Too Far From Home: A Story of Life and Death in Space (ISBN 0739341995)

not just another space book:
I have never really gotten involved in the typical space/astronaut/nasa books before. This is really written by someone who truly understands the human phenomenon. I couldn't put the book down, and was sad when it was over. How many non fiction books can you say that about? I learned so much about the space program, and came to love the real folks who serve it. I was able to identify with the wives, and with the feelings of isolation and disconnect that the astronauts experienced as well.

Warning: Lame Pun Ahead:
Merely in terms of insider astronaut/cosmonaut history, gossip, and lore (did you know Tank Girl is the cult film of the American female astronaut corps?), Chris Jones' book would be a great read, but add the true story of the American-Russian space station crew left stranded in orbit after the Colombia space shuttle burned up on re-entry, and it's . . . forgive me . . . an out-of-this-world read.

OK, but not Great:
Jones is a very compelling writer; however, in his attempt to novelize his non-fiction account, he strays way too far from the central story so many times that after 100 pages the reader is quite annoyed. Yes, we get it that he can write and construct witty allegories, but this book is a good 100 pages too long and far too overwritten.

Great story harmed by the author's overzealous need to be descriptive:
I'm not a space junkie in any respects. This was actually my first space book. I don't even like sci-fi novels. I mainly read non-fiction books of all themes (except space). I happened upon this book while at the library when I glimpsed its cover and thought I'd give it a read. However, twenty-five pages or so into my journey I began to feel the collective cogs of my rocket ship begin to gum up with too much descriptive sludge. Here's the deal... descriptions are necessary, especially for things such as space travel where so few of us lack the actual experience. However, I felt the authors' intrusive descriptive hand kept distracting me from an otherwise great story. "Like a magician training an apprentice, he taught Pettit tricks. He stretched him, too, and groomed him for big dreaming - engineers had picked up from God building the world." Hu? (pg 73) It's also very obvious the author is a sports writer, a fact I hadn't actually realized until much later when I read his bio. Examples: " ...trying to pick out planets that looked more like fuzzy footballs" and "A throw-in with his sneakers made him want desperately to look over Glenn's shoulder and enjoy the same view" (pg 73). I don't know, do you throw-in your sneakers to look over someone's shoulders? I do realize some people do and will enjoy this author's writing style, unfortunately I did not, which is why I rate it so low. To give the author some credit, it does sound like he did a lot of research (though apparently not all together accurate according to more knowledgeable reviewers), and beneath his bravado he does recount an interesting story about space travel over the years, and about the plight of the three astronauts (of which this story is about) stuck in space. As noted by another previous reviewer the book does pick up speed toward the end (last fifty pages or so) when less descriptive narrative is needed to land this thing.

Great for those with interest in life in space.:
I really enjoyed this book. I have always had an interest in the space program since I grew up in Florida and would watch most launches when I was in grade school. There were just a few parts of the book that might not be totally accurate due to the writers background as a sports writer and that is why I gave 4 stars. Happy reading!