42 books like Highways Into Space

I was fortunate to be one of the first NASA Flight Controllers. I supported Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I joined the NASA Space Task Group at the Langley Research Center in 1961. My first supervisor was Gene Kranz, a Former F-86 pilot who got there a year before me. He was 28, and I was 25. Gene trained me to take his place as the Operations and Procedures Officer. I later moved up to the Assistant Flight Director position in Gemini and was the Guidance Officer on Apollo 1, which ended in a disastrous fire.  

I was fortunate to be one of the first NASA Flight Controllers. I supported Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I joined the NASA Space Task Group at the Langley Research Center in 1961. My first supervisor was Gene Kranz, a Former F-86 pilot who got there a year before me. He was 28, and I was 25. Gene trained me to take his place as the Operations and Procedures Officer. I later moved up to the Assistant Flight Director position in Gemini and was the Guidance Officer on Apollo 1, which ended in a disastrous fire.  

I was fortunate to be one of the first NASA Flight Controllers. I supported Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I joined the NASA Space Task Group at the Langley Research Center in 1961. My first supervisor was Gene Kranz, a Former F-86 pilot who got there a year before me. He was 28, and I was 25. Gene trained me to take his place as the Operations and Procedures Officer. I later moved up to the Assistant Flight Director position in Gemini and was the Guidance Officer on Apollo 1, which ended in a disastrous fire.  

I was fortunate to be one of the first NASA Flight Controllers. I supported Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I joined the NASA Space Task Group at the Langley Research Center in 1961. My first supervisor was Gene Kranz, a Former F-86 pilot who got there a year before me. He was 28, and I was 25. Gene trained me to take his place as the Operations and Procedures Officer. I later moved up to the Assistant Flight Director position in Gemini and was the Guidance Officer on Apollo 1, which ended in a disastrous fire.  

Nick Albert is British, but for close to 20-years, he has lived in a ramshackle farmhouse in the rural west of Ireland with his wife and several unruly but affectionate dogs. He's the author of the bestselling comedy memoir series, Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds, and the twisty thriller Hunting the Wrecking Crew. Nick's greatest pleasure in life has always been to make people laugh. Although outwardly capable and in control of his life, Nick considers himself to be the poster boy for the saying, "If it can go wrong, it will!" Therefore, he has a good eye for inspiring books about dealing with unexpected events.

My sons were both reluctant readers and that made me want to write books that they wouldn’t be able to resist reading! Reading should be a pleasure and this list is packed with books that are impossible to put down. They are perfect for young, reluctant readers, as they are not trying to be too serious or worthy or overwhelming with too much text. They pull you in and hook you from the start and you can’t help being moved by the characters as they grow and develop, fostering a love of books and fiction. I love comedy in books, but funny books also have to have heart, believable characters, and a great plot that keeps you reading till the very end.

I am an astronomer and astrobiologist, and my field of work leads me to wonder about the origin of life in the universe and how scientific discoveries (and especially those related to space) affect culture, people's lives, or even civilization itself. All of the books listed here focus precisely on answering some of these concerns, which is why I find them extremely interesting.

As a long-term advocate of space colonization I’ve always been drawn to Mars, not by adventure stories but by the idea that ordinary people may someday live there. So this was the theme of my first novel. I wrote it before we had gone to the moon, though it wasn't published until 1970, after my better-known book Enchantress from the Stars. When in 2006 I revised it for republication, little about Mars needed changing; mainly I removed outdated sexist assumptions and wording. Yet the book still hasn’t reached its intended audience because though meant for girls who aren’t already space enthusiasts, its publishers persisted in labeling it science fiction rather than Young Adult romance.

The first book I read on my own was the Little Golden Book of Puppies and Kittens. I decided then, aged three, that the best books have animals in them…and I haven’t changed my mind. While fantasy novels with animals are among my all-time favorites, I’ve developed a deep love for dystopian novels which leave room for hope. I especially love the stories that show more than just humans living on Planet Earth. What better species to represent all that’s good on Earth but dogs? I can’t imagine ever writing a story without a dog in it. 

As a bullied teenager I wanted to escape and fantasy was my drug of choice. (My parents may have grounded me from the library, which by the way—not cool.) I love working within fantasy worlds and magic systems but my true passion lies in the story itself. I write character based books focusing on the inner workings of all of us. Occasionally when writing a battle scene in a gladiator arena with three levels, multiple characters with magical abilitiesm and a secondary magical system in the background, I wonder why I can’t just tell a story in freaking Chicago for goodness sake! But fantasy is where it's at for this girl!