Leland Melvin

Astronaut and former professional football player Leland Melvin’s autobiography is a powerful story of overcoming adversity over and over again, helped along by his own grit, the support of family and friends, and, often, luck. Every chapter seems to contain a story in which his future balanced on a knife edge between excellence and failure, sometimes because of his own mistakes, other times just bad luck, and quite a few caused by blatant racism. Even though Melvin tells his story matter-of-factly, it’s gripping reading. My favorite aspect is how it’s bursting with love, gratitude, and admiration for the family, friends, and professional colleagues who helped him along the way.… (mehr)

In Chasing Space: An Astronaut’s Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances, Leland Melvin describes his life experiences from growing up in Virginia, through high school and college football, studying science, and finally his career with NASA, which included two Shuttle flights to the International Space Station. Throughout his account, Melvin describes how he overcame obstacles through hard work and perseverance, in particular the power of visualizing success in advance. When he made mistakes on the gridiron or in college or even suffered a loss of hearing during astronaut training, Melvin overcame these setbacks by continuing to dedicate himself to his work. Further, he believes in the importance of inspiring children to pursue their dreams and to encourage their creativity, both in the arts and sciences, in order that they can become the thinkers and dreamers who will shape the next big developments in the coming decades. Melvin’s book is honest and touching, with his generosity of spirit and sense of hope shining through on every page. A must-read for those seeking some inspiration.… (mehr)

Leland Melvin has led a pretty amazing life. After a short stint in the NFL, he worked as an engineer for NASA, then as an astronaut. During his training, an accident that badly damaged his hearing threatened to ground him permanently, but eventually he recovered and went on to make two flights on the space shuttle. After that, he became NASA's Associate Administrator for Education, and spent a lot of time working to provide opportunities and encouragement for disadvantaged and minority kids to pursue success in STEM.

All that having been said, I do have to be honest here and say that this isn't exactly the most gripping astronaut memoir I've ever read. Some of that is no doubt due to the fact that he spends comparatively few pages talking about actually being in space. Some of it probably has more to do with me than with the author, though. Unlike Melvin, who perfectly straddles the classic jock/nerd divide, I am apparently incapable of being interested in football even when there is a connection to the space program. Also, Melvin's reflections on the reasons for his success and his attempts to inspire others center very firmly on two things: "grit and determination," and the power of his Christian faith. As an atheist, myself, that second thing can't help but fall a little flat for me.

But there is certainly no doubt that the grit and determination have served him well. How many people could possibly ever say things like, "Oh, my NFL career didn't last? No problem! Fortunately, while training to play professional football, I also somehow found time to get a graduate degree in engineering, so I guess I'll just go work for NASA instead!" Not that he puts it that way, I hasten to add. He's much more modest than that. Plus, he actually didn't even think about working for NASA until a recruiter approached him about it at a job fair. But, still. Leland Melvin is definitely the kind of person who makes you wonder what the heck you've been doing with your own life.

Also, gripping or not, this memoir provides a perspective none of the other astronaut memoirs I've read so far have. Because they've all been written by white guys, none of whom have had anything like the experiences Melvin had growing up in Virginia as an African American, attending a school that had only recently been racially integrated, dealing with everyday racism, and not exactly having the opportunity to see many people who looked like him going into space. All of which gives him a very keen appreciation of those before him who broke racial barriers to make important contributions the the space program, as well as of the importance of enabling the next generation of kids to go further.… (mehr)