Space Books &
Magazines Looking for a good space read
Who needs a space elevator when
we can reach orbital altitude just by stacking up all
those space books written in the past 50 years. Yet,
somehow there are still plenty of new good ones going
on the stack every day.
Here we present some space magzines, book stores, space
book lists, and sites dedicated to special topics
such as space collectibles
and space history.
I also include some miscellaneous titles that I find
of particular interest.
Space
Book Stores and Publishers
These store sites provide books related to a wide range
of space topics. Some sites sell books directly while
others just describe the books and refer to another
online book stores for purchases.
American Astronautical
Society - Univelt Publishing
Univelt is the publisher for the American Astronautical
Society. Catalog includes all kinds of hard-to-get space
books and conference proceedings in areas such as
"..Mars Exploration, Space Travel, Planetary
Missions, JPL, Mission Control, NASA, Astronomy, Astronautics,
Science, Astrophysics, Spaceflight dynamics, the History
of space research, manned missions, planetary studies,
satellite technologies, man-machine interaction, effects
of cosmic radiation, colonization, rocketry & rockets,
shuttles and space stations, interstellar probes,
and much more."
They also publish the proceedings of the Mars society.
Apogee Books
This Canadian press publishes a wide range of space
books including a large range of space history books.
Recently, it also released the collectors book
Space Toys of The 60's.
Microcosm
- Astronautics Books Microcosm
is a rocket
company that has a bookstore on the side (or a bookstore
that builds rockets on the side!) The bookstore provides
a wide range of space related books and offer several
ways to search for the book, author or subject of interest.
Other Space Book
Stores & Publishers
HobbySpace
Shopping
Many of the general space stores listed in the Shopping
section also sell space books.
Saturn
Press
Saturn Press specializes "in rocketry publications,
offering books, posters, and booklets for modelers
and space enthusiasts." Most of these are by
Peter Alway.
Collect classic space books such as
the famous1950's introductory books about spaceflight
from Wernher von Braun, Arthur C. Clarke, Willy Ley
and others. There are also many technical books of historical
interest.
AddALL
- Used and Out-of-Print Books Used and out of print space book search and price
comparison among 100,000 booksellers.
Boston
Books -Astronomy, Space Science Books
"Used and out-of-print books on spaceflight, aviation,
science and technology. We also offer selected historical
reprints, as well as biographies on related topics "
Used Book Info
These sites provide info on out of print books. They
offer lookups on titles and authors on new, used,
rare, and out of print books and give information
on their availablity and price:
These sites provide lists of space
books in various categories. Some of these sites also
provide links to the major book stores where they can
be purchased online.
WSN
Special Report Catalog - Amazon - World Spaceflight
News provides this list of government space publications
not usually available at bookstores. These include
NASA and Russian training manuals, shuttle procedure
handbooks, shuttle mission reports, history papers,
and more.
"Turning Point breaks down how space
exploration and development can solve many of
the key issues we face today in America, such
as employment, education, the environment, energy,
and international relations. The future of humanity
is its exploration of the stars."
Space Art
NASA/ART,(Abrams,
October; 176 pages; 150 full color illustrations)
by Art Program Founder James Dean and Program Curator
Bertram Ulrich. Amazon
In the Stream of Stars : The Soviet-American
Space Art Book
William K. Hartmann et.al. - 1991 - present a broad
sampling of both American and Soviet/Russian space
art.
Visions of Space
By David A.
Hardy with a forword by Arthur C. Clarke this
book traces the history of space art and displays
the work of 75 artists. Published by Paper Tiger/Dragon's
World.
Hardyware: The Art of David A. Hardy
The Art of Chesley Bonestell
By Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant
Apollo: An Eyewitness Account by Astronaut/Explorer
Artist/MoonWalker
Alan Bean with Andrew Chaikin.
Ken Murphy provides these extensive lists of space
science fiction books, along with brief descriptions,
aimed at young people from first grade to high school:
The artist Andrew
Kolb has created a children's book from
the song Space
Oddity by David Bowie. You can view
the book on line and even download it in pdf
format for free.
PUPNIKS: The Story of Two Space Dogs
by Ruth Lubka - (Marshall
Cavendish, 2003) ISBN 0761451374 - "[Pupniks]
tells the story of Belka and Strelka, whose flight
and earth orbit in 1960 paved the way for Gagarin's
flight one year later. For very young children
(4-7), PUPNIKS includes photos of the dogs and
facts about other animal astronauts, as well as
info about Krushchev's gift of Strelka's pup Pushinka
to JFK in 1961. For more info, see www.marshallcavendish.com.
"
Relics
of the Space Raceby Russell Still
Now in its 2nd ed., this book gives a history of the
space program in the first half of the book and then
the second half provides a guide to space collectibles.
251 pages, softcover, PR Products, Roswell, Ga. Review
at Science Book Board.
Robbins
Medallions: Fact and Fiction by Howard Weinberge
History of the gold and silver commemorative mediallions
produced by the Robbins Company for all astronauts from
Apollo 7 to the shuttle flights. The medallions were
flown as mementos by the astronauts and then kept as
souveniers for family and friends.
The existence of the medallions was not publicized
by NASA. Howard Weinberge offers the first complete
history of the medallions and corrects various myths
about them.
The Unbroken
Chain - by Gunter Wendt & Russell Still.
Biography of Wendt, "known during the Mercury,
Gemini, and Apollo years as 'the Fuehrer of the launch
pad'"
SpaceBusiness.com
Check the Bookstore at SpaceBusiness.com, sponsored
by the International Space Business Council, for books
related to space commerce, industry studies, etc.
Rocketry Online,
one of the largest rocketry sites, provides this long
list of books of interest to amateur rocketeers.
Space
Magazines
There exist only a few magazines aimed
at the general public about space exploration and development.
They are mostly affiliated with space
activist organizations, usually published bi-monthly
or quarterly, and none are very large. (See About
HobbySpace for the local explanation for this.)
Nevertheless, the magazines listed below
provide lots of great articles, news updates, historical
data, and more on government and commercial space projects.
The activist affiliated magazines also give updates
on what's happening with the organizations.
Dwayne Day reviews of a selection of space news
related publications:
Great magazine for the space buff. Includes news updates,
detailed day-by-day descriptions of recent shuttle flights
and ISS logs, lots of space history, and more. Level
ranges from general to semi-technical.
Occasionally found at the larger newsstands in Europe
but seldom in the US. Some university aerospace libraries
carry it.
The NSS is dedicated to creating a "space faring
society", so the magazine empahsizes topics related
to human spaceflight. Each issue typically follows a
given theme, e.g. space tourism, with several articles
by different authors. The level is non-technical.
All About Space
"All About Space delves into the wonders of space
exploration, astronomy and space science every month,
providing in-depth knowledge from a team of experts
on an amazing array of topics. The magazine is unlike
any other, and will appeal to seasoned space fans and
new explorers alike, with a regular dose of amazing
articles, exclusive interviews and jaw-dropping images
that will make each issue simply unmissable. The magazine
also features a regular stargazing section that aims
to make astronomy accessible to everyone, with a host
of instruction articles from how to buy a telescope
to finding objects in the night sky."
To
the Stars International Quarterly
"a free quarterly online magazine for space-interested
and space-enthused people around the globe. This free
publication is especially dedicated to students and
teachers interested in space."
"ROOM is a space magazine for an international,
modern, forward-thinking audience. Our authors report
directly from the heart of the matter - they are experts,
aerospace industry leaders and scientists from all over
the world. At ROOM, we share a common dream - promotion
of peaceful exploration of space for the benefit of
humankind, all while bringing you incisive articles
on a variety of trending topics, from the latest breakthroughs
in astronautics to the environmental challenges of exploring
space, from security threats originating in space to
the untold history behind famous space missions"
Moon
Miners' Manifesto Published monthly by
The Moon Society
(+700 subscribers)
20-25 pages
A newsletter that deals with "the opening of
the Lunar frontier, suggesting how pioneers can make
best use of local resources. Some of the points made
will relate specifically to pioneer life in the lunar
environment." Peter Koch has edited MMM since it
started in 1986.
The Planetary Society emphasizes space science but
is friendly to human spaceflight. Most articles are
science related but presented in a very readable fashion
for the layperson.
Smthsonian
Air & Space Magazine
This bi-monthly covers both aviation and space topics.
The space articles often are historical in nature but
many cover current developments.
Dedicated history journal, with articles written by
both professional and amateur historians. Issues also
include interviews with "key figures and visionaries".
High Power Rocketry
Amazon: US
Created for the adult enthusiast, each issueof High Power Rocketry comes
with great model designs and instructionals, reviews of the latest equipment
and technology and profiles of the people who share in your love of rocketry.
Air & Space
Amazon: US
Smithsonian's Air and Space Magazine offers fascinating articles about
aviation history, events and personalities.
Analog Science Fiction & Fact
Amazon: US
Analog Science Fiction and Fact contains compelling, hard-to-put-down futuristic
sci-fi stories and scientific features.
High Power Rocketry
Amazon: US
Created for the adult enthusiast, each issueof High Power Rocketry comes
with great model designs and instructionals, reviews of the latest equipment
and technology and profiles of the people who share in your love of rocketry.
Air & Space
Amazon: US
Smithsonian's Air and Space Magazine offers fascinating articles about
aviation history, events and personalities.
Analog Science Fiction & Fact
Amazon: US
Analog Science Fiction and Fact contains compelling, hard-to-put-down futuristic
sci-fi stories and scientific features.