Too Far From Home

A Story of Life and Death in Space

By: Chris Jones

Narrated by: Erik Davies

An incredible true-life adventure set on the most dangerous frontier of all–outer space

For a special breed of individual, the call of space is worth the risk it entails: men such as U.S. astronauts Donald Pettit and Kenneth Bowersox, and Russian flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, who in November 2002 left on what was to be a routine fourteen-week mission maintaining the International Space Station.

But then, on February 1, 2003, the Columbia exploded beneath them. With the launch program suspended indefinitely, these astronauts had suddenly lost their ride home.

TOO FAR FROM HOME chronicles the efforts of the beleaguered Mission Controls in Houston and Moscow as they work frantically against the clock to bring their men safely back to Earth.
Chris Jones writes beautifully of the majesty and mystique of space travel, while reminding us all how perilous it is to soar beyond the sky.©2007 Chris Jones; (P)2007 Random House Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House Inc.

Great read!

A little confusing going back and forth but there is so much info so i understand..

A look behind the scences

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is a good book for people interested in the details of what it might be like to be an astronaut or cosmonaut assigned to a long duration space station mission.

The book has an emotional, flowery tone that can be just a bit cloying, but the level of real detail and fascinating detail make up for that.

The audio book production quality is excellent, the narrator does a great job.

Recommended for readers interested in the American and Russian space programs.

Metaphorical Nightmare

The idea of this story seemed very interesting. What happens to the astronauts that are on the International Space Station when their main form of transport has been grounded? Unfortunately, Mr. Jones writing leaves something to be desired. Like others have said in their reviews, his constant use of metaphors in describing EVERYTHING became exhausting and distracting. I found myself skipping ahead just to bypass these eye roll moments. I am not saying the usage of metaphors is a bad thing, just that the frequency and sometimes ridiculousness of Jones' usage became too much.
Also, and this could just be me, Jones did not shine a particularly great light on the two American Astronauts, Pettit and Bowersox. The more the story progressed, the less I liked these individuals and found their selfishness and lack of consideration for their wives and children frustrating. To be fair, this could have been the way the author portrayed them in the book and not who they are in real life. But, this book in my opinion did them (especially Pettit) no favors.
I will say there were some good moments. I did like the back stories of the astronauts and how they each came to the Space Program. And, for me, the best moments of the book were at the end when they were on their way back to earth. I found that part of the story to be the most gripping.
If you can sift through all the metaphors there is an interesting story here. Just know what you are getting into before you start. I thought I knew what I was getting into by reading the reviews. But, honestly, until I read/listened to the book I did not realize how many analogies I would be subjected to and how frustrating that would become.

I found it difficult to take off my headphones

Chris Jones draws you into the current space program in ways that bring the events of Columbia's tragedy, current work aboard the ISS as well as the history of space exploration to life. Although some reviews have criticized his overly dramatic style, they forget that NASA teemed with Disney to make the Apollo program more accessible and exciting to people in the 1960s. I loved the artistic flair...it helped me 'see' and relate better to the events he unfolded.

Obviously, I enjoyed listening to this book immensely. More than just listening, I found that I would look up dates, events, people as the chapters went along to learn more about the details behind some of the stories presented. I don't think you even have to be that interested in the space program to find Too Far from Home captivating....but you will finish it wanting to know what happens next. I hope Chris Jones writes more! Erik Davies did a superb narration as well!

Spaceflight fans must listen to this

Very details history of the US astronauts and go throught the whole history of the US and USSR space program... also has a really great cliff hanger ending...