An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
by HADFIELD · first published 2013
68% recommend32% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Astronaut memoir full of training and spaceflight anecdotes, showing the dedication, preparation and calm under pressure behind hard goals. Suits readers wanting teamwork and life lessons, including families.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2014–2026The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
Simon Singh
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 116 recommend · 11 mention6 recommend · 116 recommend
2014–2025The Communist Manifesto
David Boyle
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 136 recommend · 13 mention6 recommend · 136 recommend
Eugene Onegin
Alexander Pushkin
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 174 recommend · 17 mention4 recommend · 174 recommend
2010–2026Tai-Pan (Asian Saga
James Clavell
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 97 recommend · 9 mention7 recommend · 97 recommend
2010–2025More money than God
Sebastian Mallaby
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 76 recommend · 7 mention6 recommend · 76 recommend
2018–2024Billion dollar whale
Wright, Tom (Wall Street Journal reporter), Bradley Hope, Tom Wright, Wright, Tom, Hope, Bradley
Recommended by 18 · mentioned by 2218 recommend · 22 mention18 recommend · 2218 recommend
2015–2026The One Thing
Gary Keller, Jay Papasan
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 2515 recommend · 25 mention15 recommend · 2515 recommend
2013–2024The art of thinking clearly
Rolf Dobelli
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 2715 recommend · 27 mention15 recommend · 2715 recommend
It's quite trendy at the moment, but Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari was quite the life changing book. As well as An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Commander Chris Hadfield was a rather inspirational tale.
on “Ask HN: What books have most influenced the way you see the world?” ↗Non-Fiction: - Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman | book on human rationality and irrationality - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield Fiction: - Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality | Petunia married a professor, and Harry grew up reading science and science fiction. http://www.hpmor.com/ - Off to Be the…
on “Ask HN: Read any good books lately?” ↗…reasons, because the group's overall goal is what ultimately matters, not the status of each member. There is a very good book on leadership and how to be a team member by the astronaut Chris Hadfield ("An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth"): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316253030. It's a worthwhile read because if everyone tried to be as professional as an astronaut then most workplaces would be fantastic places to work. That book has generally…
on “How to Brag at Work” ↗An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Col. Chris Hadfield Hadfield's description of the massive preparation that astronauts must go through to be cleared for space flight really shows how seemingly insurmountable tasks can be accomplished…
on “Ask HN: What Books Are You Reading?” ↗I highly recommend reading Chris Hadfield's book "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth". He talks a lot about remaining calm under pressure, and how astronauts train to burn that mentality in. Beyond that, it's simply a great book.
on “The hack that saved the astronauts of the Apollo XIII” ↗Have you read "An Astronaut's guide to life on earth"[1] by Chris Hadfield? Its written in a little more informal context than a to-do list, but it does describe what he (and his family!!!) had to go through. Brilliant read! [1] http://www.amazon.com/Astronauts-Guide-Life-Earth-Determinat...
on “How to Become an Astronaut 101” ↗For anyone who hasn't already read it, I highly recommend 'An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth' by Chris Hadfield. It's a highlt entertaining read with lots of anecdotes from his training and time in space. The book really gives you an appreciation for the immense levels of dedication and focus…
on “Astronaut Selection” ↗…you would like to read about their Soviet counterparts, give Rockets and People [4] a go. Finally, to get an idea of what it is like to live in outer space nowadays, Chris Hadfield's autobiography An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth [5] is a good read. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(mi... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Machines [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_on_the_Moon [4] https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol1_deta...…
on “Ask HN: What are some good educational books about our space program?” ↗"An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth" by Chris Hadfield. I've read many books on self-improvement, software, and start-ups, but nothing left an impression like this one.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books?” ↗My kids, who are in that age range, like to listen to audio books. “Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!” was a hit with them. They also liked Chris Hadfield’s book, “An astronaut's guide to life on Earth“. But in general I listen to what their interests are and where their natural curiosities take them and supplement that.
on “Ask HN: How to get 9-12 years old interested into Science domains through books?” ↗…tells the whole career of Viesturs and a great account of his way of handling safety on the mountain. My whole family loved it, great book. Full of lessons that can be applied to life in general. "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth" by Chris Hadfield is a similar book in terms of applicable lessons to life, work ethic, relationships with peers and overall being a good human being. The part about the concept of aiming to be a zero…
on “Into Thin Error: Mountaineer Ed Viesturs on Making Mistakes (2010)” ↗Liked it too! I recommend An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield if you haven't read it already.
on “Ask HN: Life Changing Books?” ↗This is a good insight. Having read about NASA's culture some from books like "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth", they tend to be very dedicated to documenting everything. Every last little detail goes into handbooks or manuals about how they fixed problems or things that could have gotten someone killed, adapting…
on “The Loyal Engineers Steering NASA’s Voyager Probes Across the Universe” ↗There was a lot more to it, of course. I took that from his book "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth". Maybe this particular bit of philosophy wasn't the reason he became a commander on the ISS, but it seemed to work for him. It isn't to say you let people take advantage of you, or that you don't make…
on “Secretive Billionaire Makes The Cheese For Pizza Hut, Domino's And Papa John's” ↗…(http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1842.Guns_Germs_and_Steel) - Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18077903-creativity-inc) - about Pixar's internal culture - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18170143-an-astronaut-s-g...)
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗