Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

"After publishing a memoir, the Itialian astronaut will return to the International Space Station next year as its commander."

"Cristoforetti rocks . . . being awesome is part of the job. . . . She belongs to a new category of astronauts who are just as adept at posting a witty Facebook post as they are at performing a science experiment in minimal gravity."

"From the mundane to the sublime in a second . . . full of illuminating observations from what Cristoforetti calls the ?cosmic perspective.’"

"An incredible odyssey."

"A detailed, fascinating [book] on what it’s like to train for, and fly, a mission to the space station."

"Incredible detail and great writing. I do take exception with the title because when I arrived on ISS, Samantha was far from an apprentice astronaut." Scott Kelly, NASA astronaut and author of Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery

"Lately, I have become as fascinated by the way that humans relate to science and the natural world, as I am to the scientific breakthroughs themselves. . . . So, this diary of what it is like to do through astronaut training for a 200-day mission to the International Space Station crossed my desk at exactly the right time. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti writes with honesty. Her prose is simple and down to Earth, which increased my empathy for her story." Stuart Clark, BBC Science Focus Books of the Year

"Samantha Cristoforetti is remarkable . . . a brilliant book." Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2

"An enthralling book. . . . Many of us are dreaming of an escape from Earth at present—and Samantha Cristoforetti’s absorbing tale of becoming an astronaut and venturing into space offers just that. . . . She’s a gifted writer." Gwendolyn Smith, Mail on Sunday

"Fantastic . . . for anyone who has any interest in space exploration whatsoever." Robin Ince