Michael Collins

A graduate of West Point and an air force fighter pilot and test pilot, Michael Collins joined NASA's third group of astronauts in 1963. In the Gemini 10 flight, he completed a space walk between two moving spacecraft. His next mission would take him into lunar orbit. Why does the subtitle refer to Collins as a forgotten astronaut? While television broadcasts showed his Apollo 11 crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walking on the moon and speaking to people on earth, Collins was in the orbiting Columbia spacecraft, which would take them all home. Drawing from Collins' books as well as other biographies and interviews, Buckley puts together an interesting account of the man's life, emphasizing his work as an astronaut. While the writer imagines how alone Collins might have felt when circling the moon, he also acknowledges the astronaut's own statement that, far from feeling lonely, he felt very much a part of events on the moon's surface. From the Discovering History's Heroes series, here's a timely introduction to a significant astronaut.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2019 Booklist

Gr 3--5--Unless you are a serious NASA enthusiast, the name Michael Collins might be hard to place--and that is why his story fits so well in the "Discovering History's Heroes" series. The author deftly describes the path of Collins from growing up on army bases and building model planes to traveling to the moon as part of Apollo 11. Readers may be amazed to learn about all the preparation that NASA required of its astronauts, including jungle survival training in Panama. Along with a thorough look at the career of Collins, there are also background details such as how the names were chosen for the NASA programs or how the U.S. Navy helped to recover space capsules when they returned to Earth. Endnotes and a bibliography offer readers a place to start their own exploration into the life of Michael Collins. VERDICT What truly brings this historical figure to life is the use of quotations from Collins's own writing. An excellent addition to biography collections, with ties to STEM, U.S. history, and character education.--Suzanne Costner, Fairview Elementary School, Maryville, TN

A profile of Apollo 11's pilot as a hero who "just did his job."Buckley's account is shot through with references to working, having jobs to do, and tackling "chore after chore." It covers Collins' test-pilot and astronaut trainings, his experiences in space both in Gemini 10 and as the third man aboard Apollo 11 (where, at times, in lunar orbit, "he was the most isolated person in human history"), plus later gigs as writer, artist, and Smithsonian administrator. Though pointedly noting that NASA didn't hire an astronaut of color until 1967 nor a woman until 1978, the author generally steers clear of controversy, even quoting Armstrong's line as "That's one small step for a man" without comment. He also presupposes so little prior knowledge from his intended audience that along with minimizing technical details he feels compelled to explain who Adam and Charlie Brown are. With the lack of illustrations further distancing modern readers from events, the resulting narrative reads as a bland tribute, particularly next to Bea Uusma Schyffert's lively The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon (2003) and Collins' own memoir for younger readers, Flying to the Moon and Other Strange Places (1976; republished in 2019 as Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story).Serviceable but sparkless. (endnotes, bibliography) (Biography. 9-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Michael Collins 1. A YOUNG WORLD TRAVELER When he was a kid, Michael Collins didn't grow up wanting to be an astronaut. There was a good reason for that. There were no astronauts when he was a kid. In fact, the first airplane had flown just twenty-seven years before his birth. When he was born, flying to the moon was something you read about in science fiction. It was not something you thought could be your job. Later in his life, Collins did fly around the world, in more ways than one. He was born on Halloween, October 31, 1930, in Rome, Italy. That didn't make him Italian, though. His father, Major General James Lawton Collins, was an officer in the United States Army. He had been one since before World War I. One of his first assignments had been to help the famous General John "Black Jack" Pershing chase down a Mexican bandit called Pancho Villa. James Collins then served in World War I. As Collins rose through the military ranks, the army sent him to different posts around the world. His family went along with him. Michael was very young when his family left Italy. They moved to Oklahoma first, then soon moved again, this time to New York City. Military families in the city lived on Governors Island. Michael could see the Statue of Liberty from there, as well as the skyscrapers of Manhattan. Next stop was San Antonio, Texas. It was in Texas that Michael says he first started loving airplanes. He would sit and watch them take off and land at a small airfield near his house. He wondered what it would be like to be up there in the sky. He also started building model airplanes. His first was a one-seat racing airplane called a Gee Bee. He also enjoyed reading science fiction. "I was a big Buck Rogers fan and I used to prowl around in the caverns of Mongo," the planet that was the scene of many of the fictional Rogers's adventures. 1 In 1940, General Collins became the head of army forces in Puerto Rico. The Collins family was on the move again. Michael loved his exotic new home. His family lived in a building called Casa Blanca, which means "White House." This large white home was one of the oldest buildings in the Americas. People had lived in it since 1530! Puerto Rico amazed Michael. There he saw animals such as lizards and tropical fish. His house had a huge garden, too, filled with wild green plants. He also learned tough lessons when he ate local foods that did not agree with his American stomach. In Puerto Rico the airplane-loving boy finally got to ride in the sky. He and his father got a ride in a Grumman Widgeon. (A widgeon is a type of duck.) Michael got to sit in the copilot's seat and even steered the plane for a few moments. It was a thrill, and one he looked forward to repeating. In 1941 the United States entered World War II. The army needed experienced officers to help run the war. General Collins was called to work in Washington, DC, at the Pentagon. That's the headquarters of the US armed forces. The Collins family left beautiful Puerto Rico behind and once again followed General Collins as he served his country. Michael's father wasn't the only one in the family to serve his country in this way. Michael's older brother, James, was by then a cadet at West Point, the United States Military Academy; and General Collins's brother Joseph was one of the senior commanders in Europe during World War II. Michael also had two sisters, Virginia and Agnes. The family lived in Virginia, outside DC. Michael attended high school at St. Albans, a small private school. He was a good math student and was also on the wrestling team. He was not a big teenager, more on the skinny side. But he loved the action of sports and played on the offensive line for the football team. After high school there was really only one place that Michael wanted to go. He wanted to continue a family tradition and serve his country. His good grades and family connections helped earn him an appointment to West Point. The US Military Academy America trains its army officers at this school in West Point, New York. The school first opened in 1802 on the banks of the Hudson River. Students are called cadets and are actually junior army officers when they start school. They study science, literature, and math but also military history and leadership. When they graduate, they have to serve at least five years in the military. Many of America's most famous generals studied there. Civil War generals Ulysses S. Grant of the Union army and Robert E. Lee of the Confederate army both graduated from West Point. General John Pershing led the US forces in World War I, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower led Allied forces in World War II. Both men attended West Point. Other branches of the military have their own schools. The US Naval Academy is in Annapolis, Maryland. The US Air Force Academy is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. And the US Coast Guard Academy is in New London, Connecticut. Excerpted from Michael Collins: Unsung Heroes by James Buckley All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.