Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight

Martha Ackmann · 280 pages

In 1961, just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hopes of becoming America's first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests at the legendary Lovelace Foundation as did the Mercury 7 astronauts, but they were summarily dismissed by the boys' club at NASA and on Capitol Hill. The USSR sent its first woman into space in 1963; th

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars

Nathalia Holt · 427 pages

"The riveting true story of the women who launched America into space. In the 1940s and 50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they didn’t turn to male graduates. Rather, they recruited an elite group of young women who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design,

Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space

Lynn Sherr · 374 pages

The definitive biography of Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, with exclusive insights from Ride's family and partner, by the ABC reporter who covered NASA during its transformation from a test-pilot boys' club to a more inclusive elite. This book is a biography of Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, with exclusive insights from her family and partner, and by the ABC reporter who

Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change

Cady Coleman · 272 pages

First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

James R. Hansen · 784 pages

On July 20, 1969, the world stood still to watch 38-year-old American astronaut Neil A. Armstrong become the first person ever to step on the surface of another heavenly body. Upon his return to Earth, Armstrong was celebrated for his monumental achievement. He was also--as NASA historian Hansen reveals in this authorized biography--misunderstood. Armstrong's accomplishments as an engineer, a test

John Glenn: A Memoir

John Glenn, Nick Taylor · 422 pages

"John Glenn's autobiography spans the seminal events of the twentieth century. It is a story that begins with his childhood in New Concord, Ohio, in the aftermath of World War I. It was there that he learned the importance of family, community, and patriotism. Glenn saw firsthand the ravages of the Depression and learned that determination, hard work, and teamwork could overcome any adversity. Th

Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon

Al Worden, Francis French · 300 pages

July 26-August 7, 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 15 space flight. As command module pilot for the Apollo 15 mission to the Moon, Al Worden flew on what is widely regarded as the greatest exploration mission that humans have ever attempted. Worden has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "most isolated human being" during his time alone in the command module Endea

Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon

Craig Nelson · 404 pages

A richly detailed and dramatic account of one of the greatest achievements of humankindAt 9:32 A.M. on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 rocket launched in the presence of more than a million spectators who had gathered to witness a truly historic event. It carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins to the last frontier of human imagination: the moon.Rocket Men is the thrilling story of the

Too Far From Home: A Story of Life and Death in Space

Chris Jones · 296 pages

The Astronaut Wives Club

Lily Koppel · 311 pages

"THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB is spectacular, both in its intimacy and its reach. Lily Koppel pulls out delicious behind-the-scenes details of the stresses, formalities, pleasures, and travails of being the women behind the men on the moon." --KAREN ABBOTT, AUTHOR OF *AMERICAN ROSE* AND *SIN IN THE SECOND CITY* **THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB** As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on

Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

Gene Kranz · 539 pages

"Kranz was flight director for both Apollo 11, the mission in which Neil Armstrong fulfilled President Kennedy's pledge, and Apollo 13. He headed the Tiger Team that had to figure out how to bring the three Apollo 13 astronauts safely back to Earth. (In the film Apollo 13, Kranz was played by the actor Ed Harris, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance.)". "In Failure Is Not an

A Man on the Moon

Andrew Chaikin, Michael Kramer · 688 pages

 For the 25th anniversary of the first moon landing, a winning and detailed account of the Apollo astronauts, a dozen of whom were the first human beings to walk on the face of the moon. The strength of the book lies in Chaikin's exhaustive research, including interviews with all 24 Apollo astronauts. Chaikin, an editor of Sky and Telescope, draws on the wealth of material from NASA's files--incl

Apollo 8

Jeffrey Kluger · 320 pages

Recounts the bold but dangerous mission to secure America's position as the first nation to reach the moon, revealing the dangers endured by its crew and the ways the mission brought renewal to a country ravaged by assassinations and war.

Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon

Alan Shepard, Deke Slayton, Jay Barbree, Howard Benedict · 396 pages

Who Was Neil Armstrong?

Roberta Edwards, Stephen Marchesi, Nancy Harrison · 108 pages

Dragonfly: Nasa and the Crisis Aboard Mir

Bryan Burrough · 528 pages

Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon

Buzz Aldrin, Ken Abraham · 331 pages

Forty years ago, Buzz Aldrin became the second human, minutes after Neil Armstrong, to set foot on a celestial body other than the Earth. The event remains one of mankind's greatest achievements and was witnessed by the largest worldwide television audience in history. In the years since, millions more have had their Earth-centric perspective unalterably changed by the iconic photograph of Aldrin

Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe

Mike Massimino · 336 pages

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

Brian Floca · 56 pages

Here is the story of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon -- a story of leaving and returning during the summer of 1969, and a story of home, seen whole, from far away by steady astronauts in their great machines.

Atmosphere: A Love Story

Taylor Jenkins Reid · 352 pages

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the f

Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys

Michael Collins · 528 pages

The years that have passed since Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon in July 1969 have done nothing to alter the fundamental wonder of the event: man reaching the moon remains one of the great events—technical and spiritual—of our lifetime. In this remarkable book, Michael Collins conveys, in a very personal way, the drama, beauty, and h

Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery

Scott Kelly · 387 pages

The veteran of four space flights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly inimical to human life. He describes navigating the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight, both existential and banal: the devastating effects on the body; the isolation from everyone he loves and the c

The Sky Below

Scott Parazynski, Susy Flory · 252 pages

The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space

Eugene Cernan, Donald A. Davis · 356 pages

Eugene Cernan came of age as an astronaut during the most exciting and dangerous decade of space flight. His career spanned the entire Gemini and Apollo programs, from being the first person to spacewalk all the way around our world to the moment when he left man's last footprint on the Moon as commander of Apollo 17. Between those two historic events lay more adventures than an ordinary person c