My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer - Hardcover

Ansari, Anousheh; Hickam, Homer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0230619932 ISBN 13: 9780230619937

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2010

Synopsis

In her heartwarming and empowering memoir, space pioneer Anousheh Ansari tells the story of her childhood in Iran and her family's exodus to America after the Islamic Revolution. After settling down in Texas, Anousheh built a computer technology firm from the ground up, which eventually realized a net worth of $750 million and ultimately allowed her to achieve her childhood dream of spaceflight. In her groundbreaking role as the first-ever female commercial spaceflight participant, her story became politicized and fraught with the prejudices and obstacles she had to overcome as an Iranian woman, culminating in a debate over whether she would be allowed to display both the American and Iranian flags on the sleeve of her spacesuit.

After her return to Earth, Anousheh started The Ansari Foundation, a quickly growing nonprofit which supports social entrepreneurship, and is especially committed to ensuring the freedom of women around the world and supporting female entrepreneurs. Ultimately, this evocative story shows the triumph of a woman who has become a role model to people around the globe struggling to overcome economic and cultural barriers, as well as those dreamers who look upon the stars and wish to soar among them.

About this title

About the Author

Anousheh Ansari was born in Mashhad, Iran and immigrated to America to eventually become the fourth-ever commercial spaceflight participant and the first Muslim woman to traverse the far reaches of outer space. She is also the founder of the multi-million dollar firm Telecom Technologies and of the Ahoora Foundation. She lives in Dallas, Texas. Homer Hickam is the acclaimed author of Rocket Boys, which was adapted into the major theatrical release, October Sky. He is the author of eight other books, including the 1989 military nonfiction bestseller Torpedo Junction and the New York Times bestseller Back to the Moon. He lives in Huntsville, Alabama.

Reviews

In this breezy memoir, Ansari documents how she became the first Muslim woman to travel into space. From a difficult childhood in Tehran, through immigration and personal and professional success in the U.S., she provides an inside look at her life and lifelong dream to enter space. Hitting it big in the telecommunications business provided the finances, and involvement in the X Prize brought the connections, enabling her to enter the Russian space program in 2006. Her descriptions of cosmonaut training are particularly interesting, although even here she takes care to avoid comment on serious controversies. Readers expecting a visceral punch from coauthor Hickam (Rocket Boys, 1998) will be disappointed; his voice is largely absent. Just following how Ansari accomplished her dream will be interesting enough to space fans, but although her story is emotional, her writing does not rise to the level of her subject. Ansari delivers a straightforward account of a widely watched event; for more, we await a worthy historian. --Colleen Mondor

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0230619932
• ISBN 13: 9780230619937
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256