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What's It Like in Space?: Stories from Astronauts Who've Been There Hardcover – Illustrated, April 5, 2016

by Ariel Waldman (Author), Brian Standeford (Illustrator)

4.2 132 ratings

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Everyone wonders what it's really like in space, but very few of us have ever had the chance to experience it firsthand. This captivating illustrated collection brings together stories from dozens of international astronauts—men and women who've actually been there—who have returned with accounts of the sometimes weird, often funny, and awe-inspiring sensations and realities of being in space. With playful artwork accompanying each, here are the real stories behind backwards dreams, "moon face," the tricks of sleeping in zero gravity and aiming your sneeze during a spacewalk, the importance of packing hot sauce, and dozens of other cosmic quirks and amazements that come with travel in and beyond low Earth orbit.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Houston, we have a winner." - Oprah Magazine

"[A] captivating illustrated collection." - Smithsonian Magazine

"...a delightful mini-coffee table book about all the awkward and beautiful moments you can have in space, based on dozens of interviews with people who have actually been there. If you're looking for a fun read about life outside the gravity well, check out What's It Like In Space?"
- Ars Technica

"This charmingly illustrated book is much meatier than its diminutive size would suggest. These snippets are so clear, so beautifully curated, that they really do leave you with a sense of what it must be like to float miles above Earth." – Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

Ariel Waldman is the global instigator of Science Hack Day, a fellow at the Institute for the Future, a National Academy of Sciences committee member, a White House Champion of Change for Citizen Science, and the founder of Spacehack.org, a directory of ways to participate in space exploration. She lives in San Francisco.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chronicle Books (April 5, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1452144761
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1452144764
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.63 x 6.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,631,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #182 in Science & Scientists Humor
- #2,275 in Astrophysics & Space Science (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 132 ratings

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Ariel Waldman

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Ariel Waldman creates imaginative projects that explore the world below our feet and beyond our atmosphere.

She is the author of "What’s It Like in Space?: Stories from Astronauts Who’ve Been There" and hosted and produced the show Offworld that explored all things space exploration and pop culture. As an Antarctic explorer, Ariel embarks on expeditions to film life under the ice, which became the subject of her TED Talk. She is a National Geographic Explorer and a consultant to the Science & Entertainment Exchange.

Previously, Ariel has served as the advisory chair to NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program and the co-author of a congressionally-requested National Academy of Sciences’ report on the future of human spaceflight. An art school graduate who pivoted to science, she was recognized by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change in citizen science. When not in Antarctica, she lives in San Francisco.

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4.2 out of 5

132 global ratings

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William J. Pomerantz

Beautiful, fun, and informative. A quick read.

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book was a lot of fun. It's a quick read, and a bit silly in places--but those of those are features, rather than bugs.

It would make a great gift for any space fan of almost any age; I've shared it with kids and teenagers, and they've enjoyed it just as much as I did as a professional working in the aerospace industry.

Relevant to one of the other comments left here, you should know what you are getting into before buying this book. It's not a full length. 75,000 word tome: it's a small book (about the size of a music CD case, I'd guess) that's beautiful to look at and full of intriguing and fun facts about the human experience of being an astronaut in space. If that's what you are looking for, you'll be very satisfied with your purchase. Ms. Waldman is a great story teller with an excellent eye for graphic design, and it shows in this book.

7 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great quick read with fun random fact about space.

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2017

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Makes for quick enlightening read. Many topics you hadnt thought about and are great topic starters. Thought provoking.

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John McDonald

Replaces the Romance of Space Travel with the Gritty and Fascinating and often Beautiful Details of Life in Space

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2016

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Something like 500 people have been to space and back. A few of those, beyond Earth orbit, and fewer still have walked on the Moon. What is it really like? *Really?* Space is a dangerous place, full of exotic effects on the human organism. People are fascinated by the intimate details of life in space, life amongst the astronauts. We like to ask what it's like to go to the bathroom in space. How's the food? Can you propel yourself with farts? This book sets out to answer a bunch of these questions, using the stories from astronauts and support crews, the women and men who have made the journey, the first humans to expand the species into the beyond. This small book is beautifully designed, with vibrant graphics illustrating anecdotes of less than a single page each. It is easy to assume the book is targeted at a young audience, but adult readers will get a lot of enjoyment out of the book, as well. (Though there are a few intimate questions an adult may ask that are not answered here.) The book is great to look at and to hold, fascinating and educational to read. A lot of fun.

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2016

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This book is such a delight! Full of bite size anecdotes and curious facts about living and working in space, each coupled with bright quirky illustration that are a wonderful launchpad to spacey daydreams. It's a quick read but you'll want to take it slow, take in the art and pros and the wonder of what it really feels like to be floating above this planet. It can be enjoyed cover to cover but each chapter stands very well on its on, perfect for dipping in at any point. I've read far denser books about the experience of space flight and still there were wonderful surprises and novel and very personal points of view in this little book. Its footprint is a compact square, a lovely little art book. Perfect for a stocking stuffer, coffee table, or "bathroom book".

One person found this helpful

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FrogHollerFarm

Children's book?

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2021

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I'm a senior & love reading about space travel.
This book appears to be geared toward children. Disappointed in the book.

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2016

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Cute little book. It's got some surprising anecdotes, fun to read, you can get through the entire book in 15-20 minutes. Makes a good gift for someone who is into the idea of space exploration.

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Jindrich Vackar

Fun book to learn about the difficulty and the fun of living in space

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2016

Verified Purchase

A fun book with a lot of small stories and bizarreries about the life of astronauts on board the space stations. Beside the unglamour details of the daily life in space (diaper, sickness, depression...) that confirm that space is hard, the author also reveals some interesting facts on what astronauts feel while living over there and looking at us, the Earth nest. An easy read and a great present idea for all space aficionados.

One person found this helpful

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BethBeck

Buy this for all your friends!

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

Space geeks... or wannabes, this book is for YOU! I really love the stories and the fun space art illustrations [I want page 086 as a poster for my office]. I've worked at NASA over 30 years and heard many astronaut stories, but Ariel tells stories I haven't heard before. I loved Don Pettit's luminous dancing fairies, Sandy Magnus' cloud and earth art, and ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst's orange glowing Space Station over Africa. Ariel, thanks for putting these treasures together in a book. Now I have a new go-to space gift for colleagues and friends. I hope one day, as you point out, spaceflight stories won't need to be in a book because it will be as ordinary as traveling by plane.

3 people found this helpful

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Alida Schober

Tolles Buch!

Reviewed in Germany on February 11, 2020

Verified Purchase

Ein sehr tolles Buch, liebevoll gestaltet und mit witzigen und gleichsam spannenden Fakten versehen.
Ein Muss für alle, die sich für das Thema Raumfahrt interessieren.
Nichts Wissenschaftliches, aber eben ein sehr tolles Buch zum schmunzeln

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Andrew

Short and pithy

Reviewed in Australia on December 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

This isn't a detailed book that covers any topic in depth. Instead you'll find a page on each subject with just a couple of teaser paragraphs and a quirky illustration that fills the opposing page. An easy read but nowhere near as satisfying as Mary Roach's book, "Packing for Mars".

Amazon Customer

Big things in small packages

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

What a lovely book. Brilliant concept and artwork with lots of funny, crazy facts about what it's like in space. Something we've been talking about a lot in our house as we follow Tim Peak's 6 month stay up in the stars which has inspired my daughter to be a Space Scientist. It's book that is equally engaging for both of us to read together.

This will be my go to present for a fair few birthdays to come.

One person found this helpful

Claudio

Un libriccino molto interessante

Reviewed in Italy on April 17, 2016

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Ricco di aneddoti riguardo gli aspetti più buffi della vita nello spazio, una lettura rapida e appassionante
Un acquisto consigliato

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François VARAS

Lecture recommandée pour les enthousiastes de l'exploration de l'espace.

Reviewed in France on April 8, 2016

Verified Purchase

C'est un livre très amusant, sympathique et qui raconte de façon très intime les détails du jour à jour de la vie dans l'espace.
Je l'ai commencé hier soir et je n'ai pas pu m'arrêter jusqu'à ce que je suis arrivé à la dernière page.
Même si c'est en Anglais, il ne faut pas hésiter, c'est écrit dans un langage clair et simple.

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