Too Far From Home

A Story of Life and Death in Space

De: Chris Jones

Narrado por: Erik Davies

An incredible true-life adventure set on the most dangerous frontier of all - outer space

For a special breed of individual, the call of space is worth the risk it entails: men such as US astronauts Donald Pettit and Kenneth Bowersox, and Russian flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, who in November 2002 left on what was to be a routine 14-week mission maintaining the International Space Station.

But then, on February 1, 2003, the Columbia exploded beneath them. With the launch program suspended indefinitely, these astronauts had suddenly lost their ride home.

Too Far from Home chronicles the efforts of the beleaguered Mission Controls in Houston and Moscow as they work frantically against the clock to bring their men safely back to Earth.

Chris Jones writes beautifully of the majesty and mystique of space travel, while reminding us all how perilous it is to soar beyond the sky.

©2007 Chris Jones (P)2007 Random House Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[Jones'] story combines gripping narrative and strongly defined characters.... Jones' reporting is filled with details of life aboard the space station...That sort of frank talk enhances readers' identification with the astronauts, making their drama all the more engrossing." (Publishers Weekly)

Great read!

A little confusing going back and forth but there is so much info so i understand..

Metaphorical Nightmare

The idea of this story seemed very interesting. What happens to the astronauts that are on the International Space Station when their main form of transport has been grounded? Unfortunately, Mr. Jones writing leaves something to be desired. Like others have said in their reviews, his constant use of metaphors in describing EVERYTHING became exhausting and distracting. I found myself skipping ahead just to bypass these eye roll moments. I am not saying the usage of metaphors is a bad thing, just that the frequency and sometimes ridiculousness of Jones' usage became too much.
Also, and this could just be me, Jones did not shine a particularly great light on the two American Astronauts, Pettit and Bowersox. The more the story progressed, the less I liked these individuals and found their selfishness and lack of consideration for their wives and children frustrating. To be fair, this could have been the way the author portrayed them in the book and not who they are in real life. But, this book in my opinion did them (especially Pettit) no favors.
I will say there were some good moments. I did like the back stories of the astronauts and how they each came to the Space Program. And, for me, the best moments of the book were at the end when they were on their way back to earth. I found that part of the story to be the most gripping.
If you can sift through all the metaphors there is an interesting story here. Just know what you are getting into before you start. I thought I knew what I was getting into by reading the reviews. But, honestly, until I read/listened to the book I did not realize how many analogies I would be subjected to and how frustrating that would become.

A look behind the scences

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is a good book for people interested in the details of what it might be like to be an astronaut or cosmonaut assigned to a long duration space station mission.

The book has an emotional, flowery tone that can be just a bit cloying, but the level of real detail and fascinating detail make up for that.

The audio book production quality is excellent, the narrator does a great job.

Recommended for readers interested in the American and Russian space programs.

I LIKED it.

Some of this book's tone may be described as overwrought - but in a good way. I just plain loved it. The stories, the descriptions and even all the adjectives took me back to the heady excitement and drama of the early days of the "space race," even with the steely-eyed, too-good-to-be-true astronauts. The book was diverting, thought-provoking (I loved the idea of the large and larger concepts of home), exciting and well narrated. If you remember Apollo and Mercury, you will like this book. And if you don't remember them, you need to read this book!

I found it difficult to take off my headphones

Chris Jones draws you into the current space program in ways that bring the events of Columbia's tragedy, current work aboard the ISS as well as the history of space exploration to life. Although some reviews have criticized his overly dramatic style, they forget that NASA teemed with Disney to make the Apollo program more accessible and exciting to people in the 1960s. I loved the artistic flair...it helped me 'see' and relate better to the events he unfolded.

Obviously, I enjoyed listening to this book immensely. More than just listening, I found that I would look up dates, events, people as the chapters went along to learn more about the details behind some of the stories presented. I don't think you even have to be that interested in the space program to find Too Far from Home captivating....but you will finish it wanting to know what happens next. I hope Chris Jones writes more! Erik Davies did a superb narration as well!

Spaceflight fans must listen to this

Very details history of the US astronauts and go throught the whole history of the US and USSR space program... also has a really great cliff hanger ending...

A peek into the mind of Don Pettit

I really appreciate the peek into the curious mind of Don Pettit. He's a national asset.

Almost too far from delightful

This book is factual, well-meaning... and ultimately a bit dry. I recommend this for anyone with an interest in the space program, but don't expect it to be riveting or have much emotional impact. A review in the NY Times (which was how I came upon this) indicated it was a fabulous long article that was now expanded into a book. I can certainly believe that it was a brilliant article- the book has good sources and details, and loses its way in presenting them. I had read Challenger Park earlier and it was fun seeing the amount of "fiction" in that book was actually truth.

Very good story

This story was an excellent quick history of both the Russian and American space programs. The main theme of the story about the astronauts who were stranded on the International Space Station after the loss of the Columbia shuttle in 2003; I found fascinating.

The side tracks the author made on the history of the program gave a lot more insight into the differing mentalities of the American and Russians Astronauts.

The only detractor to this book, for me, was that I felt that the author got overly flowery in describing certain scenes, but that is not often.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a better idea of what it is like to be an astronaut.

An intensely compelling and suspenseful true story

Like the JFK assassination, Challenger explosion and 9/11, space shuttle Columbia's tragic end is one of those "where were you when" events that was so shocking that it made an indelible mark on Americans' collective memory. While "Too Far From Home" retraces some aspects of our history in space, this historic story (whose details were new to me) in many ways starts upon the demise of space shuttle Columbia. Perhaps it was well known at the time but I hadn't realized the seriousness of the dilemma NASA faced when the space shuttle was grounded post-Columbia, stranding three astronauts (U.S. astronauts Donald Pettit and Kenneth Bowersox, and Russian flight engineer Nikolai Budarin) in space on the International Space Station (ISS) without a ride home. I found these three astronauts' story to be very suspenseful and compelling.

While some books about space travel are technical and explain every scientific nuance, "Too Far From Home" focuses on the human stories in the aftermath of Columbia. That focus on the human experience is what makes this audiobook so intensely compelling: The grief the three astronauts on ISS experienced upon learning about their colleagues on the Columbia, the challenges they overcame in rationing food, water and other resources while awaiting a ride home, the loss of control experienced by NASA officials when the best solution was to use an untested new Russian spacecraft to retrieve the stranded astronauts, and the very real risks these three astronauts faced during their journey home.

Between the true story authored by Chris Jones and Erik Davies' excellent narration, this was one of the most suspenseful audiobooks I've ever listened to... I highly recommend it to those interested in space history or human drama.