“Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys” is one of those books I keep re-reading. It’s history, and it’s packed with protein-enriched geekiness. More than anything else, it’s a travel story. Apollo 11 is only 40 years in our past but it’s already been polished smooth and robbed of most of its nooks and crannies. The larger the scale of an event, the harder it is to progress beyond the iconography. The grainy video of Armstrong’s hop from the last rung of the ladder onto the footpad. The famous line when he actually stepped onto the surface. Cronkite, rendered speechless. Check, check and check: okay, now we move on to the next page. - Andy Inahtko