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Earth and Space

Space might exist the final frontier, but the 2nd to final frontier is my nearly endless list of books to read. Whether y'all're interested in astronomy, cosmology, spacetime, or space travel, these books are waiting to blow your mind.

Non-fiction

Pale Blueish Dot: A Vision of the Homo Future in Space draws readers through Carl Sagan'southward take on the history of space travel and where information technology'south headed. Sagan taught astronomy and cosmology at Cornell, back in the 24-hour interval, and he had a unique reading list, which is itself worth a wait.

Death by Black Hole: and Other Cosmic Quandaries, by Neil deGrasse Tyson, explores in his own inimitable style a variety of topics on cosmology and space, from what it might be like to be within a black hole to why we run across the dominicus as the color we exercise. Information technology's an accessible read for a newcomer to the topics it handles, and doesn't make readers experience dumb.

The Universe in a Nutshell, on the other hand, is a Stephen Hawking opus that tackles big concepts about space and the universe, things like blackness holes and lite cones and the shape of the universe, and now you or your giftee tin feel the joy of reading it in Hawking'south auto-tuned voice. You don't have to be a physicist to get a great deal of useful insight from this book. Hawking, too, has a toothsome reading listing, which he includes in the dorsum.

World and Space: Photographs from the Archives of NASA (case page pictured superlative) is an extremely gorgeous coffee tabular array volume, jammed to the gills with beauty shots from the places NASA has been and seen. From a backward glance at Globe, haloed by the setting sun, to galaxies and nebulae in the deepest skies, information technology's endlessly rewarding to flip through and in that location's e'er something to ponder and talk almost. If your giftee likes space-related heart candy, this is the book.

Fiction

The Left Manus of Darkness, past Ursula K. LeGuin, won the Hugo Accolade in 1970; she was the commencement woman to win a Hugo, by the mode. The book follows a man ambassador from Globe to the planet outsiders call Winter, whose inhabitants are of cryptic gender. It is gentle and unflinching in its ideas, lyrical in its language, and will leave you rereading it over and over, picking up new and meaningful things every time.

Redshirts is a John Scalzi novel that examines just how strange life might look to the bandage of a TV show like Star Expedition if they had to examine the strange inconsistencies, plot holes, and sudden twists of life without knowing they were "on" a TV show at all. It'south an irreverent send-up of dozens of science fiction tropes and evidently named after ane in particular.

Glory Road, by Robert Heinlein, was Heinlein's major foray into fantasy. This extract, the classified ad the protagonist answers to send him on his epic journey, should give y'all all you need to know about whether to buy it:

ARE Y'all A COWARD? This is not for y'all. We badly need a brave man. He must be 23 to 25 years quondam, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English language, with some French, practiced in all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious run a risk, corking danger. You must utilize in person, rue Dante, Nice, 2me étage, apt. D.

Those of you looking for a hefty sci-fi serial set in a universe distinct from the usual Star Wars / Star Trek fare should consider the Nighttime's Dawn trilogy (volume 1, volume 2. and volume 3), by Peter F. Hamilton. Hamilton excels at creating vast, sprawling civilizations with their own distinct cultures and goals, without losing focus on his core group of characters. I picked the series up on a whim a few years dorsum and accept non been disappointed.

The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov, is another archetype series that's admittedly worth a read if you've never come across information technology. Information technology tells the story of the fall of the Galactic Empire and the psychohistorian Hari Seldon'southward efforts to minimize the chaos and galaxy-wide night age which volition follow in its wake. The Empire cannot be saved, its reject is as well far gone, but Seldon's Foundation is destined to ascent in its stead — provided, of course, that it isn't destroyed past its enemies or the fading remnants of the Galactic Empire itself.

One time upon a time, pawing through my uncle's bookshelf, I discovered Expendable by James Gardner, the hardcover edition. Festina Ramos is physically flawed: she has a birthmark like a port-wine stain on her face, then she'south consigned to being an Explorer. Under the quasi-benevolent leadership of the League of Peoples, Explorers are sent to exoplanets in order to get boots on the surface — expendable boots the League of Peoples doesn't actually desire back. But that's not how the story's going to end if Festina has anything to say nearly it.