Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars

Given the chance, I would long ponder trading places with Eileen Collins. Her book with Jonathan Ward is a grand collection of simple, yet sensational moments she experienced-in Outer Space!-and in much that led to her getting there. What a read! -Tom Hanks I wrote the song 'Beyond the Sky' and sang it at Cape Canaveral for Eileen Collins's maiden voyage to space: 'Once there was a girl with a dream in her heart, wild as the wind was her hope.' This woman with the dream has turned into a serious heroine of the centuries, a woman who has taken her place among other men and women in the startling adventure of circling the Earth and leaving it behind, changing male dominance in the control of space and making it safe for women to fly to Mars and beyond. You will love her book: it is exciting, personal, detailed, a good thriller, suspenseful as a Stephen King mystery, and full of hope-that rare quality we all search for. Yeehaw, Commander Collins! What a life you have led and what a tale you have told! Brava! -Judy Collins, singer, songwriter, author Eileen is living proof to youngsters and young ladies that you can do anything you want to do with your life. -Wally Funk, Mercury 13 pilot As the commander of first Space Shuttle flight after the loss of Columbia, Eileen Collins lived, worked, and led her crew through a critical phase of history. How she got there is a story as interesting as the events themselves, one that is as inspirational as any in the pantheon of American aerospace heroes. This book takes you inside the life and times of one of NASA's-America's-best. -Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator, 2005-2009 Eileen Collins has finally written the book people have been asking for. Growing up on welfare in a fractured family, Eileen's chance to live her own life took form in her long-held love of airplanes; her deep love of flying comes across on every page. Despite numerous obstacles in her path, she turned setbacks into advantages. We're with her in the pilot's seat from page one. This inspiring book takes you into the challenges, the risks, the rewards-the heart of what it took to be first. -Francis French, space historian; former Director of Events, Sally Ride Science Eileen Collins is an unsung American hero. Her memoir should be 'must reading' for all young girls and boys in school, and indeed for every aspiring student at all levels. She has been a pioneer in everything she tried. The fact that NASA named Eileen as pilot on her first space shuttle flight tells you everything about the trust and confidence she inspires. I have had the honor of working with Eileen in her post-astronaut activities on several boards as well as the White House's National Space Council. That same trust and confidence, combined with just being a natural leader who cares for people, are evident everywhere. -General Lester L. Lyles, United States Air Force, retired, former Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, and Chairman NASA Advisory Council