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: Defying Limits
This is the memoir of Dr. Dave Williams, a Canadian astronaut and former Director of Space and Life Sciences at NASA. An overarching message of performing your best, living life in the moment, and overcoming failure and adversity provides inspiration for anyone wishing to become an astronaut.
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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: 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: Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon
As we approach the 2019 50th Anniversary of the first landing on the Moon, this beautiful book is a perfect introduction for the younger generation who are not aware of this seminal event or the subsequent missions that followed. Written mostly in verse, it is both informative and visually pleasing, with excellent artwork and actual photographs.
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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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