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Space chronicles : facing the ultimate frontier / Neil deGrasse Tyson ; edited by Avis Lang.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : W.W. Norton, c2012.Edition: 1st edDescription: xv, 364 p. : ill. ; 25 cmISBN:
  • 9780393082104 (hardcover)
  • 0393082105 (hardcover)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 629.40973 23
Summary: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson presents his views on the future of space travel and America's role in that future, giving his readers an eye-opening manifesto on the importance of space exploration for America's economy, security, and morale.
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Item type Current library Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Phillipsburg Free Public Library Adult Non-Fiction Adult Non-Fiction 629.40973 TYS Available 36748002042671
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Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a rare breed of astrophysicist, one who can speak as easily and brilliantly with popular audiences as with professional scientists. Now that NASA has put human space flight effectively on hold--with a five- or possibly ten-year delay until the next launch of astronauts from U.S. soil--Tyson's views on the future of space travel and America's role in that future are especially timely and urgent. This book represents the best of Tyson's commentary, including a candid new introductory essay on NASA and partisan politics, giving us an eye-opening manifesto on the importance of space exploration for America's economy, security, and morale. Thanks to Tyson's fresh voice and trademark humor, his insights are as delightful as they are provocative, on topics that range from the missteps that shaped our recent history of space travel to how aliens, if they existed, might go about finding us.

Includes index.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson presents his views on the future of space travel and America's role in that future, giving his readers an eye-opening manifesto on the importance of space exploration for America's economy, security, and morale.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Editor's Note (p. xiii)
  • Prologue: Space Politics (p. 3)
  • Part I Why
  • 1 The Allure of Space (p. 21)
  • 2 Exoplanet Earth (p. 26)
  • 3 Extraterrestrial Life (p. 33)
  • 4 Evil Aliens (p. 42)
  • 5 Killer Asteroids (p. 45)
  • 6 Destined for the Stars (p. 55)
  • 7 Why Explore (p. 63)
  • 8 The Anatomy of Wonder (p. 64)
  • 9 Happy Birthday NASA (p. 66)
  • 10 The Next Fifty Years in Space (p. 69)
  • 11 Space Options (p. 75)
  • 12 Paths to Discovery (p. 84)
  • Part II How
  • 13 To Fly (p. 107)
  • 14 Going Ballistic (p. 113)
  • 15 Race to Space (p. 121)
  • 16 2001-Fact vs. Fiction (p. 128)
  • 17 Launching the Right Stuff (p. 130)
  • 18 Things Are Looking Up (p. 138)
  • 19 For the Love of Hubble (p. 140)
  • 20 Happy Anniversary, Apollo 11 (p. 144)
  • 21 How to Reach the Sky (p. 152)
  • 22 The Last Days of the Space Shuttle (p. 160)
  • 23 Propulsion for Deep Space (p. 163)
  • 24 Balancing Acts (p. 172)
  • 25 Happy Anniversary, Star Trek (p. 178)
  • 26 How to Prove You've Been Abducted by Aliens (p. 182)
  • 27 The Future of US Space Travel (p. 186)
  • Part III Why Not
  • 28 Space Travel Troubles (p. 191)
  • 29 Reaching for the Stars (p. 199)
  • 30 America and the Emergent Space Powers (p. 203)
  • 31 Delusions of Space Enthusiasts (p. 213)
  • 32 Perchance to Dream (p. 221)
  • 33 By the Numbers (p. 232)
  • 34 Ode to Challenger, 1986 (p. 242)
  • 35 Spacecraft Behaving Badly (p. 244)
  • 36 What NASA Means to America's Future (p. 252)
  • Epilogue
  • The Cosmic Perspective (p. 254)
  • Appendices
  • A National Aeronautics and Space Act of 19 5 8, As Amended (p. 263)
  • B Selected Statutory Provisions Applicable to NASA (p. 293)
  • C A Half Century of NASA Spending 1959-2010 (p. 331)
  • D NASA Spending 1959-2010 (p. 333)
  • E NASA Spending as a Percentage of US Federal Government Spending and of US GDP 1959-2010 (p. 335)
  • F Space Budgets: US Government Agencies 2010 (p. 337)
  • G Space Budget: Global 2010 (p. 339)
  • H Space Budgets: US and Non-US Governments 2010 (p. 341)
  • Acknowledgments (p. 343)
  • Index (p. 345)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This collection highlights Tyson's (director, Hayden Planetarium; The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet) writings from 1986 to 2011, including Natural History magazine's "Universe" columns, interviews, articles, tweets, and even a poem. Organized in parts-"Why," "How," and "Why Not"-the book covers the history, politics, science, and wonder of space exploration. It opens with a new essay lamenting the increasing lag in U.S. space exploration and closes with informative tables on a number of other countries' space budgets. Even at the height of spending in 1966, the United States spent less than one percent of gross domestic product on space. Tyson is an articulate popularizer of astrophysics, and many will recognize him from TV shows like NOVA and The Universe. His writing style, while necessarily a bit technical, is as engaging as his screen presence. VERDICT Young adult and adult readers, those interested in science and space exploration, and those opposed to or confused by the race to space will all be stimulated by this readable text. [See Prepub Alert, 8/15/11.]-Sara Tompson, Univ. of Southern California Libs., Los Angeles (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Tyson, an astrophysicist (director, Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History) and prolific author (The Pluto Files, CH, Aug'09, 46-6777, etc.) here compiles 15 of his articles that appeared in Natural History magazine, a half-dozen interviews, five speeches, and a miscellany of other, mostly short writings. This content composes approximately two-thirds of this book. The appendixes in the last third include the text of the amended 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act, a group of selected laws related to NASA, and tables of budgetary information. In the prologue, Tyson provides an overview and an up-to-date assessment of NASA's situation, stating: "So while the rhetoric of Obama's space speech was brilliant and visionary, the politics of his speech were, empirically, a disaster. The only thing guaranteed to happen on his watch is the interruption of America's access to space." This book will be useful to people who are interested in the space sciences, and to those who want to find out why people are so passionate about supporting NASA, the space program, space exploration, and studies about the place of humans in the universe. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers. A. M. Strauss Vanderbilt University

Booklist Review

A mass-media force in science explication, Tyson appears in print (Parade, New York Times, Natural History), on television (The Colbert Report, PBS programs), in social networks like Twitter, and at podiums to deliver speeches. Taken from those forums, his declamations during the past 15 years on NASA and American space policy are gathered in this volume. Enthusiastic about the space program but worried by its current doldrums, Tyson speaks squarely to an audience that might question its expense. Repeatedly batting away the complaint that social problems don't justify spending money on space, Tyson perseveres by citing NASA's miniscule share of the federal budget, pointing to technological spin-offs, and invoking planetary defense against rogue asteroids. Perhaps sensing popular indifference to such arguments, Tyson more generally tries to revive wonder about space in his pieces, taking up in how-cool-is-that manner such things as Lagrange points and plucky little spacecraft like Pioneer 10 and the Mars rovers. A genial advocate for the space program, Tyson offers diagnoses of its malaise that will resonate with its supporters.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2010 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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