Space Chronicles – Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Edited by Avis Lang); W.W. Norton & Co., New York; $26.95 (hardcover); 2012. This delightful read comes courtesy of a thoughtful, charismatic astrophysicist and renowned popular speaker – an alien blend that’s refreshing, entertaining and stimulating. Tyson has written a spirited why, how, and [...]

Destination Mars – New Explorations of the Red Planet by Rod Pyle; Prometheus Books; Amherst, New York; $19.00; 2012 As you read this, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is bearing down on the red planet – headed for an early August entry, descent and landing. Once again, scientists and engineers will have fingers-crossed as this [...]

Rockets and People: The Moon Race (Volume IV) by Boris Chertok; NASA History Program Office; Washington, D.C.; Note: Available as free E-book (also Government Printing Office, Hard Cover); $79.00; 2012. This is the last volume of a four-volume set of memoirs by the Russian spacecraft designer, Boris Chertok. He worked under the former Soviet Union’s [...]

The Elusive WOW – Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence by Robert Gray; Palmer Square Press; Chicago, Illinois; $29.95 (hard cover); December 2011. Don’t let this book escape your radar screen. The author has put together a telling tale here of an incident in August 1977 when Ohio State University’s “Big Ear” radio telescope snagged something very [...]

New Horizons: Edition Apollo 104 Poster Set, By Robert Godwin; Apogee Books, Canada; $49.95; 2011. This is Apollo on steroids…panoramic photography on the Moon. It is imagery that you’ve never experienced. The folks at Apogee Books have done an incredible job of packaging here. There are over 100 color roll outs, measuring 20 inches by [...]