A few months ago, I wrote about some business reading that I had planned to do this year, starting my reading list off with books from the Best of 2013 lists.  I found Col. Chris Hadfield’s An Astronaught’s Guide to Life on Earth on inc.com’s list of inspirational business books. The first chapter, which I read while walking from the library, sums up his life path from a Canadian kid who decided to be an astronaut at a time when Canada did not have a space agency to the first Canadian to do a spacewalk during his 6 months on the ISS (his 3rd space mission).

While I expect business books to be dry, this book was refreshing, smart and a quick read. With fascinating stories of how a single astronaut is chosen from thousands of applicants to how to work a problem from every angle to get the result you need, the book is a page turner.  It also shows Hadfield’s love and mission to bring the importance and understanding of space travel to the dinner conversation at home and make it accessible for most to understand and value.

I savored every page, even the hard to read stories.  Hadfield’s humor and honesty make it a refreshing read, and I particularly value the end where he talks about coming off the high gracefully and looking forward to the next thing.  I can’t wait to see what he does next, but I sure hope that it has something to do with the environment.