Yana Goldman

The beauty in simplicity

Revisado: 12-01-19

I honestly think I will make it a habit to listen to this book while I am cooking or working out walking somewhere on a bad day. Highly recommended to anyone who's been lying to themselves they don't have 2 hours a day or a week to listen to it.

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Not what I was expecting, in a bad sense.

Revisado: 10-24-19

Even though this is fiction, it is based on historical events that took place not so long ago, thus it makes a perfectly interesting premise for me.
The horrors of war make the story more real and easy to relate to if you or your people in your family have ever gone through a war and you know what it's like, even if just from stories.
However, some things were very hard for me to bear. For instance, the main romantically twist was just too much for me. I am keeping this spoiler free in case it bothers anybody, so no details. In short, I realize that things like the ones described in the book may happen in real life, but they felt too foreign to me, too unrealistic. But this just may be me.
The last thing, do not, under any circumstances, listen to this book on Audible. The narrator did not do a good job. This is the first time I'm ever saying this about a narrator, but it was not good. She speaks so slowly I have to listen to the audio on x1.5,but then all of a sudden she speaks extremely quickly and I have to switch. I stayed on x1.35 for most of the book. The accent sounds Indian, which I wouldn't normally mind, but it just ruined the story's atmosphere for me because we are here talking Eastern Europe, Balkan, Turkey. Also all the names of people and places were mispronounced horribly and every time there is a pause before a new name and it just rang my bells wrongly.

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Could not be better

Revisado: 07-02-19

I am very thankful to Mike Massimino for writing this book. It made me sad to remember my childhood thoughts of space. We started learning physics in the 7th grade, we had a wonderful teacher who would show us scientific documentaries about space and earth. I loved it and I think I was pretty good. But then the Russian school system and greed kicked in and we couldn't study anymore. We spent our physics lessons copying exams papers as if we'd written the solutions ourselves. All that to make the school look good. Ugh. I could've become an austronaught!

I'll make sure my kids are never deprived of possibilities to turn their dreams into reality anf that they never lose an ability to dream and aim high... Aim to the Moon.

The book is full of personal thoughts and feelings. Tales of failure and changes and hard work that would eventually turn all the failures into victories.

If you are going through some kind of a strict selection process, you will be be able to enjoy this book even more. This man has done the impossible to get closer to his dream. He is inspiring and reminding us that there is no reason on earth to ever give up.

At the same time he tells us bout compromise and sacrifice. Family time vs dream job. I think he's made some bad choices along the way because he is human. But I feel that he alwaysade the right choices because he is super human.

In addition, huge thanks for telling so much about Ilan Ramon and his family. I will lie if I say it didn't make me cry listening to this part while riding a bus. I knew a little. Now I know more, and I am proud of this person and this family.

Lastly, thanks for giving a face to a general understanding of what an austranaught is like. For explaining how human these people are. For reminding that smart people are not usually cocky or arrogant. Thank you for making me strive to be better.

I honestly feel like an impressionable 5 year old writing this, but the effect this book has on me is grand.

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Needs another edit

Revisado: 06-16-19

The ideas described in this book are extremely useful, but some of them would gain even more if they were edited again in the recent years.

This book doesn't only teach one to hold him or herself correctly when speaking in front of a group, but also teaches many things like self-assurance, voice techniques, body movements, motivation for success.

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Opportunity VS Entitlement

Revisado: 05-28-19

This book spole to my soul, I cried on various occasions while listening to it. The story of this family is truly miraculous, but it is also endlessly humbling.

It makes you remember that the one thing you have to appreciate and give thanks for is your family, your friends - people who support you without asking for anything in return.

It reminds you that if people pay attention to the labels on your clothing more than to what you have to say, these people are not worth thinking about.

It reminds you to give back, to love, to help.

Please read this book. There is no way you don't become a better version of yourself after finishing.

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Great Biography

Revisado: 04-22-19

I struggled not to keep listening. Not only is Elon's life is surprisingly interesting to learn about, but also his genuine interviews to the writer and his opinions about things just keep you wanting to learn more and more. The writing is great, the voice over is great. The only thing I would like to see more of is his wives' words. I feel like both Justine (sorry if I misspell this) and Riley have a lot more to say, not necessarily just about him, but about being in love with a prodigy, about this life with such a person, about breaking up with such a person, about finding themselves.

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Missed opportunity

Revisado: 04-08-19

I am very sad to be giving this book only 3 stars. I tried to love it, I persisted until the end.
The information it offers is very valuable and I think people should know the things and events described in this book. However, some things are depicted so weirdly! For instance, there are no more than 3 sentences in the whole book about Jews and Jewish women who were in similar position as black women then. One of the sentences was "[this place] hosted negros and EVEN Jews". I mean... Some more backstory would be nice?
Other than that, the book is written in an old textbook style, impossible to read without your thoughts drifting away and then you having to go back a couple of pages because you have no idea what you just read.
I am sure some people really enjoy this kind of writing and will adore this book. However, I really struggled. So much so, that when reading about Appolo I astronauts losing their lives I felt literally NOTHING. I cried when I learned about it when I was younger. But here... I believe, this event didn't even get much "stage time", it was just described as an event that pushed people to calculate better.

I realize that biographies normally are not as fun of a read as fiction, but this isn't the first historical/biographical book I've ever read. I'll give the movie a try.

Do I recommend this book? Try it. If you can go through with this, it is a great piece of history and information. If you can't, you are not alone.

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