An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

I came into the Commander Hadfield craze a bit late, mostly hearing from other people about this guitar-playing, tweeting, mustachioed astronaut. And I think some of the magic of the book may work better if you'd ridden along with him on his adventures in the International Space Station (ISS). As such, it's still pretty magical, but much less familiar.

Ostensibly an autobiography, it provides a very short, whirlwind overview of Hadfield's first 50 years, dips persistently into Dale Carnegie-style Tips On Living, and then spends a looong time going into gritty details about his last ISS mission. It's incredibly readable, with breezy, simple language that made me think it'd be useful also as an “introductory” text for younger readers (e.g. middle school, high school).

Inevitably, it made me think of Red Mars, which is a wonderful, realist look at a long mission to Mars. Hadfield's personality - disciplined but good-humored, intelligent but not intellectual - rang true, both in terms of the Air Force people I have met and the characters in Red Mars and other “hard” sci fi books.