Alix Christie’s "GUTENBERG’S APPRENTICE"
The public sale of the mechanically printed Bible and its positive reception was the outcome of many years of experimentation, hard work, political intrigue, religious subversion, even imprisonment.
Janna Levin's "BLACK HOLE BLUES AND OTHER SONGS FROM OUTER SPACE"
Science can be a noble pursuit but the humans who “do” science are subject to the same hopes, fears, and dreams as the rest of us. Understanding something about how this is all done is one more step in understanding what separates humans from other life forms.
Shelby Foote's “THE CIVIL WAR: A NARRATIVE, VOLUME II, FREDERICKSBURG TO MERIDIAN”
One of the people I would like to meet in heaven and have a beer with is author Shelby Foote.
Robert Harris’ “DICTATOR”
As the old saying goes, power corrupts. In this book we see how all can become ensnared by its tendrils, even those who like Cicero profess to aspire to higher ideals.
William Bixby's “GALILEO AND NEWTON”
This short Kindle book, divided into two parts, provides just enough information to help the reader understand where Galileo and Newton stand in the evolution of Western scientific thought and practice.
Marie Brennan's A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS
This is a work of imagination. The story is clever, the prose is well written, and for this audiobook Kate Reading’s “performance” is impeccable.
Bill Yenne's THE AMERICAN AIRCRAFT FACTORY IN WWII
As a lifelong fan of historic aircraft, reading details of how and where the B-17s, the B-24s, and P-51s were developed and manufactured provides a useful insight into what “mobilization of the homefront” meant.
Roger D. Launius and Dennis R. Jenkins’ COMING HOME
COMING HOME is another well-illustrated NASA e-book containing much detail about an important topic of aerospace history. This time the subject is the safe return of space vehicles to earth.
Peter W. Merlin's UNLIMITED HORIZONS: DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE U-2
Did Kelly Johnson and the people at Lockheed, the CIA, and the U.S. Air Force realize they were developing a “platform” whose utility would extend over decades? Probably not. Aeronautical history of the time is littered with failed jets and engines designs. Survivors are few and the U-2 stands out.
Edward O. Wilson's THE MEANING OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
This is a profoundly entertaining and thought-provoking book.
Mary Roach’s “PACKING FOR MARS”
Somewhere in NASA and there must be an office plotting ways to replace human space explorers with machines. Reading this book explains why.
Michael Harris' ATOMIC TIMES
A lot of this book makes for unpleasant reading but it is an important record of the times, told by the author from an older and wiser perspective. He is lucky to have survived.
Stephen King’s “THE STAND”
Reading the extended edition of Stephen King’s massive novel THE STAND was a reminder of why I never took up reading his books when I was younger: his writing style was flat and uninspiring. Now that I’m older I’ve returned to reading his books and recognize his mastery of two very important fiction elements: