SHADES OF BLUE: Creating Space in the Future , is the story of Captain Willie L. Daniels II in his own words of how his childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut evolved into his reality of becoming a pilot. He uses wonderful stories, beginning with his early childhood, of trial and error, failure and triumph, even life-threatening events—all of which provided life-shaping experiences for him that he now shares with students as he travels the country pursuing his passion, creating a pipeline for the next generation of pilots and aviation professionals. One story the Captain shares in his book is the time he helped his brother Carlos find his lost retainer after picking him up from school one day. The search would lead the author on a relentless pursuit of the retainer by rummaging through the school cafeteria garbage cans opening countless discarded lunch bags until he found the one brown bag belonging to his brother. There, at last, he found the retainer belonging to Carlos—saving his family money for the expensive dental device they could barely afford. The lesson the author took from this was one of persistence, as he shares, “If you look and work hard enough, you can find a needle in a haystack!” Working his way through community college and college Daniels finally earned his bachelor’s degree and earned his private pilot’s rating in the process. Daniels never gave up on his dreams. By the time he retired from United Airlines as a captain flying international routes in the Boeing-777 and retiring off the 787 Dreamliner, Daniels had flown more than eleven million air miles and accumulated more than 22,000 flight hours. This is his story, and it is inspiring, uplifting, and motivating. It is a must-read for every young person who has ever had others cast doubt on their dreams. Excerpt taken from Foreword written by Charles F. (Charlie) Bolden. Jr. Major General US Marine Corps (Ret) NASA Astronaut 12th NASA Administrator