“Scott Parazynski’s drive, curiosity, inventiveness, and great humor shine through the pages of The Sky Below and will certainly inspire future generations to pursue their dreams with every fiber in their being.” —John Glenn, NASA astronaut
An epic memoir from a man whose life is defined by exploration and innovation, The Sky Below re-creates some of the most unforgettable adventures of our time. From dramatic, high-risk spacewalks to author Scott Parazynski’s death-defying quest to summit Mount Everest—his body ravaged by a career in space—readers will experience the life of an elite athlete, physician, and explorer.
This intimate, compelling account offers a rare portrait of space exploration from the inside. A global nomad raised in the shadow of NASA’s Apollo missions, Parazynski never lost sight of his childhood dream to one day don a spacesuit and float outside the airlock. With deep passion, unbridled creativity, resilience, humility, and self-deprecation, Parazynski chases his dream of the ultimate adventure experience, again and again and again. In an era that transitioned from moon shots to the Space Shuttle, space station, and Mars research, Parazynski flies with John Glenn, tests jet packs, trains in Russia to become a cosmonaut, and flies five missions to outer space (including seven spacewalks) in his seventeen-year NASA career.
An unparalleled, visceral opportunity to understand what it’s like to train for—and deploy to—a home in zero gravity, The Sky Below also portrays an astronaut’s engagement with the challenges of his life on Earth, including raising a beautiful autistic daughter and finding true love.
Five Stars Wow it would seem with a glancing read that Scott Parazynksi has lead a charmed life. Blessed with an abundance of intellectual, physical, and dispositional attributes, he was able to garner his strengths and apply them to his boyhood goal to become an astronaut. But Scott didn’t just become an astronaut, this physician/adventurer/inventor/repairman became the space-walking “Jedi Master” of the modern space program. And that’s not all – no sub-terrestrial, terrestrial, or…
Great book cursed with poor design. Scott Parazynski has some very interesting stories to tell. Like many astronauts, he tells them in a way that skips the flowery language and poetic metaphors. That’s not a bad thing. Something about people who could brag choosing not to makes for more powerful reading.
Gripping true story, rarely matched adventures, well-written, inspiring MUCH ON THE PLUS SIDE. This book more than lives up to its title â âA true story of summits, space, and speed.â The personal and team adventures, inner and outer, of astronaut Scott Parazynski go beyond just space travel. We go to the top of the world twice, for Scott also takes us along on his two Mt. Everest climbs, harrowing and wondrous. He did his successful climb in his older years. How he relates the challenges with his earlier space travel brings out many insights into human endurance…