Too Far From Home

A Story of Life and Death in Space

By: Chris Jones

Narrated by: Erik Davies

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

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 US astronauts Donald Pettit and Kenneth Bowersox, and Russian flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, who in November 2002 left on what was to be a routine 14-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.

Critic reviews

"[Jones'] story combines gripping narrative and strongly defined characters.... Jones' reporting is filled with details of life aboard the space station...That sort of frank talk enhances readers' identification with the astronauts, making their drama all the more engrossing." (Publishers Weekly)

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 LIKED it.

Some of this book's tone may be described as overwrought - but in a good way. I just plain loved it. The stories, the descriptions and even all the adjectives took me back to the heady excitement and drama of the early days of the "space race," even with the steely-eyed, too-good-to-be-true astronauts. The book was diverting, thought-provoking (I loved the idea of the large and larger concepts of home), exciting and well narrated. If you remember Apollo and Mercury, you will like this book. And if you don't remember them, you need to read this book!

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...

A peek into the mind of Don Pettit

I really appreciate the peek into the curious mind of Don Pettit. He's a national asset.

Almost too far from delightful

This book is factual, well-meaning... and ultimately a bit dry. I recommend this for anyone with an interest in the space program, but don't expect it to be riveting or have much emotional impact. A review in the NY Times (which was how I came upon this) indicated it was a fabulous long article that was now expanded into a book. I can certainly believe that it was a brilliant article- the book has good sources and details, and loses its way in presenting them. I had read Challenger Park earlier and it was fun seeing the amount of "fiction" in that book was actually truth.

Pretty Good...

I thought this book was pretty good. The story was interesting at times, especially at the end. But I felt like it jumped around too much. I still liked it, though!

Book 5, narrator 1

...equals a review of 3 stars for this book. Good story, and the detail on the Russian space program is key as the tale progresses - the ending is so fascinating that you'll be hard-pressed to remember it's fact, not fiction. Some of the writing was mushy and over-the-top theatrical, but I was willing to overlook that. The narrator did his best to put me to sleep, however, so get yourself a good Starbucks and settle down for a story as compelling as "Apollo 13".