Some book recommendations from our club members.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
Fiction
Follow the adventures of Arthur Dent throughout the Galaxy on Adams' humerous delve into science fiction - Don't Panic.
Cosmos
Carl Sagan
Non-fiction
A wonderful book about the universe with great photos and illustrations.
A Short History of Nearly Everything (2005 Aventis Award Winner)
Bill Bryson
Non-fiction
Year Publ: 2003 & 2005
Available Media: Soft Cover, Hard Cover, Special Edition, Childs Edition, E-book & Audio
Recommended By: Tom Croskey
Why Recommended: My all time "soft science history" book favorite. Primarily due to Bill Bryson being such a witty engaging story teller. This book is a great "big history" book which starts with the creation of the universe and covers key (and some not so key, but very interesting) primarily science historical events. While the book now is getting a bit dated, it really does not change history....it just does not cover the last roughly 20 years.
I really recommend both the Special Hard Cover edition as it includes many, many pictures and graphics. I also recommend the audio version, as I listen to it in my car while on long drives. The audio book voice orator is exceptional. "Nearly new", softly used editions of the book can be purchased on-line.
The Day We Found the Universe
Marcia Bartusiak
Non-fiction
A history of the time period from the late 1800s leading up to the discovery by Hubbel that Andromeda and other nebula were actually galaxies just like the Milky Way expanding our understanding of the universe.
The Apollo Murders
Chris Hadfield - Canadian Astronaut with NASA
Fiction
Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it. A great who dunnit mystery!
The Martian
Andy Weir
Fiction
A mission to Mars goes wrong after a storm on Mars and an astronaut gets stranded; was also a movie with Matt Damon playing the lead role.
Longitude
Dava Sobel
Non-fiction
Story of the critical race to improve longitudinal measurements for maritime purposes that used precision clocks and the stars and later translated into astronomical measures.
Galileos Daughter
Dava Sobel
Non-fiction
Historical account of Galileos life as described in letters he wrote to his daughter.
The Defector
Chris Hadfield - Canadian Astronaut with NASA
Fiction
On the eve of war a Soviet pilot defects to the US bringing with him an advanced fighter jet. The NASA Flight Controller and former US test pilot watches from the ground unaware that its arrival will putll him into a high stakes game of spies, lies, and secrets that hold the key to cold war and space supremecy.
The Planets
Dava Sobel
Non-fiction
Sobel explores the planets origins and oddities through the lens of popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music, poetry, biography, and history
Artemis
Andy Weir
Fiction
Takes place in the late 2080s in Artemis, the first and so far only city on the moon. It follows the life of porter and smuggler Jasmine Bashara as whe gets caught up in a conspiracy to control the city.
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
Fiction
Ryland Grace, a high school science teacher turned astronaut, who wakes up with amnesia on a spaceship, millions of miles from Earth, and must discover why he's there and how to save humanity from an extenction-level threat
The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Non-fiction - A Great Courses lecture series
Neil deGrasse Tyson makes sense of multiple universes, extraterrestrial life, and other great cosmological headscratchers.
My Favorite Universe
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Non-fiction - A Great Courses Lecture Series
NDT takes you on a spirited and intellectually engaging journey through the cosmos and all its history, from before the Big Bang to the most likely ways in which Earth, and perhaps the entire universe might end
Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Non-fiction
NDTs varioius writings relating to the history and future of NASA and space travel in general.
Sun, Moon, Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets
Tyler Nordgren
Non-fiction
Astronomer Tyler Nordgren illustrates how this most seemingly unnatural of natural phenomena was transformed from a fearsome omen to a tourist attraction over time.
Stars Above, Earth Below: A Guide to Atronomy in the National Parks
Tyler Nordgren
Non-fiction
Nordgren examines a range of astronomical topics and makes the connection between them and the landscapes, processes, and cultures which can be seen and experienced within specific US national parks.
Merlin's Universe
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Non-fiction
Merlin, a fictional character living on the planet Omniscia in the Andromeda galaxy has witnessed most of the history of Earth and all of its great scientific events first hand. NDT explains the interactions of Merlin with Galileo, Newton, Davinci, Einstein and other great scientists in fun, humorous, yet scientifically correct ways.