Random House Canada to publish book by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield

TORONTO, July 2, 2013 /CNW/ - Random House Canada is proud to announce that it will publish Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's first book on October 29, 2013. The book, AN ASTRONAUT'S GUIDE TO LIFE ON EARTH, is the first in a two-book agreement that was completed with literary agent Rick Broadhead of Rick Broadhead & Associates.

Anne Collins, the publisher of the Knopf Random Canada Publishing Group, is thrilled to be working with Hadfield on the book. She says, "On his last mission as Commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield inspired the world with what he conveyed of his experiences through Twitter, through YouTube and other social media. Imagine what his eloquence, and unique vantage point, will deliver at book length: not only has there never been an 'astronaut book' like this one, there has never been another book like this one." Collins adds that "Chris has a delightful capacity to bring home the fascinating details of what it takes to be an astronaut and what it's like to live in microgravity, and then to dig deeper into all the surprising training and lessons learned that help him, and the whole astronaut corps, do the impossible as if it's another day at work. On top of that, he might be the best witness we've ever had to the wonders of space, the fragility and beauty of our planet, and the necessity to keep pushing the envelope of space exploration."

Chris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. The top graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in 1988 and U.S. Navy test pilot of the year in 1991, Hadfield was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut in 1992. He was CAPCOM for 25 Shuttle launches and served as Director of NASA Operations in Star City, Russia from 2001-2003, Chief of Robotics at the Johnson Space Center in Houston from 2003-2006, and Chief of International Space Station Operations from 2006-2008. Hadfield most recently served as Commander of the International Space Station where, while conducting a record-setting number of scientific experiments and overseeing an emergency spacewalk, he gained worldwide acclaim for his breathtaking photographs and educational videos about life in space. His music video, a zero-gravity version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," received over 10 million views in its first three days online.

In AN ASTRONAUT'S GUIDE TO LIFE ON EARTH, Chris Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. Through eye-opening, entertaining stories filled with the adrenaline of launch, the mesmerizing wonder of spacewalks, and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of real achievement--and happiness. His own extraordinary education in space has taught him some counterintuitive lessons: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff.

For more information, please contact Scott Sellers at (416) 957-1564, [email protected], or go to www.commanderhadfield.com and http://youtu.be/AhuqdJ7G7zI.

SOURCE: Random House of Canada Limited