10 Great Space Books

: A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey: 1957, The Space Race Begins

Michael D'Antonio

An entertaining account that brings the history of the beginning of the space race alive.
: The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist's Guide

Neil F. Comins

A description of the hazards and unresolved problems facing humans traveling in interplanetary space presented via fictitious entries from a space traveler's diary.
: How Apollo Flew to the Moon

W. David Woods

An engaging and accessible account on the details on every stage of the process of the Apollo missions.
: How to Live on Mars: A Trusty Guidebook to Surviving and Thriving on the Red Planet

Robert Zubrin

A humorous and fact-filled description of practical situations that might be encountered by humans settling on Mars.
: Living Off the Land in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos

Gregory L. Matloff, Les Johnson & C. Bangs

A lively behind-the-scenes description of future technologies for space exploration.
: Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mars Mission

Andrew Kessler

A witty and humorous first-hand account covering behind-the-scenes triumphs and frustrations of the 2009 Phoenix Mars Lander Mission.
: The Right Stuff

Tom Wolfe

Considered a classic, this book provides a vivid and funny account on the history of America's manned space program.
: Sky Walking: An Astronaut's Memoir

Tom Jones

An engrossing memoir on the realities of being an astronaut and the excitement of space flight.
: Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo

Nicholas de Monchaux

A wonderfully illustrated book that deftly combines fashion, politics, ergonomics, space travel, architecture, history and corporate culture in the story of the 21-layer Apollo spacesuit.
: Tourists in Space: A Practical Guide

Erik Seedhouse

A detailed description on the training involved and physiological side of spaceflight for commercial space tourists.