his book to be very self serving with little credit given to others. Obviously not a team player. "Dragonfly" is the better read and strikes a better balance.