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4.5 

Carrying the Fire

By Michael Collins
Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Reissued with a new preface by the author on the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 journey to the moon

The years that have passed since Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon in July 1969 have done nothing to alter the fundamental wonder of the event: man reaching the moon remains one of the great events—technical and spiritual—of our lifetime.

In Carrying the Fire, Collins conveys, in a very personal way, the drama, beauty, and humor of that adventure. He also traces his development from his first flight experiences in the Air Force, through his days as a test pilot, to his Apollo 11 space walk, presenting an evocative picture of the joys of flight as well as a new perspective on time, light, and movement from someone who has seen the fragile earth from the other side of the moon.

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73 Reviews

4.5
“Probably my new favorite book from the Apollo program! I adored Mike Collin’s writing. Unlike other books I’ve read it was truly an autobiography, written in first person. He’s brutally honest, I’m convinced he did not care who read his story. He was going to tell it as it had been. He speaks of his own experience through the Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 missions. I enjoyed his lense/the viewpoint from which he experienced space flight. It was a job, but a pleasure as well. I also love all the technical talk in the book, it’s so fun to read. Also interesting to hear about what Columbia did while it orbited the moon during the first lunar landing. Would recommend highly to any space lover!”
“I loved this!! So interesting and witty. I want to be this man’s friend. He’s written it so well (on his own I will add) and made a very confusing topic (the Gemini and Apollo space programs) understandable and enjoyable. Feel like I knew nothing about it and now I’m hooked.”

About Michael Collins

Michael Collins (1930-2021) was an astronaut, one of 24 who have flown to the moon. A West Point graduate, he was an Air Force jet-fighter pilot and a test-pilot before being recruited by NASA in 1963 as a member of the third astronaut group selected for the Apollo moon project. Lieutenant Colonel Collins flew in the Gemini 10 space mission, orbiting the earth forty-three times in 1966, and piloted the Apollo 11 module for the 1969 lunar mission which put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon’s surface.

After NASA, Collins became director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, then under secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and vice president of the LTV Aerospace and Defense Company. He held the rank of major general when he retired from the Air Force Reserve.


Collins recounted his experiences as an astronaut in the memoirs Carrying the Fire and Flying to the Moon.

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