In reply to Gordon Stainforth:
> Yes, what an amazing life. Surely one of the richest in experience on this planet (as well as hundreds of thousands of miles away from it.)
Strong disagree. He did a truly amazing thing, but it was one thing that took up less than a decade of his life all told, and was followed by depression and alcoholism. In his book Michael Collins is very clear in his book that the Apollo astronauts were lucky - right place, right time - and took the opportunities bestowed on them by the unique combination of the Cold War and American wealth. I’m not even sure we can compare the “richness” of lives with intense peak experiences to those with a very different tenor, seems kind of reductive to me.