Foreword by Muhammad Yunus
Preface
Introduction: A Shift in Perspective
Part I: Looking Skyward
1. Humanity’s Home in the Heavens
2. Space, the Shared Frontier
3. Lessons in Collaboration from the ISS Program
PART II: Looking Earthward
4. One Moment in Space
5. The Orbital Perspective
6. The Key Is “We”
PART III: Looking Forward
7. Camp Hope
8. Arrested Development
9. Mass Collaboration
Conclusion: A Web of Trust
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author
Col. Ron Garan (USAF retired) is a decorated fighter pilot, astronaut, aquanaut, and entrepreneur. He has logged 178 days in space and 71 million miles in orbit. He is the founder of the non-profit social enterprise incubator Manna Energy Foundation and has worked with the US Agency for International Development. Garan is also the founder of Fragile Oasis, an effort to use the orbital perspective to inspire positive social and environmental action.
“Life on Earth is experienced two-dimensionally—with all of the
distortion that that implies. Such a blinkered view is impossible
from orbit, where you take in whole sweeps of the borderless globe
in a glance. Garan’s book, The Orbital Perspective movingly
explains the impact of such a perspective shift—one that by no
means occurs for every astronaut. In Garan’s case—and perhaps
Garan’s alone—the message is how the rest of us can put his lessons
to use. The Orbital Perspective could wind up being the most
important tale ever told from space.”
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time Magazine
"His thesis that 'Earth is a small town with many neighborhoods in
a very big universe' rings powerfully true, and his lessons are
particularly apt for those working in the nonprofit sector."
—Publishers Weekly
“The Orbital Perspective is an inspirational knockout. After
reading this book you will refuse to accept the status quo on our
planet.”
—Wladimir Klitschko, PhD, Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the
World and founder of Klitschko Management Group
“This is more than just a book; it is a call to action and a
catalyst for a necessary movement. We need to look beyond what we
think is possible and reimagine a world in which no one is limited
by his or her circumstances. This is a defining book for a defining
time in human history.”
—Daniel Epstein, founder and CEO, Unreasonable Group
“Written from Ron Garan’s unique perspective as an astronaut, The
Orbital Perspective reminds us of our common humanity and that the
pressing challenges we face, we must face and resolve together
through tolerance, dialogue, and cooperation.”
—Kofi A. Annan, Nobel Peace Laureate and Chair, Kofi Annan
Foundation
“It is said that to understand a problem properly you need to get
outside of it. Ron Garan has certainly done that. Ron’s focus is on
finding new connections and collaborations that cross borders of
all sorts that might just allow us to transform the world for the
better before we destroy this big blue ball we call home.”
—Peter Gabriel, musician and a founder of WOMAD, Witness, and The
Elders
“Ron Garan’s breakthrough book is one of a kind. Never before has a
firsthand account of lessons learned in space been applied to
firsthand humanitarian development work on Earth. Ron masterfully
synthesizes the big-picture view of our world with the ground-level
details necessary to overcome the barriers to improving life for
all people”
—Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia
“Astronaut Ron Garan’s fabulous book will transport you from the
magnificent sense of possibility in outer space to the perspective
of a worm on Earth’s rich soil and will reassert our fundamental
connection to one another in ways that challenge and inspire. We
all need more of an orbital perspective to remind us that, in the
end, we only have each other.”
—Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO, Acumen, and author of The Blue
Sweater
“A wonderful call to shift our point of view from local to global,
from myopic to orbital. This consciousness-altering,
ego-dissolving, mind-reconfiguring experience renders our common
purpose clear: we are the frontal lobes of this Pale Blue Dot and
we need to leverage our collective genius to overcome our
challenges and unleash our potential. Bravo!”
—Jason Silva, filmmaker, media artist, and host of National
Geographic Channel’s Brain Games
“Put a humanitarian into a spacesuit and keep sending him into
space and books like this are bound to be written. You see, global
problems can have a personal solution.”
—Keith Cowing, Executive Director, Space College Foundation
Ask a Question About this Product More... |