*** Endurance by Scott Kelly

If, like the author, you have dreamed of space ever since you saw the fuzzy pictures of the astronauts on the moon in July 1969, Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery is the perfect book to relive that dream. Except that, this time, you will hear about diaper time, having to wait for everything, and the heart-stopping quality of your 14-year old “emergency” message just before you lose contact with the ground. Scott Kelly spent a year in the space station where he became adept at fixing the toilet, noticing strange gaps between the US and Russian security protocols, and finding objects that disappeared minutes, days, sometimes year ago (it turns out that this floating business creates issues!) He mixes the stories about the mission with stories of his training, also lively and also a lesson in patience. Throughout the entire book, he never loses his awe of being in space, and that’s infectious.