The Ordinary Spaceman: From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut, a book written by Astronaut Clayton Anderson is an entertaining and open look at his experiences becoming and being an astronaut. Clay’s journey to becoming an astronaut is a lesson in perseverance; he applied fifteen times before he was accepted. After his training, he flew two space missions. He was onboard the International Space Station (ISS) from June-November of 2007 and then visited the ISS again, in 2010, as part of a 15 day Space Shuttle mission.
Full disclosure, I know Clay. His class of Astronaut Candidates (AsCans), the 1998 class, was the first AsCan group I taught. That was a wonderful experience that made me feel a small sense of ownership for every member of that class. I taught Clay, again, during his ISS training, and accompanied him to Germany for training on the European supply vehicle called the ATV. Clay is very personable. I can’t recall ever passing him in the hallway without him stopping to shake hands and ask how I was doing. His distinct voice and personality project off of the pages of the book. Reading the book felt like sitting across the table from Clay and allowing him to regale me with his stories as we drank a few beers.
There’s not a lot of artifice with Clay. He is rambunctious and candid and so is his book. In the book, he talks about how that candor got him into trouble a few times. He also describes experiences that most people would be uncomfortable talking about, such as a humiliating first bowel movement after returning to Earth and a humbling apology to the ground team after losing his temper. The willingness to talk about the low points balances nicely with the obligatory tellings of the high points. It creates a nice round picture that I think will leave readers feeling they have a better understanding of what it really is like to be an astronaut.
Clay talks about many fascinating and yet little discussed parts of the job, from the selection process, to winter survival training, to the politics of high performance organizations, to the stresses of being away from family. He also describes, vividly, the intense and unique experiences of a space shuttle launch, a spacewalk, and returning to gravity after five months of weightlessness.
If I have a complaint, it’s that I know he left out some stories.
