Project Gutenberg 2009-08-09 Public domain in the USA. 218 Miller, Walter M. 1923 1996 Miller, Walter Michael Miller, W. M. (Walter M.) Schroeder, Ernest Death of a Spaceman Produced from Amazing Stories March 1954. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "Death of a Spaceman" by Walter M. Miller Jr. is a poignant short story written in the mid-20th century, reflecting the complexities of mortality and the human experience from the perspective of an aging astronaut facing death. The narrative poignantly explores themes of acceptance, family bonds, and the introspective journey of a man who has lived his life among the stars but is now confined to his hospital bed as his life comes to an end. The story centers around Old Donegal, a retired astronaut, as he confronts his impending death while surrounded by his family, including his wife Martha and his daughter Nora. As he reflects on his life spent exploring space, Donegal grapples with his deteriorating physical condition and the emotional struggles of those who care for him, especially as he learns of his grandson Ken's disinterest in pursuing a similar path in space travel. Interspersed with nostalgic memories, humor, and frank discussions about mortality, the narrative highlights his desire for one last experience of the space he loved, culminating in a symbolic final blast-off that intertwines with the reality of his death, leaving readers to ponder the meaning of life, legacy, and acceptance. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 85.7 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Literature Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: American Literature 66339 2025-06-12T09:30:08.733558 text/html 62542 2021-01-05T10:41:56 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 162077 2021-01-05T10:41:56 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 227327 2025-06-12T09:30:13.463578 application/epub+zip 225654 2025-06-12T09:30:10.629613 application/epub+zip 90235 2025-06-12T09:30:09.400540 application/epub+zip 352693 2025-06-12T09:30:15.497568 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 344121 2025-06-12T09:30:12.608514 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 146182 2022-09-13T16:23:57.172874 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 57984 2025-06-12T09:30:08.391573 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 57866 2021-01-05T10:41:56 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 22997 2021-01-05T10:41:56 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19470 2025-06-12T09:30:15.653530 application/rdf+xml 12495 2025-06-12T09:30:09.958566 image/jpeg 3315 2025-06-12T09:30:09.680646 image/jpeg 226505 2025-06-12T09:30:08.752532 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia