Book Reviews and Recommended Reading
More than 350 Nonfiction, Fiction, & Children’s Books Reviewed
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Opinions expressed are those of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Space Society. To get a book reviewed by NSS: send query with book description to [email protected] Do NOT send attached files with your query. Do NOT mail books to the NSS address. We usually respond to queries within 10 days. Note: review copies must be provided free. They can be electronic, but books must also be available in print. We are ONLY interested in books about human exploration and settlement of space.
Book Review: Catching Stardust
The best account we have so far of pioneering missions to sample to sample comets and asteroids: The NASA Stardust mission to sample a comet, the Japanese Hayabusa asteroid sample return mission, and the ESA Rosetta probe to land on a comet. The author is a geochemist who was involved in all three missions.
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Book Review: A Pioneer’s Guide to Living on the Moon
This book describes a grand vision—a string of largely self-sufficient settlements spread across the northern face of the Moon, interconnected via a network of roads and power cables, thus creating a thriving lunar civilization. It is based on Peter Kokh’s 31-year history of writings in the Moon Miners’ Manifesto newsletter.
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Book Review: Saturn Run
Saturn Run by John Standford and Ctein, reviewed by Peter Spasov. The U.S. and China race to seize technological secrets from an extraterrestrial visitor in orbit around Saturn. The book focuses on the technology and the human ingenuity to travel to Saturn in 2067, emphasizing the science behind the fiction. Space technology enthusiasts will find much to savor.
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Book Review: This Insubstantial Pageant
This Insubstantial Pageant, by Kate Story. Reviewed by Peter Spasov. Based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, an interstellar crew encounter strange botanical beings, love, revenge and a betrayed exile from Earth. A brilliant mix of scientific speculation written in a narrative and sometimes poetic style.
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Book Review: Spaceport America
Miguel and Michelle Visit Spaceport America by Loretta Hall (2017). This book captures the experience of two children on a school field trip to New Mexico’s Spaceport America. Reviewed by Marianne Dyson.
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Book Review: Mission to Pluto
Mission to Pluto by Mary Kay Carson (2017). Outstanding “group biography” including profiles of the New Horizons mission team members and the dwarf planet itself. Reviewed by Marianne Dyson.
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