Reviews
"Convincing, scary, ribald, and sometimes screamingly funny, Mike Mullane gets to the heart of the real astronaut culture in "Riding Rockets" and puts to rest for all time the superficial image of 'Right Stuff' warriors. Mullane paints the astronaut's yearning and wild sense of accomplishment with the same abandon that he portrays the pitfalls of the bureaucratic web in which they work." -- Walter Boyne, author of "The Wild Blue" and former director of the National Air and Space Museum, "Convincing, scary, ribald, and sometimes screamingly funny, Mike Mullane gets to the heart of the real astronaut culture in Riding Rockets and puts to rest for all time the superficial image of 'Right Stuff' warriors. Mullane paints the astronaut's yearning and wild sense of accomplishment with the same abandon that he portrays the pitfalls of the bureaucratic web in which they work." -- Walter Boyne, author of The Wild Blue and former director of the National Air and Space Museum, "The straight, hot, steaming truth about NASA and flying the wild black yonder from a guy who really did it. Five stars!" -- Stephen Coonts, author of "Flight of the Intruder", "It is a pleasure to read Mike Mullane's entertaining depiction of the NASA astronaut corps. He tells it like it is, and not the way NASA's painted it for so many years." -- General Chuck Yeager, fighter ace, test pilot, and chairman, General Chuck Yeager Foundation, "If you want a peek behind the NASA kimono, this is it! It may be more than you wanted to know about today's all-American boys laying it all on the line to fly the space shuttle. Mike's story is honest...brutally honest. You haven't read it before, and you are not likely to see it in the future." -- Walter Cunningham, "Apollo 7" astronaut and author of "The All-American Boys", "The straight, hot, steaming truth about NASA and flying the wild black yonder from a guy who really did it. Five stars!" -- Stephen Coonts, author ofFlight of the Intruder, "The straight, hot, steaming truth about NASA and flying the wild black yonder from a guy who really did it. Five stars!" -- Stephen Coonts, author of Flight of the Intruder, "Mike Mullane took me back on a revealing journey to NASA. In these pages I discovered the adventures of the shuttle astronauts. Through palace intrigue, trials and tribulations, triumph and tragedy, Mike exposes it all. What a change from the early days! Maybe I was born too soon!" -- James A. Lovell, commander of "Apollo 13" and author of "Apollo 13: Lost Moon", "If you want a peek behind the NASA kimono, this is it! It may be more than you wanted to know about today's all-American boys laying it all on the line to fly the space shuttle. Mike's story is honest...brutally honest. You haven't read it before, and you are not likely to see it in the future." -- Walter Cunningham,Apollo 7astronaut and author ofThe All-American Boys, "It has been suggested that NASA should send a poet into space to properly describe it, but I'm happy to report that is no longer required. Mike Mullane is a poet-astronaut who in this marvelous book allows those of us who never got there to see, hear, feel, even taste the wonders of the high frontier of space. Riding Rockets is the story of space-age America in all its glory and folly as seen through the eyes of a remarkable writer, who has brilliantly captured the triumphant and tragic years of the space shuttle era. You may think you don't care about space or astronauts, but trust me, make an exception for this memoir. Quite simply, Riding Rockets soars." -- Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys, "I never thought I'd say this about an astronaut's memoir but Mike Mullane's Riding Rockets is as inspiring, triumphant, thought-provoking, and truly remarkable as, well, that classic memoir known as Rocket Boys/October Sky by Homer Hickam. It has been suggested that NASA should send a poet into space to properly describe it but I'm happy to report that is no longer required. Mike Mullane is a poet-astronaut who in this marvelous book allows those of us who never got there to see, hear, feel, even taste the wonders of the high frontier of space. Make no mistake: this is far more than a report written by an astronaut about his orbital adventures. This is the touching tale of a childhood spent vagabonding around the country within a colorful but flawed family, of a young man desperate to be accepted in a society he doesn't fully understand, of a marriage nearly crushed under the demands and temptations of astronaut fame, and, finally, of the grand adventure of riding the amazing but always potentially deadly Space Shuttle. In short, this is the story of space-age America in all its glory and folly as seen through the eyes of a remarkable writer who has brilliantly captured the triumphant and tragic years of the Space Shuttle era. You may think you don't care about space or astronauts but trust me, make an exception for this memoir. Quite simply, Riding Rockets soars." -- Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys, "I thoroughly enjoyed Riding Rockets. It gave me exactly what I was hoping for: not just the nuts and bolts of training and working as an astronaut, but the joys, frustrations, fears, struggles, and wonder of traveling in space. I highly recommend Mullane's story." -- Dale Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Act of War, "It has been suggested that NASA should send a poet into space to properly describe it, but I'm happy to report that is no longer required. Mike Mullane is a poet-astronaut who in this marvelous book allows those of us who never got there to see, hear, feel, even taste the wonders of the high frontier of space. "Riding Rockets" is the story of space-age America in all its glory and folly as seen through the eyes of a remarkable writer, who has brilliantly captured the triumphant and tragic years of the space shuttle era. You may think you don't care about space or astronauts, but trust me, make an exception for this memoir. Quite simply, "Riding Rockets" soars." -- Homer Hickam, author of "Rocket Boys", "I thoroughly enjoyed "Riding Rockets." It gave me exactly what I was hoping for: not just the nuts and bolts of training and working as an astronaut, but the joys, frustrations, fears, struggles, and wonder of traveling in space. I highly recommend Mullane's story." -- Dale Brown, "New York Times" bestselling author of "Act of War", "Mike Mullane took me back on a revealing journey to NASA. In these pages I discovered the adventures of the shuttle astronauts. From palace intrigue, trials and tribulations, triumph and tragedy, Mike exposes it all. What a change from the early days! Maybe I was born too soon!"-- James A. Lovell, Commander of Apollo 13 and author of Apollo 13: Lost Moon
