I loved the clarity of the writing and the enthusiasm of Mr. Shatner for life and everything about it. He urges us to carpe every diem. To see the beauty of the Earth and our connection to the universe.
I was also captivated by his mantra: never say “no.” If I could be anyone else on Earth, it would probably be William Shatner.
The beloved star of Star Trek, recent space traveler, and living legend William Shatner reflects on the interconnectivity of all things, our fragile bond with nature, and the joy that comes from exploration with "the insights he's gleaned over his long, productive life" (Booklist) in this inspiring, revelatory, and exhilarating collection of essays.
Long before Gene Roddenberry put him on a starship to explore the galaxy, long before he actually did venture to space, William Shatner was gripped by his own quest for knowledge and meaning. Though his eventful life has been nothing short of extraordinary, Shatner is still never…
I loved this book because it gave me a jump-start on writing my own book. I greatly appreciated the in-depth understanding of the scientists who populate the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as well as the other institutions where our spacecraft are conceived and built.
It was eye-opening to learn how long it takes and how difficult it is to get a NASA project funded and underway. I began to feel that I knew many of the scientists and engineers quite well as their successes and failures became my own.
"Exceptionally absorbing and thrilling. ... Masterful." -Nature
A "magnificent" (Scientific American), genre-defying narrative of the most ambitious science project ever conceived: NASA's deep space mission to Europa, the Jovian moon where might swim the first known alien life in our solar system
In the spirit of Tom Wolfe and John McPhee, The Mission is an exuberant master class of creative nonfiction that reveals how a motley, determined few expanded the horizon of human achievement.
When scientists discovered the first ocean beyond Earth, they had two big questions: "Is it habitable?" and "How do we get there?" To answer the first,…
I’ve long loved the essays of E.B. White, the great New Yorker writer, and the memoir by his part-time secretary Isabel Russell gets up close and personal. The setting is the Whites’ home in coastal Maine, and the daily warmth and love between the two literary giants (Katharine was a long-time editor at the same magazine) is very apparent. I could almost smell dinner cooking in the kitchen below.
The best thing about the book was the unending wit displayed by Mr. White and the repartee between him and his secretary. This is a book to be savored and read again and again.
Isabel Russell gives readers a portrait, both humorous and touching, of one of the great literary marriages of our time and of two people whose love for one another and their work burned as brightly in their old age as it did in their youth.
In 2087, a spacecraft is sent to Europa, the second of the four Jovian satellites first seen by Galileo, to look for life in the saltwater ocean underlying the icy surface of that frigid moon.
The crew of eight encounter many unexpected problems on the journey, as well as during the several weeks the lander is on the moon. In solving them, they become inextricably bonded with each other and with the workaholic Mission Director back home. The expedition is closely followed by all mankind as it attempts to answer the age-old question: Are we alone?
