The Readers discussion

I liked this book. I don't read very much non-fiction. But I have read The Right Stuff and I am sure Mary Roach has read it as well. The Right Stuff made me want to be an astronaut or at the very least a test pilot and Packing for Mars reminded me of all the very good reasons why neither job would be feasible. This is the first book I have read by Roach and I was impressed by her first hand research and her cheerful willingness to go that extra mile.

Can you ask her if she would have gone into space for the purposes of writing the book if that had been possible(I am guessing yes)? Not to the moon maybe, but perhaps a quick one week orbit of the earth?

That's a great question!

i would like to know how she arrived at the subject matter for this book. these are not the typical subjects we arrive at when it comes to space travel.

also, i think it would be an interesting point to raise about the limited amount of space (no pun intended) in the shuttles the men traveled in for days without showers, etc. perhaps elaboration on this point.

Mary Roach was featured at the beginning of one of my favorite podcasts recently, http://www.radiolab.org/people/mary-r....
She is very funny! Should be a great interview!

YAY! Can't wait to read and then listen to this one!

Simon, did she say what her next book is going to be? They mentioned it on that podcast I listened to but for some reason I could never catch the title...something like SLURP?

Simon et al - if you liked this one you may also enjoy 'bonk' and 'stiff'. Both are brilliant!

Thanks Simon for the title! I was kind of close with SLURP :)

While I didn't finish this book, not entirely sure why I lost interest, I did find some interesting things in it. The idea of trying to uncover the psychological attributes that make a successful astronaut was interesting. In my last job, I taught medical students and resident doctors. Sometimes they were so inefficient, unempathic, or lacking in common sense, that I marvelled they got into medical school at all. It's something we're struggling with in medicine, how to find people who will be good doctors. What do you test and how do you test it?

Sort of similar to the astronauts in a way. . . maybe we need to adopt some of the tests, like the 'orogami birds made under time pressure' test. . . maybe that wd help gauge efficiency and work under pressure??

Am looking forward to the podcast even though I didn't finish. . .

i am going to attempt to make some comments!

if the time is for sunday, i can definitely do it! i am so ready to do it.

i'm in for this one! i am going to sit by my computer at 1 PM my time with my headset on waiting for the call from gavin.

woo-hoo!

Can't wait to hear you Elizabeth!

i finished the interview! it was so cool to speak to simon and gavin.

i am excited to listen to the podcast.

please forgive my lapses in vocabulary and insight.

Awesome elizabeth! I can't wait to listen to it. :)

i loved doing it. just to speak to you and gavin. you guys are celebrities in my mind. quite intimidating.

if you haven't read this book, please do. it will make you see space travel in a whole new light.

there are some great stand alone chapters. in fact, all of them may be read this way.

and if you've never thought about space much, this will get you thinking about it from a positive and unique perspective.

I read hardly any non-fiction books, so I was a bit worried I wouldn't like this book. I like sci-fi so you might think that this book would be right up my alley. But real space travel is so much more boring and limited than sci-fi. I needn't have worried, I really enjoyed this book!

The early days of the space program interested me the most, especially the animals sent to space. The fact that the chimp was more popular than the first astronaut was hilarious. As was the problem of what to do to Ham once he died (Stuffing things is something only communists do!).

I would have liked to read more about the big part German scientist and their previous experiments on humans had in the American space program. But I understand why Mary Roach only made one slight remark to the subject, it wouldn't have made light reading. And understandably NASA isn't too keen to talk about it.

jenni,

you should really try some of roach's other books. i've read and .

she takes non-fiction to a whole new level.

Elizabeth, you did a fantastic job on the podcast! You are a natural. :)

Elizabeth wrote: "jenni,

you should really try some of roach's other books. i've read [bookcover:Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers] and [bookcover:Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife].


Stiff sounds very interesting, I might give it a try.

@ tasha,

thank you! i can't listen to it anymore. i just pick out all of the things i did wrong.

I didn't notice anything, really. :)

Mary Roach's new book is out now:

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

I recently saw Gravity and it reminded me of this book. I think it depicts as realistic a portrayal of floating in space on film that is possible. I recommend giving it a look. And surprisingly, I didn't get motion sickness while watching it.

I just read this, a mere year and a half after your book club on it! I loved Roach's humorous style and her ability to pick out the fascinating and lesser known facts about humans in space, but I did have some reservations.

I thought the book lacked a coherent thread, for one thing. Was it meant to be about the possibility of sending humans to Mars or about human space travel to date? Neither was fully focused on. Perhaps it's part of her style, but for me the chapters were too standalone, rather than stringing together a story or argument.

But overall I did really enjoy the read and I learned a tonne of fun anecdotes about space! My full review is here: http://www.noseinabook.co.uk/2014/01/...