Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for science and technology is the fault of my father, who first took me to Edwards AFB when I was five years old. He would pawn me off on a colleague to keep me busy while he would do the work he needed to do. That meant that I got to wander around the hangars, watching all the fascinating things happening to take the X-15 into space, and getting to meet the people who made it all happen. That passion spilled over into science fiction as well, along with the idea of trying to discover what the universe was not only like, but what it could be.


I wrote

The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings Into Space

By Michelle Evans,

Book cover of The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings Into Space

What is my book about?

With the Soviet Union’s launch of the first satellite in 1957, the Cold War soared to new heights as Americans…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965

Michelle Evans Why did I love this book?

This book is written by two dear friends who are the reason I am a published author myself. However, I don’t recommend it just because they are close to me, but because it is a wonderful book that kicked off the entire Outward Odyssey series, of which my book is a part. This magnificent book set a new standard for historical work on space exploration by focusing on the people instead of the hardware. The stories you’ll read here will show you why we are who we are and why humans will always strive for the unknown.

By Francis French, Colin Burgess,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Into That Silent Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It was a time of bold new technology, historic moments, and international jousting on the final frontier. But it was also a time of human drama, of moments less public but no less dramatic in the lives of those who made the golden age of space flight happen. These are the moments and the lives that Into That Silent Sea captures, a book that tells the intimate stories of the men and women, American and Russian, who made the space race their own and gave the era its compelling character. These pages chronicle a varied and riveting cavalcade of human…


Book cover of Quantum Night

Michelle Evans Why did I love this book?

I found this book to be one of the most amazing and compelling works of science fiction ever written because it dares to answer the basic question of not only who we are, but why. Have you ever wondered what makes people act the way they do to others? Why are some empathetic while others will step over their best friend’s corpse in order to get ahead? And why do many appear to simply be along for the ride, not caring one way or another, never leaving their mark on anything they touch? Once you read this book, it will all fall into place. Sawyer gave me the most profound “a-ha” moment of clarity that I have ever experienced while reading a work of fiction.

By Robert J. Sawyer,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Quantum Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With such compelling and provocative novels as Red Planet Blues, FlashForward and The WWW Trilogy, Robert J. Sawyer has proven himself to be “a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation” (New York Times). Now, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author explores the thin line between good and evil that every human being is capable of crossing…

Experimental psychologist Jim Marchuk has developed a flawless technique for identifying the previously undetected psychopaths lurking everywhere in society. But while being cross-examined about his breakthrough in court, Jim is shocked to discover that he has lost his memories of six months…


Book cover of Always Another Dawn: The Story of a Rocket Test Pilot

Michelle Evans Why did I love this book?

Crossfield wrote one of the first books about what it means to be a test pilot of a powerful rocket plane, and I consider it the best. This book is an autobiography that delves into the nature of the personality of someone who can climb into the cockpit of an experimental aircraft, light off the engines, and climb high into the desert sky at multiples of the speed of sound. It also is the book that began my deeply personal 30-year journey to write my own book on the North American X-15. Scotty was one of the first pilots I spoke to in order to get insights into how these people think and react. I know you’ll enjoy meeting him through his book as much as I did sitting with him in person.

By Albert Scott Crossfield, Clay Blair,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Always Another Dawn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Always Another Dawn: The Story of a Rocket Test Pilot is the story of NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) and Albert Scott Crossfield's work in the post-war years and beyond pioneering the use of rocket-powered planes. Crossfield and his team paved the path for space exploration making this, his autobiography, essential reading for aviation buffs.


Book cover of The City and the Stars

Michelle Evans Why did I love this book?

Those who know me, understand that Arthur C. Clarke has been my favorite author for as long as I can remember, and they would probably be surprised at my pick of this novel over his most well-known book 2001: A Space Odyssey or even Childhood’s End. Let me put it this way, I’ll recommend anything written by Clarke, but this book stands out for me because of its profound look at the far future of humanity, which has fallen nearly to the point of extinction. It is a work that serves as a warning to us all, but also shows how one person can change the trajectory of an entire society, bringing it back from the brink in order to move once again among the stars.

By Arthur C. Clarke,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The City and the Stars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Clarke's masterful evocation of the far future of humanity, considered his finest novel

Men had built cities before, but never such a city as Diaspar. For millennia its protective dome shut out the creeping decay and danger of the world outside. Once, it held powers that rule the stars.

But then, as legend has it, the invaders came, driving humanity into this last refuge. It takes one man, a Unique, to break through Diaspar's stifling inertia, to smash the legend and discover the true nature of the Invaders.


Book cover of The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space

Michelle Evans Why did I love this book?

Never has humankind been as audacious as that time when we decided to break the grip of gravity and travel to the Moon. Many astronauts have written books about their experiences as part of that giant leap, but none better than Gene Cernan’s autobiography. I had the pleasure of working with Gene on multiple occasions when he was first promoting his book, and each time he would speak you could feel the joy he had in living his life and walking on the surface of another celestial body. What I truly enjoyed was that he always reached out to the young people in his audience, the ones who have only witnessed Apollo through the history books. He said, “I lived for three days on the Moon. Don’t ever tell me that anything in your life is impossible!”

By Eugene Cernan, Donald A. Davis,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Last Man on the Moon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Eugene Cernan is a unique American who came of age as an astronaut during the most exciting and dangerous decade of spaceflight. His career spanned the entire Gemini and Apollo programs, from being the first person to spacewalk all the way around our world to commanding Apollo XVII, man's last mission to the moon. Between those two historic events lay more adventures than an ordinary person could imagine as Cernan repeatedly put his life, his family and everything he held dear on the altar of an obsessive desire. Written with "New York Times" bestselling author Don Davis, this is the…


Explore my book 😀

The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings Into Space

By Michelle Evans,

Book cover of The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings Into Space

What is my book about?

With the Soviet Union’s launch of the first satellite in 1957, the Cold War soared to new heights as Americans feared losing the race into space. This book tells the story of the hypersonic X-15, the winged rocket ship that met this challenge and opened the way into human-controlled spaceflight.

This aircraft held the world’s altitude record for 41 years and still has no equal to match its speed of more than 4,500 mph. Beyond this are the stories of the men who guided it into space, and all those who kept it flying. This is the X-15 rocket plane, the first piloted and winged vehicle to exit Earth’s atmosphere and make a controlled re-entry.

Book cover of Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965
Book cover of Quantum Night
Book cover of Always Another Dawn: The Story of a Rocket Test Pilot

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,324

readers submitted
so far, will you?

You might also like...

Liberty Bell and the Last American

By James Stoddard,

Book cover of Liberty Bell and the Last American

James Stoddard Author Of The High House: The Evenmere Chronicles

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Audio engineer Musician Fantasy fan

James' 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Americans love their Constitution. In seventeen-year-old Liberty Bell’s era it has become a myth. Centuries after the Great Blackout obliterates the world's digitized information, America's history is forgotten. Only confused legends remain, written in "The Americana," a book depicting a golden age where famous Americans from different eras existed together.

Raised on stories from The Americana, Liberty Bell joins secret agent Antonio Ice on a quest for her country. But in the Old Forest, forgotten technologies are reawakening. Figures such as Albert Einstein, Harriet Tubman, and Thomas Jefferson are coming to life. Will the American continent return to the freedom…

Liberty Bell and the Last American

By James Stoddard,


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in astronauts, violence, and astronautics?

Astronauts 65 books
Violence 102 books
Astronautics 16 books