My love of space exploration is an old one. I remember learning about the Apollo missions when I was very young, both from television and children’s books, and was amazed that people had worked together to achieve such a monumental task. I was also massively disappointed to discover that no one had been back to the Moon since 1972! Since then, I’ve read deeply on the history of space exploration and wished intensely that every new NASA plan would bring us back out to explore our solar system. Part of the reason I wrote Ocean of Storms with my buddy Jeremy K. Brown was to create a reality in which that return to the Moon actually came true.
I wrote...
Ocean of Storms
By
Christopher Mari,
Jeremy K. Brown
What is my book about?
In the near future, political tensions between the United States and China are at an all-time high. Then a catastrophic explosion on the moon cleaves a vast gash in the lunar surface, and the massive electromagnetic pulse it unleashes obliterates Earth's electrical infrastructure. To plumb the depths of the newly created lunar fissure and excavate the source of the power surge, the feuding nations are forced to cooperate on a high-risk mission to return mankind to the moon.
Now, a diverse, highly skilled ensemble of astronauts—and a pair of maverick archaeologists plucked from the Peruvian jungle—will brave conspiracy on Earth and disaster in space to make a shocking discovery. Ocean of Storms is an epic adventure that spans space and time as its heroes race to fulfill an ancient mission that may change the course of humanity's future.
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The Books I Picked & Why
A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
By
Andrew Chaikin
Why this book?
If there was one book that got my coauthor Jeremy and I to start thinking about a novel based on a return to the Moon, it was this one. Chaikin’s classic history on the entire Apollo program looks at how NASA successfully landed astronauts on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. Chaikin’s book is not a dry history but a thrilling, in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how the missions were proposed, conceived, and executed. A must-read for lovers of history, space exploration, science, and even science fiction.
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Forever Young: A Life of Adventure in Air and Space
By
John W. Young,
James R. Hansen
Why this book?
The autobiography of John Young is almost a history of NASA itself since he began his career there in 1962 and retired from it in 2004. Young was the only astronaut to fly two Gemini missions, two Apollo missions, and two Space Shuttle missions. His book covers all of the various challenges the U.S. space agency faced during that period, and he also touches on the future of spaceflight up until 2012, when the book was published.
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First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong
By
James R. Hansen
Why this book?
Neil Armstrong was an American hero not just because of his skills as a pilot during the Korean War or because of his prowess as an astronaut or by becoming the first man in history to touch the lunar surface. He is a hero because he did all of those things without ever bragging or seeking to make a profit from his success. His commitment to duty, as well as his sacrifice and humility, are lessons for every generation.
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Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13
By
Jim Lovell,
Jeffrey Kluger
Why this book?
Most everyone who loves space exploration has probably seen the Tom Hanks movie Apollo 13, about the mission on which all three astronauts nearly lost their lives while heading to the Moon. This book is co-written by Jim Lovell, who commanded Apollo 13, and describes in page-turning detail both what occurred onboard and in Mission Control as everyone scrambled to save the crew’s lives. Fantastic stuff.
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The Right Stuff
By
Tom Wolfe
Why this book?
This book, Wolfe’s dramatized interpretation of the Mercury 7, the first American astronauts, was my first “grown-up” look at the U.S. space program. It gave me an understanding of these men and their times unlike anything I had previously experienced.
