No More Worlds to Conquer: Sixteen People Who Defined Their Time – And What They Did Next

by Chris Wright

What do you do with the rest of your life, after you’ve achieved brilliance at an early age? This is the question posed by celebrated-journalist Chris Wright to some of the most renowned adventurers, athletes and politicians of the twentieth century. What happens if you are an athlete or gymnast and your career peaks at 14, like Nadia Comaneci, who scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic competition – and the second, and the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. What is the next challenge for the likes of adventurer Reinhold Messner, when you have climbed all the really tall mountains? Where do you take your career, when you’ve achieved the impossible and walked on the moon? In this far-reaching and illuminating book, Chris Wright travels the globe, talking to Apollo astronauts, record breakers, world leaders and prisoners of war, people whose defining moments came early in their life, and asks a rare but captivating what happened next?

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

432 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2015

Reviews

[Lisibo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Beyond basic general knowledge I knew little about most of the people featured (with the exception of John McCarthy whose rather lovely face graced the news nightly in my teenage years) but was thoroughly drawn into the world of their achievements, both initial as they achieved fame and acclaim, and subsequently as they lived the rest of their lives. I loved the variety of subjects - astronauts and explorers alongside a gymnast, a singer, a footballer, airline staff and prisoners of war - and there wasn't a chapter that I rushed to finish. In fact I rationed myself so I concentrated fully on each story. The author's writing style kept me hooked and he drew such vivid, colourful pen portraits of the subjects that I felt I knew them quite well by the end. i also felt passionately about things that mattered to the subjects, like child seats on planes.
I throughly recommend this book to anyone who is inquisitive, loves remarkable stories and wonders what happened next.
I hope there's going to be a sequel!

[Radiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of us live our lives striving for something. A goal, a dream; an intention. Unfortunately, some of us will never achieve it. I’m not referring to the modest goals, of course. These are goals of a different nature, goals of a magnitude that the common man would not dare to even dream of – of reaching the stark depths of the Mariana Trench, or walking on the moon while they are still relatively young in age. This book is about the people who have reached that goal…and what became of them after that. Some set out specifically in that direction, and some stumbled into it.

It answers that question – What now? We all have experienced it in some way - once we complete a goal, is to ask, what next? What more these achievements of such greatness that the achievers frequently are forever defined by said triumph and likely, every other accomplishment afterwards will not be treated with the same reverence. The book is very easy to read and the writer’s self-depracating humour is evident throughout, as well as his impressions of the various personalities featured.

The book is a collection of interviews with 16 names who will forever go down in history as achieving the (almost) impossible, and what they went on to do afterwards. Particularly fascinating to me was a Sandakan survivor (a POW horror in South-East Asia during WWII) who found his way out of his personal nightmares and went on with his life – an enormous effort and one echoed almost continually with all POWs from Asia. His story though, is slightly different, as the Sandakan march had very few survivors to tell their story and a secrecy policy practiced by the British government which kept their experience from being told until much later. These are names who defined their generation and provided a benchmark for the next generation.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE: Now finished and this book was a great read. Took me a while because I dipped in and dipped out, which the form encourages. Wright has the ideal combination for a book of this type — an English, self-deprecating persona wrapped around a well-researched and highly knowledgeable journalist. His insightful, witty style is a joy to read. The chapter on the Sandakan survivor Russ Ewin was particularly poignant and brought tears to my eyes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED....
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Only part-way through this book but it's wonderfully written, engaging and a great work to dip in and out of. I so enjoyed the chapter on the astronauts, and I'm currently reading the one on Nadia Comanici. Wright has the ability to lay out difficult or contested versions of a life, and keep them as part of a cohesive narrative that embraces the contradictory nature of complex human lives. Full disclosure: I know Chris, but I wouldn't be enthusing about his work if it didn't deserve it.

[Narelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Enjoyed reading how their lives took different paths after that one main event they are remembered for. I knew a few of the people interviewed but not all of them so it was interesting to learn more about them. Favourite was Nadia as this was my era. Highly recommended this book to anyone interested in reading about amazing people of our time. Chris Wright writes beautifully, capturing the emotions and memories of each individual helping the reader to really relate to each person. This book has motivated me to achieve at least one great thing in my life to be remebered for. Thanks Chris.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book full of some great stories.

[Milton Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painful slog of a book, but ultimately really inspiring :)

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really interesting book about really interesting people - some you'll have heard of, others maybe not. Well worth a read.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through a Goodreads giveway.

This book was full of amazing people who had remarkable achievements in their lives, some were literally outside of this world. From individuals who walked on the moon to a gymnast who earned perfect 10's at the Olympics, this book focuses on the lives of these people after their achievements. This book took a look at the lives of the people after they achieved greatness and how they dealt with what to do afterwards. The story of the Moonwalkers was especially interesting. What do you do when after you went into space and walked on the moon? What do you do after that? This book explores the lives of people who achieved greatness and what they did after. I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did not focus on 'where are they now?' The real questions were: How did the people transition from a point where there was great public interest in an accomplishment to living the rest of your life? What were they thinking at the time? What do they think now that time has elapsed? It is an interesting read because it presented biographical narratives of people who are still living.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Really interesting and a good range of stories.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Chapter about Apollo 8 especially enlightening, and in particular the post NASA career of Bill Anders.