by Robert Zubrin with Richard Wagner
Touchstone Books ISBN 0-684-83350-9
The Case for Mars is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions. It explains step-by-step how we can use present day technology to send humans to Mars within ten years; actually produce fuel and oxygen on the planet's surface with Martian natural resources; how we can build bases and settlements; and how one day we can "terraform" Mars - a process that can alter the atmosphere of planets and pave the way for sustainable life.
"A fascinating and enlightening read showing an affordable way for humans to get to Mars, refuting the tired old arguments against the feasibility of such a project." RWS
by Brian Burrough
ISBN 1-84115-087-8
Dragonfly is an utterly compelling story of survival in a uniquely uncompromising environment: space... It is the story of American egoism, Russian intransigence, and one British-born astronaut on whom the future of space exploration ultimately and absolutely depends.
"The above publisher's blurb certainly strays into the realm of hyperbole but nevertheless Dragonfly, with its examination of life on board the Mir space station, points to the problems technical, managerial and personal that must be overcome if the International Space Station, Mir's successor, is to live up to the hope and work invested in it. The author is not a space expert as the text sometimes shows but this does not detract from the overall impact." RWS
by Eugene Mallove and Gregory Matloff
John Wiley & Sons ISBN 0-471-61912-4
The Starflight Handbook - A Pioneer's Guide to Interstellar Travel is the first and only compendium on planet Earth of the radical new technologies now on the drawing boards of some of our smartest and most imaginative space scientists and engineers. Scientists and engineers as well as general readers will be captivated...
"The Starflight Handbook is an indispensible compendium of the many and varied methods for traversing the vast interstellar gulf - Don't leave the Solar System without it!" Robert Forward
from The Journal of the British Interplanetary Society
Edited by Dr A R Martin
(see The British Interplanetary Society website)
Project Daedalus was a study by the BIS of a two-stage fusion powered spacecraft designed to send a scientific payload of 450 tons at 12% lightspeed on a one-way, 50 year fly-by mission to Barnard's Star 5.9 lightyears away.
"The first and most thorough study of a near- future feasible starship - a benchmark for all future work in this area. An example of the engineering imagination at its best." RWS
by Robert Zubrin
Jeremy P Tarcher/Putnam ISBN 0-87477-975-8
Entering Space - Creating a Spacefaring Civilization - using nuts-and-bolts engineering and a unique grasp of human history.... (Zubrin) brings us to the not-very-distant future when our global society will branch out to be a spacefaring one...from the prospect of lunar bases and Mars settlements to the colonization of the galaxy....
"A great visionary work. Many of its ideas and analyses are the starting points for years of discussion. It is refreshing to see someone present a practical, step-by-step guide to seizing the stars." James Cameron, film director
Edited by Stanley Schmidt and Robert Zubrin
John Wiley & Sons ISBN 0-471-13561-5
Islands in the Sky - Bold New Ideas for Colonizing Space offers an astonishing collection of challenging - and plausible - ideas and proposals from the pages of Analog magazine. Brilliant and provocative, here is fun-filled reading for everyone interested in science, technology and the future.
"An excellent collection of articles culled from the pages of Analog covering space elevators, terraforming, and interstellar travel and more. This is what happens when imagination and engineering meet - with contributions from Robert Forward, Martyn J Fogg, and John Cramer amongst others." RWS
by Paul Raeburn
foreword and commentary by Matt Golombek
National Geographic Society ISBN 0-7922-7373-7
Mars - Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet is a state-of-the-art report on the planet itself, the technology that allows us to explore it, and the prospects for further exciting discoveries. Highlighted by an astonishing collection of more than 125 full-color photographs, Mars includes a stunning, 3-dimensional, 8-page panoramic gatefold with images that capture the genuine wonder of discovery at the Pathfinder landing site.
"Quite simply the best picture book of Mars so far, that is in no way let down by the accompanying text. The large format images give a definite 'you are there' feeling. Until the next wave of landings this is as good as it gets." RWS
Edited by Julian A Hiscox
The British Interplanetary Society
The Search for Life on Mars is from the BIS symposium of the same name. The purpose of the volume is to try and convey some of the excitement of the symposium and speculate about the types of life that might have arisen on Mars, where extinct or extant life might be located, how such traces can be investigated and the mechanisms for travelling to and studying Mars.
"A superb collection for anyone wishing for a clear and concise view of the current state of Mars studies. I use the word current for Mars is, in more ways than one, a moving target and new information is being made available every week with the flow of data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft adding to our knowledge and understanding." RWS
by Carl Sagan
Headline Book Publishing ISBN 0-7472-7772-9
Pale Blue Dot A Vision of the Human Future in Space is about a new recognition, still slowly overtaking us, of our coordinates, our place in the Universe - and how, even if the call of the open road is muted in our time, a central element of the human future lies far beyond the Earth.
"Sagan's view of our place in what can be a violent and dangerous Universe is ultimately optimistic about the human prospect. Beautifully illustrated, this book is about our first steps in what could be the greatest journey of all time. And the Pale Blue Dot? That is our home planet, a single pixel imaged by a Voyager spacecraft on the edge of the Solar System. All of human history, all our religious and political squabbles reduced to an insignificant mote, adrift in the vastness of space." RWS
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