Astronaut Biography

In these lively and fascinating essays, scientists from around the world weigh in on the latest advances in the search for intelligent life in the universe and discuss just what that might look like. Since 2000, science has seen a surge in data and interest on several fronts related to E.T...

Near the end of the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott and fellow moonwalker James Irwin conducted a secret ceremony unsanctioned by NASA: they placed on the lunar soil a small tin figurine called The Fallen Astronaut, along with a plaque bearing a list of names. By telling the stories of those sixteen astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the quest to reach the moon between 1962 and 1972, this book enriches the saga of humankind's greatest scientific undertaking, Project Apollo, and conveys the human cost of the space race.

2020 Audie Awards WINNER - History/Biography As the fiftieth anniversary of the first lunar landing approaches, the award winning historian and perennial New York Times bestselling author takes a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and...

Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman shares the wisdom that helped her overcome the barriers of others’ expectations—and how to work on a team both in close quarters and remotely. In 2010, Cady Coleman boarded a rocket and blasted off into space for her third NASA mission, a six-month...

An inspiring and approachable tip-filled guide to changing your habits, living more sustainably, and taking action, by Greenpeace ambassador Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter movies) Go Gently is a guide for sustainability at home that offers simple, tangible steps toward reducing...

Neil Armstrong's journey to the moon is the focus of the fifteenth entry in the New York Times bestselling series of biographies about heroes. This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great--the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically...

Much has been written about Neil Armstrong, America's modern hero and history's most famous space traveler. Yet, shy of fame and never one to steal the spotlight, Armstrong was always reluctant to discuss his personal side of events. Here for the first time is the definitive story of Neil's life of flight he shared for five decades with a trusted friend - Jay Barbree.

Full of exclusive new stories, and astonishing detail only an astronaut would know, the book conveys what space exploration is really like: the wondrous view of Earth, the surreal weightlessness, the extraordinary danger, the surprising humdrum, the unexpected humour, the newfound perspective, the years of training, the psychological pressures, the gruelling physical toll, the thrill of launch and the trepidation of re-entry. The book also examines the surprising, shocking and often poignant stories of astronauts back on Earth, whose lives are forever changed as they readjust to terra firma.

Now a major motion picture, this is the first—and only—definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose “one small step” changed history. When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. In First Man, author James R...

A New York Times bestseller! The historic race that reawakened the promise of manned spaceflight A Finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Alone in a Spartan black cockpit, test pilot Mike Melvill rocketed toward space. He had eighty seconds to exceed the speed of...

Buzz Aldrin: The Life and Legacy of the Second Astronaut to Walk on the Moon profiles his life and chronicles the most memorable space mission in history. You will learn about Buzz Aldrin like never before.

From a long-term planning lead for the Mars Exploration Rover Project comes this vivid insider account of some of NASA’s most vital and exciting missions to the Red Planet—a wondrous chronicle of unprecedented scientific discovery and the search for evidence of life on Mars. “There are...

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn became a national star. That morning at Cape Canaveral, the small-town boy from Ohio took his place atop a rocket and soared into space. The Last American Hero is a stunning examination of the layers that formed the man: a hero of the Cold War, a two-time astronaut, a veteran senator, a devoted husband and father, and much more.

In October 1968 Donn Eisele flew with fellow astronauts Walt Cunningham and Wally Schirra into Earth orbit in Apollo 7. The first manned mission in the Apollo program and the first manned flight after a fire during a launch pad test killed three astronauts in early 1967, Apollo 7 helped restart NASA's manned-spaceflight program.

In the most comprehensive biography on the subject yet, Gus Grissom: The Lost Astronaut offers a more personal side and fuller picture of Grissom’s life and character. Author Ray E. Boomhower explores Grissom’s life from his days as a child to his service as a combat pilot. He delves into the process by which NASA selected its original seven Mercury astronauts, the jostling for position to be the first American in space, and Grissom’s near-fatal Liberty Bell 7 flight that haunted his subsequent space career.

One of the most elusive and controversial figures in NASA's history, George W. S. Abbey was called "the Dark Lord", "the Godfather", and "UNO" (unidentified NASA official) by those within NASA. Yet Abbey had more influence on human spaceflight than almost anyone in history. From young pilot and wannabe astronaut to engineer, bureaucrat, and finally director of the Johnson Space Center, Abbey's story has never been fully told - until now. The Astronaut Maker takes listeners inside NASA to learn the real story of how Abbey rose to power and wielded it out of the spotlight.

Neil Armstrong: The Life and Legacy of the First Astronaut to Walk on the Moon profiles the famous astronaut's life and chronicles the most memorable space mission in history. You will learn about Neil Armstrong like never before.

In 1971, famed astronaut Alan Shepard returned from the moon and went to get a haircut. Before settling into the barber’s chair in Webster, Texas, near NASA’s Mission Control, Shepard gave his longtime barber and friend, Carlos Villagomez, an autographed golf ball. During his Apollo 14 moonwalk, Shepard had conducted a world-famous demonstration of gravity by hitting a golf ball in an out-of-this-world sand trap. It took him two tries.

A fascinating new history of America, told through the stories of a diverse cast of ten extraordinary—and often overlooked—adventurers, from Sacagawea to Matthew Henson to Sally Ride, who pushed the boundaries of discovery and determined our national destiny. ""Brilliantly imaginative...

From one of the world’s leading planetary scientists, a luminous memoir of exploration on Earth, in space, and within oneself—equal parts ode to the beauty of science, meditation on loss, and roadmap for personal resilience ""Fierce, absorbing, and ultimately inspiring."" —ELIZABETH...