Recommended Reading for Space and what not?

[nexius]

I was in borders tonight, and was browsing through the "astronomy" section and saw a lot of great looking books. What book's do you all recommend that would be in-stock at borders or barnes and nobles? That one-book by Carl Sagan looked pretty good but I wasn't sure. In there, they charge you an arm and a leg for a book. <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" />

 

[derekmcd]

It depends on where your interest lies. Sagan's Cosmos is a good place to start along with Hawking's 'A Brief History Of Time' and 'Universe in a Nutshell'. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[weeman]

I have read Hawking's "The Universe in a Nutshell", it is quite an interesting book. I myself have also wanted to check out "Death by Black Hole" by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Most of Hawking's books are interesting, although they can be tough to understand sometimes. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Techies: We do it in the dark. </font></strong></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>"Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.</strong><strong>" -Albert Einstein </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[nexius]

Yea, that black hole book did look interesting as well. I think the Carl Sagan books are easier then stephen hawking books just by skimming through the pages. Neil Tyson wrote the Elegant Universe as well I think.

 

[alkalin]

A good book describing electric effects of plasmas improves over the notion that only gravity is at work is Eric Lerner’s book, “The Big Bang Never Happenedâ€

 

[derekmcd]

Brian Green wrote Elegant Universe. That book deals more with physics than cosmology. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[nexius]

Woops hehe. Thanks

 

[3488]

Postcards from Mars, by Jim Bell.<br /><br />Roving Mars, Spirit, Opportunity and the Exploration of the Red Planet, by Steve Squyres.<br /><br />Sojourner: An Insiders view of the Mars Pathfinder Mission, by Andrew Mishkin.<br /><br />Cassini at Saturn & Results from Huygens, by David M Harland.<br /><br />Io post Galileo, by Rosaly M Lopez (very expensive, but a masterpiece).<br /><br />Volcanic Worlds, Exploring the Solar System's Volcanoes, by Rosaly M Lopez. (Hopefully there will <br />shortly be an updated version as this one is pre Enceladus, Titan, etc, cryovolcanism).<br /><br />Apollo the Lost & Forgotten Missions, by D. J Shayler.<br /><br />The Depths of Space: The Story of the Pioneer Planetary Probes, by Mark Woolverton.<br /><br />NASA's Voyager Missions, Exploring the Outer Solar System & Beyond, by D. M Harland.<br /><br />Mission Jupiter, the Spectacular Journey of the Galileo Spacecraft, by Daniel Fisher.<br /><br />The Worlds of Galileo: Inside Story of NASA's mission to Jupiter.<br /><br />Asteroid Rendezvous, NEAR Shoemaker's Adventures at Eros, by Jim Bell & Jacqueline Mitton.<br /><br />I could go on & on!!!!!.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[nexius]

I actually picked up "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan, it's a great book, what a brilliant individual. Thanks, for the other suggestions though, i'll have to check them out!

 

[methanebubbles]

Parallel Worlds is quite good. Michio Kaku makes confusing topics (at least for me) easier to understand. i heard Hyperspace is good too, though i've never read it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> and we are all undeniably selfish. </div>

 

[derekmcd]

Indeed, Sagan is great. Even his philosophical rants are very eloquently thought out. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[3488]

Carl Sagan was a real genius. Cosmos may seem a bit dated now, but is still a real masterpiece.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[nexius]

Yea it looks like it was written in the 80's

 

[why06]

Hey methane... I haven't heard from you in a while. Anyway I've been looking at this thread and taking notes. They all sound like pretty interesting books. I haven't read an truly interseting book in a while. Fiction is great, but I forget what happens pretty quickly, while non-fiction I always seem to remember more. I probalbly should start reading more non-fiction. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div>________________________________________ <br /></div><div><ul><li><font color="#008000"><em>your move...</em></font></li></ul></div> </div>

 

[nexius]

Yea, I figure I learn more from non-fiction then fiction so I should use my time wisely and ready non-fiction. I'm sure many disagree haha.

 

[kelvinzero]

My favorite book is an introductory textbook called "Explorations: an Introduction to Astronomy" by Thomas T. Arny. its 1996 edition but there must be something comparable and more recent.<br /><br /> It is very easy to read, an occasional bit of maths but no need to get into it to enjoy the accompanying articles.<br /><br />rather than oohing and aahing and going into hyperbole, it has lots of intersting details and explanations. It isnt super dry or anything, for example it includes an essay on the probablility of life among many other topics.<br /><br />

 

[derekmcd]

There's some non-fiction out there that almost seems like fiction. Not so long ago, much of it might have been considered fiction. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[nexius]

Yea, thats why I love science in general, it's just an ever-changing thing. Me Luv it!