
The Sky Below
A True Story of Summits, Space, and Speed
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Narrated by:
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Scott Parazynski
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Homer Hickam
About this listen
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 - listeners 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.
©2017 Scott Parazynski (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Sky Below
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- John
- 08-21-17
Inspirational story
I enjoyed this book and look forward to recommending this book to others. Thank you for sharing with us.
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1 person found this helpful
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- mr kieran j murphy
- 08-24-18
a good story
this is an interesting story of an astronaut autobiography and is much better than the last astronaut autobiography I read.
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- Michael D. Boemker
- 08-13-18
A stunning look at a life lived at the edge
When ability meets opportunity interesting things can happen. In this book you will get a window into the world of the over achievers who are doing things that we may dream about but would seldom qualify for, or be willing to sacrifice to achieve. A diverse and entertaining book that will be worth a second listen.
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- Keren
- 09-11-22
Adventurers & Space Devotees will Profoundly Enjoy
Adventurers & space devotees will profoundly enjoy this book. I am going to start it over and read it again. It was not only entertaining, but intellectually stimulating. I kept googling things he talked about to learn even more. (ie. NASA instructions for making solar array cufflinks.) Wow, those instructions are so good they should be used in technical writing courses.
The book was also emotionally stimulating as we ventured into the heart and mind of someone who has lived the adventures around every corner, that most of us can only dream of experiencing.
The most poignant underlying message was that amazingly accomplished people share the same uncertainties and fears of us all. Their success is, in large part, a result of making good plans, not giving up, keep showing up, and being willing to take advantage of every opportunity in life to learn and do.
I am inspired.
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- Rich H.
- 08-15-18
awsome book
full of adventure and interesting history of space exploration. also has rock climbing and other adventures. great book and motivating
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- Clete R. Blackwell
- 08-20-18
Interesting and never boring
Interesting insights from a man who’s seen it all. His story moves fast and doesn’t get bogged down in boring details.
Performance was frustrating at time. Awkward pauses and cuts were abundant.
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- Nick H
- 11-09-19
Thrilling Life, More Drab Story
A thrilling life, but somewhat drab telling. There isn’t enough time spent relaying the stakes and micro-decisions that went into many of the incredibly harrowing feats this man achieved. I also think the present-tense perspective is a total miss, feeling out of place and distracting. Ultimately it’s still worth reading simply to hear about a great man, but this could have been so much better. Author does a fine job narrating. [AUDIBLE]
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- Margo Clark
- 03-02-23
Meh. Not the greatest role model.
I agree with the reviews that mention the readers total attention until he brings up and discusses his wife and his troubled marriage. It is hard to work on a marriage when you 2nd mortgage the house so you can go pursue your dream without your family. And we could really do without how he had found his perfect soulmate after his children were raised by his wife.
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- Shah Alam
- 10-24-17
Fast Paced and Captivating
I was expecting to read about the space-flights and the space-walks of Scott Parazynski but I got a better deal instead.
The book took me beyond — into mountaineering ventures and Antarctica. And lest I forget it even touched on some intimate details of the personal life of Parazynski — leading to his falling in love and proposing in the Scott's Hut in Antarctica. So this is the first time that I’ve had the opportunity reading a bit of romance in a book on space flight. Interesting but a welcome change.
The book is fast paced and you’ll not feel dull at any moment.
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36 people found this helpful
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- Bayville Buyer
- 08-14-18
Could have been a great book
With so many adventures it could have been a great book. But the stories were dull and flat. reading like a newspaper article instead of a novel
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