THE SCIENCE SHELF This page of the Science Shelf is a subset of the full list of books reviewed by date for people who love books about space and astronomy.
Dear Science Readers,
For a time, I added books that I had seen and could recommend, but had not written reviews for. Those books are designated with an asterisk (*) below.
Readers are encouraged to subscribe to the Science Shelf e-mail newsletter (sent roughly once a month) to tell you about new books and features added to the site. If you add your e-mail address to the Science Shelf mailing list , please be assured it will be not be shared with anyone or used for any other purpose exept to mail you information about the website.
Note: All materials on this site are the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single copies of reviews or columns for their own use. For permission to publish or print multiple copies of any of the materials on this site, please contact the author by e-mail .
Return to Science Shelf Home Page
Space book lovers may want to visit children's science writer and former NASA flight controller Marianne Dyson's webpage of reviews of children's space books. Reviews of books in reverse chronological order by year of publication.
[Space Art] [2011 and later] [2010] [2009] [2008] [2007] [2006] [World Year of Physics 2005] [2005] [2004] [2003] [2002] [2001] [2000] [Before 2000] SPACE ART BOOKS 2011 and later Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto by Alan Stern and David GrinspoonDark Matter and the Dinosaurs The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe by Lisa RandallFirst Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth by Marc KaufmanNear-Earth Objects: Finding Them Before They Find Us by Donald K. Yeomans2010 Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach2009 Pluto Confidential: An Insider Account of the Ongoing Battles Over the Status of Pluto by Laurence A. Marschall and Stephen P. MaranRocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon by Craig NelsonAlmost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee StoneThe Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets by Alan BossThe Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson2008 Beyond UFOs: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Its Astonishing Implications for Our Future by Jeffrey Bennett2007 Is Pluto a Planet? A Historical Journey Through the Solar System by David A. Weintraub2006 Civilized Life in the Universe: Scientists on Extraterrestrial Intelligence by George BasallaThe Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God by Carl Sagan, edited by Ann Druyan2005 Life As We Do Not Know It: The NASA Search for (and Synthesis of) Alien Life by Peter WardThe Planets by Dava SobelStargazer: The Life and Times of the Telescope by Fred WatsonBooks for the World Year of Physics, 2005 Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons by George PendleAstro Turf: The Private Life of Rocket Science by M. G. LordCentauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration by Paul Gilster2004 Archives of the Universe: A Treasury of Astronomy's Historic Works of Discovery edited and with Introduction by Marcia Bartusiak*Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith*Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil by David GoodsteinThe Real Mars by Michael Hanlon2003 Alpha and Omega: The Quest for the Beginning and End of the Universe by Charles SeifeThe Path: A One-Mile Walk Through the Universe by Chet RaymoRocket Dreams: How the Space Age Shaped Our Vision of the World Beyond by Marina Benjamin 2002 Column published November 10, 2002, A Tale of Two Planets reviewing books about the mapping and measurement of Earth and Mars. Column published July 14, 2002 (Books about the World of 2050) supplemented by links to reviews of related books.Column published February 3, 2002 (Books about Extra-solar Planets and Extraterrestrial Life) supplemented by additional material about older books on those fields and the people who work in them.Distant Wanderers: The Search for Planets Beyond the Solar System by Bruce G. DormineyMapping Mars: Science, Imagination, and the Birth of a World by Oliver MortonThe Next Fifty Years: Science in the First Half of the Twenty-First Century edited by John BrockmanSeeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth From Interplanetary Peril by Timothy FerrisStrange Matters: Undiscovered Ideas at the Frontiers of Space and Time by Tom SiegfriedWhat Does a Martian Look Like? The Science of Extraterrestrial Life by Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart 2001 The Hole in the Universe: How Scientists Peered Over the Edge of Emptiness and Found Everything by K. C. ColeImagining Space: Achievements * Predictions * Possibilities 1950-2050 by Roger D. Launius and Howard McCurdy with foreword by Ray BradburyAn Intimate Look at the Night Sky by Chet RaymoMission Jupiter: The Spectacular Journey of the Galileo Spacecraft by Daniel FischerSputnik: The Shock of the Century by Paul DicksonThe Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen HawkingThe Worlds of Galileo: The Inside Story of NASA's Mission to Jupiter by Michael Hanlon with Foreword by Arthur C. Clarke2000 The Infinite Journey: Eyewitness Accounts of NASA and the Age of Space by William E. Burrows with foreword by Walter CronkiteThe Neptune File: A Story of Astronomical Rivalries and the Pioneers of Planet Hunting by Tom StandageRare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe by Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee1999 Captured by Aliens: The Search for Life and Truth in a Very Large Universe by Joel AchenbachCarl Sagan: A Life by Keay DavidsonCarl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos by William Poundstone1998 Managing Martians by Donna Shirley with Danelle MortonOther Worlds: the Search for Life in the Universe by Michael D. LemonickThe Search for Life on Other Planets by Bruce JakoskySharing the Universe: Perspectives on Extraterrestrial Life Seth Shostak1997 Billions and Billions by Carl SaganPlanet Quest: The Epic Discovery of Alien Solar Systems by Ken CroswellProbable Tomorrows: How Science and Technology Will Transform our Lives in the Next Twenty Years by Marvin Cetron and Owen Davies
