Thanks to Netgalley and ECW for access to this arc.


With all the private space initiatives, the ISS, and determination of government space agencies to return humans to the moon and then head for Mars this seemed like a timely book. It's packed with interesting information about how living in space affects humans and how this, in turn, could affect future space travel and colonization.


Dave Williams, a medical doctor and astronaut himself, and space journalist Elizabeth Howell have written a book that is not only easy to read and understand but also full of cool stuff. Humans might think floating around in the space station looks effortless but space is not the environment in which humans evolved and some weird and potentially harmful things can happen to us there.


We're all used to NASA and ESA acronyms but how about "puffy-face bird-leg syndrome"? What is the problem facing many astronauts that guitarists and equine veterinarians might have a solution for? Does the ISS have its own microbiome and what happens to that of astronauts who spend months there? What can be done to help prevent bone density loss and why do astronauts often request extra spicy spices and sauces for their food? Believe it or not, there are people tasked with trying to prevent Earth contamination from retrieved Martian soil samples as well as preventing Earth contaminants from spoiling other planets and moons in the solar system. And let's not even discuss shed skin cells on the ISS.


Things learned by space agencies trying to protect astronauts or help them return to their normal states of health after being in microgravity situations might also help senior citizens hold off or reverse the effects of aging. So why are astronauts taller? Because without the force of gravity compressing spinal discs, they tend to "separate" just a bit. Unfortunately, astronauts immediately lose their gained height upon returning to Earth. Space travel for ordinary citizens isn't here quite yet but after reading this book, we can get an in depth idea of what it's like. B

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher ECW Press for an advanced copy of this study on the effects of space on humans and what our future in the stars might be like.

I remember reading once an article by writer, I believe it was Bruce Sterling who talked, well joked about all this talk about colonies on other planets. The writer's comments was basically, drop a group of people in the Empty Quarter in the Arabian Peninsula. Give then only what they can carry plus supplies that maybe could be brought in by ship. Talk to them sporadically, and send supplies occasionally, for a few years and see if they thrive. Than we can start thinking about colonies on the moon. This is a good way of looking at future life on other planets. Omitted from this was the health of the colonists, something that is a nascent science in space exploration, and one that is covered in this book. And boy are there a lot of health woes. Why Am I Taller?: What Happens to an Astronaut's Body in Space by Dr. Dave Williams, astronaut and Elizabeth Howell Ph.D is a look at the many issues both physical and mental that space travellers will have to be concerned with, and how space groups are working to keep astronauts healthy, safe, and able to thrive in both the vacuum of space, and on different planets

The book begins with an introduction to the author, his fascination with space, and love for the oceans, a field that seemed more reasonable to wish for. Soon however Dr. Williams was chosen by the Canadian Space Program as a physician astronaut, which gave him a unique insight to what was happening not only to his own body but the bodies of his fellow astronauts. Even short trips to the International Space Station left astronauts sometimes taller, which was fine, but with eye problems, back muscle problems, and walking and balance difficulties. And many times after returning to Earth people reported heart issues, balance and strength issues and more. Their is discussion about the Kelly twins, two astronauts whose health were monitored on Earth and in space to see what differences were taking place. Depression is discussed as being both trapped in a tin can and seeing the greatness that is the planet Earth can play with the mind. And this is just in the near Earth orbit, imagine the effects on the Moon or on Mars.

A fascinating look at space exploration that is not all majesty and exploration, but about the toil it takes on those who had the right stuff. In many ways to paraphrase the great Sun Ra incorrectly Space might not be the place. Imagine landing on a hostile planet after no gravity with back problems, weaken muscles, and a slightly different gravity to deal with on solid ground, and know that you had to build shelter, grow food, and find water. Somehow this seems to be skipped in the Amazon and Tesla dreams of making money and fleeing a dying Earth for life in the outer colonies. I enjoyed this book for the very different view it presents, and some ways of dealing with these problems. The writing is very good, that goes in-depth on a lot of issues, but does not make the readers feel out of their depth. There are a lot of very good ideas that are addressed in here, some things as a science fiction person would never have thought of, but left me going, oh yeah that's bad. A book with a lot of insight.

Recommended for space fans and for science fiction fans and writers. Especially writers as there are a lot of ideas on almost every page that would make great short stories, and even novels. A book that raises alot of questions, and one that makes readers appreciate the costs that explorers are willing to take to know what is out there.

I am a self-proclaimed "space nerd" and was very excited to get an ARC of this book. Its an excellent read on the medicinal studies that have been conducted to understand how the body changes while in space and how an extended period of time in space can impact the body when it returns to gravity. The information shared in this book really got me thinking about different things that could and can happen to the body in space that I hadn't realized before. Its amazing to think of the most minute details that scientists, medical doctors, and researchers are looking into as we prepare to return to the moon and ultimately travel to Mars..

Thank you to NetGalley, Dr. Dave Williams, Elizabeth Howell, and ECW Press for providing me an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a little more dense and longer than I expected, but I ended up really enjoying it. Every aspect of living in space is addressed, and now I kind of want to be an astronaut. It's fascinating the amount of research and development that has gone into space programs over the past seventy years.

I find space fascinating and picked up this book on impulse. In many ways, this book is unique, covering material I had not read before on what we need to watch out for as you we travel more into space and potentially colonize the moon or new planets.

The catchy title of the book is to indicate that we grow taller in low gravity environments as compared to Earth. However, the effect is temporary, and astronauts quickly return to our earlier heights once back to Earth. Travel into space has been found to have several impacts on our body which is still being studied – gait, eyesight, fluid distribution, cognition, digestion, and many other areas. Coincidentally, quite a few symptoms match with that observed in ageing on Earth. So, it is possible that research to offset these symptoms could help address some of the effects of ageing. There is a lot of discussion around what we have learnt from the astronauts on the ISS, Apollo and other missions. The book covers the precautions taken by NASA in getting people acclimatised to space travel, medial research as well as self-sufficiency readiness in case we set up a permanent base elsewhere. Since there are still quite a few unknowns though, we are still years away from being able to colonize other planets. As the author mentions, Mars travel and colonization has been “20 years away” since very long.

This book is very comprehensive and has lots of interesting information. While many books I have read earlier tend to gloss over the difficulties in space travel and liberally drop terms like “terraforming” as if it were child’s play, this book takes a very practical approach and explains the issues in a good amount of detail. It is possible though that the level of detail is excessive for some or many readers, but I found it very interesting.

My rating: 4.5 / 5.

Fascinating and full of fun facts about life, and health, in space. Doctor Williams is a physician and an astronaut, so he knows what he’s talking about. The sample size of people who’ve traveled to space is little and even smaller is the number of humans who have lived in space. They are also far from normal in fitness terms, since I doubt many couch potatoes would pass the rigorous physicals given to astronauts. Now, anyone can imagine the effects of microgravity on the human body, but some are actually surprising. The authors try to apply the knowledge that they’re getting to earthbound humans. Space ages you temporarily so what we learn about fixing this can help people who’ve aged the old-fashioned way. What about food and digestion and blood circulation? It’s all covered. I also enjoyed the insight into the future of space travel. If a six month stay in the ISS takes such a toll, how could anyone travel to Mars and beyond? The authors discuss everything here, in an approachable way that is not hard to understand. I enjoyed this read.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#ECW Press!

'Why Am I Taller?' focuses on questions and potential solutions for the medical changes caused by space travel. It discusses the effects on astronauts, what experiments have been carried out, and what those experiments may be able to reveal about life, illness, and aging on Earth. Written in an accessible, lighthearted style, this was both enjoyable and informative.

This was a fantastic non-fiction. Really well written with a good flow of ideas. It was entertaining, easy to follow, and insightful. If you have any interest in some questions on space, space travel and the effects on our body, this is a must read! (Even if you don't, it's still super fun and interesting!)

“In the parlance of modern spacewalkers, “if something goes wrong when you’re outside, you may have the rest of your life to solve the problem.”

Going to space has been a childhood dream of mine, and the thought of weightlessness was a big part of it. Floating around in space — that’s where the fun is, surely, when you get tired of majestic views and general awesomeness. Maybe a few acrobatic jumps on the Moon and on Mars can also break the monotony. Space is fun!

“In 2013, NASA released the mission logs of the Apollo 10 mission, which graphically documented the problem of a “turd floating through the air.”

(Just ruminate on the preadolescent humor of this situation for a moment.)

But free cheese is only in a mousetrap, right? In space with microgravity strange things happen to our Earth-designed bodies, and who’s best to tell us all about it than a Canadian doctor-astronaut (or is it astronaut-doctor?) Dave Williams, paired up with space journalist Elizabeth Howell? Williams, “an astronaut, aquanaut, pilot, emergency physician, scientist and CEO”,has been to the International Space Station a couple of times, did EVAs and all that, and when it comes to intricacies of using a space toilet or lacking a space shower — well, he’s done that, too.

“The rapid transition to microgravity causes fluid to shift from the lower extremities to the face, torso and upper extremities. This causes a stuffy nose like that experienced with a cold, alters the taste of food and creates a somewhat humorous “moon-faced” appearance that can be more striking in some astronauts than others. If nothing else, it’s a great way to get rid of facial wrinkles!”

Strange things happen to us in space in the absence of gravity, which - although we may complain about it habitually when it comes to tired joints and sagging body parts - seems to be really necessary for us to function. Fluid redistributions (“puffy-face bird-leg” syndrome, anyone?), disorientation, affected proprioception, vision issues, bone mass loss, aging of carotid arteries by decades — all that outweighs a glorious possibility of feeling an inch or two taller due to intervertebral disk decompression (and yeah, maybe I can find another way to become an inch taller than my shorty frame is now).

“For instance, studies in space have shown that astronauts’ arteries stiffen, aging the vessels by an equivalent of 20 years on Earth for every six-month or so period in space.”

Some of the solutions to space issues can also have potential for applications to us, Earthlings, on Earth, especially the changes associated with aging. But even without that, it’s a fascinating read. And it’s making me reconsider my plans for comfy space trip, at least until we achieved that space gravity accommodations that astronauts seem to enjoy in the movies.

“A weirder effect of microgravity is that burping can be riskier than it is on Earth. Without gravity, gases don’t float to the top of the stomach contents as they normally would. A typical burp provides relief from swallowed gas, often in a particularly sonorous manner. In space, acting upon the desire to burp might randomly result in either air coming up or ... stomach contents.”

Williams and Howell write simply and engagingly, never getting bogged up in excessively dry details and maintaining accessibility of the material throughout. And they sprinkle enough humor to hit the sweet spot and make it very enjoyable.

4.5 stars, rounding up.

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Thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love non-fiction books about space and the universe, and I love shows like Star Trek, and I hound NASA's updates. So I knew from the outset that this book would be right up my alley.
But although I've read plenty of non-fiction books about space, about how we think the universe might work (or not), I hadn't read anyting about the nitty-gritty details of space travel itself yet.

In Why Am I Taller, Howell and Williams focus on the human body and how it changes when it leaves our home planet behind and enters space: how lack of gravity and exercise affect bone density and vascular fitness, how zero-G conditions can mess up our sense of propriaception even after returning to Earth, how loneliness and depression can be combatted in tiny, cramped quarters when you're constantly together with your crew mates. From here they explain how we can use the insights into these things we gain from space travellers to help people suffering from similar issues on Earth, and vice versa. For example, the issues of reduced bone density and vascular fitness resemble closely those often experienced in elderly people, and the way astronauts are able to recover after returning to Earth (and the measures taken to help them recover) may have ramifications on how we think about how we approach ageing for everyone.

And then there's the question of how far we can go: visits to the moon and even Mars are possible and even increasingly likely, but, cosmically speaking, they are right on our doorstep - and even so they pose vast difficulties for the people proposing to undertake such a journey. How could the time spent travelling in space be reduced - and how can we make sure the people doing it remain in the best health possible?

The last chapter briefly touches on the thought of further space travel - on what it would take to visit even our closest neighbouring star system: with the best drive we can currently devise, a journey of about 1000 years. This chapter is necessarily speculative, but the sense of wonder and excitement the authors derive from just thinking about the idea is palpable, and it makes for a wonderful closing point of the book.

If you enjoy non-fiction and are interested in space travel at all, I cannot recommend this well-researched and engaging book enough!
I want to thank NetGalley and EWC Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here expressed are my own.

I enjoyed this book. I found it to be an articulate description of the interplay between medicine and space flight. The tone is conversational, with some lightness. All the science is well explained. I even enjoyed reading the acknowledgements; this let me get to know the authors a little bit better. I also found that the acknowledgements contained some important points. Overall, this is a very good read. Thank you to Netgalley and ECW Press for the advance reader copy.

What a fantastic book and what a fantastic opening. Sometimes it can take me a while to settle into a non fiction book, but within seconds of reading the first page, I was immediately into it. Hooked!

It was written expertly and so easy to slip into, which can be difficult for a non fiction book I find.

It made for very easy reading and it’s perfect for those who have either never read non fiction before or for those who read them all the time. A book perfect for every reader! I mean, who isn’t interested in space, space travel, the potential of us moving to other planets and how it effects our body?

The information in this book was conveyed brilliantly, breaking down any difficult concepts into easy to understand chunks. There’s a perfect balance between the science, experiences of historical astronaut space flights, stories of space travel and speculative insights into where space travel may be projected to lead.

It was really entertaining and I honestly found that this book flew by. It was insightful, informative and really easy to loose yourself into. Thoroughly recommend!