Customer Reviews

Waystation to the Stars: The Story of Mir, Michael and Me

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As a Brit, and having followed Mike Foales exploits at NASA this book just adds to the hope that some things really are possible, no matter how hard they may seem. But the beauty of it is simply that through this book, he seems just a normal guy, just like any of us. It doesn't swamp you with the science, but shows the human side to the challenges we face, and makes you smile through little things like him reminding his wife to pay the bills whilst he's on the Mir and promising to put the rubbish out again once he's back.

Having read "Dragonfly" I was worried that it would be a re-hash, but I can say that it most certainly is not. The tone is different (no doubt because it is written by his father) and it adds a far greater insight into what the crew experienced.

It was definitely "un-put-downable" and I've even re-read the book which, trust me, I rarely do. Definitely the best by a long way in comparison with "Dragonfly" and Linenger's new offering.

One wife of an Apollo Astronaut once said, "If you think it's hard being an astronaut, you should be his wife." In this book the viewpoint of Colin Foal, a RAF pilot with a distinguished career in his own right, shows the view of the Foale Clan here in the US and England whlie son and NASA Astronaut Michael Foal spends 4 months on the Mir Space Station. During his stay, astronaut Foale contends with an onboard collision, power failures and the workings of Mir, built for 5 years in space and still going on. On earth the Foale family contends with the media quick to point out the problems of the weary station without recognizing the achievements made by Foale and his Russian crewmates. A great read to gain insight into living on the Mir and how the family at home copes with the perils of spaceflight.

This is the story of Michael Foale's stay aboard Mir, as related by his father Colin. It would be hard to find a more enthusiastic and joyful astronaut than Michael, even though his life had been touched by tragedy he seems to have enjoyed every moment of what was an eventful and dangerous mission aboard Mir. Fire, collision, computer failure - the spacecraft was a basket case, but Michael was unfailingly cheerful as he helped patch it up as well as keep in contact with a multitude of correspondents by e-mail.

His father tells Michael's story as well as that of his family and he share's his son's delight in life. This is a remarkable story of what could so easily have been a tale of bitter disappointment.

Reccomended reading for those interested in the US-Russian space alliance in general and Mir in particular.

One wife of an Apollo Astronaut once said, "If you think it's hard being an astronaut, you should be his wife." In this book the viewpoint of Colin Foal, a RAF pilot with a distinguished career in his own right, shows the view of the Foale Clan here in the US and England whlie son and NASA Astronaut Michael Foal spends 4 months on the Mir Space Station. During his stay, astronaut Foale contends with an onboard collision, power failures and the workings of Mir, built for 5 years in space and still going on. On earth the Foale family contends with the media quick to point out the problems of the weary station without recognizing the achievements made by Foale and his Russian crewmates. A great read to gain insight into living on the Mir and how the family at home copes with the perils of spaceflight.

This book provides the reader on a short excerpt on the history of Foale's family experience on Michael's launch into the outer space which gave Britain much of credit in the advancement and contribution to astrophysics (Britain has long lost its global prominence since Queen Victoria deceased in 1901).

We've learned through this book that Michael lost his brother, Christopher, in a tragic car-crash along the coast of Dinaric Alps on a twisty turn somewhere in Montenegro. After this loss, Michael has gained unexpected amount of maturity and determination which made him strive to achieve into a state of unbelievability.

15 years after Michael's successful mission the Mir, his son and daughter, Ian and Jenna, have matured into young adults. So, the question remains, will his offsprings continue to elongate Michael's hard-earned leagacy, or will their talents be completely tainted by the sick world that we live in today? Only through observation, we shall know the truth.