Space chronicles : facing the ultimate frontier /

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

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

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.

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