Using ten life-changing moments from his path to space, astronaut Scott Kelly shares his advice for mastering fear and failure and turning our daily struggles into rocket fuel for success—the perfect gift for graduations and other milestone moments! In this insightful and funny read, Scott Kelly shares how a distracted student with poor grades became a record-breaking astronaut and commander of the International Space Station. People think that astronauts are always perfect. "Failure's not an option," right? But as Scott shares in his deeply intimate book, he believes that it's our mistakes and challenges that have the potential to lead to greatness. Not everyone's road to achievement is a straight line. Most of us need to navigate a bumpier road full of obstacles to get where we want to be. Scott’s story is for everyone who believes that shooting for the stars is beyond their reach! Gr 5 Up-In this slim memoir, NASA astronaut Kelly recounts several key moments in his life and the significance they played in his work and way of thinking. He covers a wide range of topics, from the personal, such as his struggle with cancer, to current topics in our society, such as valuing diversity. The first two chapters discuss how he learned the importance of having a healthy dose of fear and learning from failure, and not letting either of these deter him from his goals. The rest of the book discusses what he learned from different leadership styles and how he came to his own understanding of effective leadership. He conveys the importance of empathy, listening to and relying on all team members, believing in science, appreciating people's differences, and the critical role having a diverse team plays in success. For space lovers, many of his stories highlight the realities of living and working in space. But the importance of this work is found in Kelly's views on leadership and his life lessons for students, whether they aspire to leadership roles or not. VERDICT An excellent addition to all library collections.-Karen T. Biltonα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. "An inspiring, energizing guide to life illustrated by space anecdotes." — Kirkus Reviews "Readers from all walks of life will be able to take away nuggets of inspiration to envision their ambitions as realistic possibilities." —Shelf Awareness SCOTT KELLY is a NASA astronaut best known for spending a record-breaking year in space. He is a former US Navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and veteran of four spaceflights. Kelly commanded the space shuttle Endeavour in 2007 and twice commanded the International Space Station. He lives in Houston, Texas. You can follow him on Facebook at NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, and on Instagram and Twitter at @StationCDRKelly. Visit him at scottkelly.com. 1 Fear to Take Flight   When I was a kid, I was fearless. I ran with scissors and other sharp objects. I’d climb as high as I could, and then jump right off. When I was in the eighth grade, my family and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas. We weren’t wealthy by any measure, but I think my dad had won some money on a Super Bowl pool . . . so there we were. It was the first time I had been out of the country, and the ship was docked at a port in Nassau. I don’t remember much about the buffet or onboard entertainment because I was busy jumping off the back of the ship at the challenge of another young guest. Today, that kind of thing goes viral, and not in a positive way. Back then, there was a much smaller audience for my risky behavior. I was lucky to surface in one piece. But I was a slow learner. It wouldn’t be the last time I jumped--or, more accurately, fell--from the back of a ship. When I was on a port call in Spain aboard a training ship in college, some of my classmates and I hatched a plan to sneak ashore for a night of excitement. We devised a scheme to use a ladder to climb down to the dock. I was the first to go. But the ladder wasn’t secured, so I fell about fifty feet directly into the water with a heavy rope-and-wood ladder wrapped around me. Disappearing into the dark waters didn’t even faze me at the time. It was just another college prank. This is the kind of story that you laugh about later, but my casual attitude about falling off large boats was not the quality that showed I had “the right stuff” to be an astronaut. I didn’t know it at the time, but that kind of fearlessness was exactly what I would need to overcome if I was going to survive. My experience of fear started to change when I was in flight school learning to fly the TA-4J Skyhawk, the US Navy’s advanced jet trainer. I remember one particular day at Goliad Field, a little airstrip in the middle of the grasslands of southeast Texas, where I was practicing the skills I’d need to qualify to land on an aircraft carrier. It was uneventful--I did my ten landings and turned around to come home. When I got out of the