Some books you might enjoy

• Mission Jupiter, The Spectacular Journey of the Galileo Spacecraft, by Daniel Fischer. Fischer writes for a popular audience, guiding the reader through the Pioneer and Voyager flights past Jupiter in the 1970s, Galileo's extensive and ongoing exploration of the Jovian system, and the Jupiter flyby of the Cassini spacecraft en route to Saturn. Throughout, he provides handy summary boxes of findings and scores of illustrations including more than 40 breathtaking full-color images of Jupiter, the volcanic landscape of the moon Io and, of course, the spectacular ice crusts of Europa. Until Galileo's mission is completed and the histories and memoirs begin pouring out of NASA, this book will serve as a much-needed addition to the popular literature. Hardcover. 317 pages, with color plates and B&W photos.

• Nasa Planetary Spacecraft : Galileo, Magellan, Pathfinder, and Voyager by space-science writer Carmen Bredeson. This is a short book for the younger space exploration enthusiast, reading level ages 9 to 12 years. Library Binding, 48 pages, illustrated (September 2000).

• Origins: Our Place in Hubble's Universe by John R. Gribbin. The much-anticipated follow-up to "Hubble's Universe", this breathtakingly illustrated history of the universe from the big bang to the present presents stunning photographs of vents that previous generations of astronomers could only picture in their mind's eye--and which non-astronomers could not even imagine. Hardcover. 50 color illustrations.

• Moon Missions: Mankind's First Voyages to Another World by William F. Mellberg. Aerospace writer and historian William Mellberg provides an engaging summary of every mission from Gemini through Appolo, and credits the Soviets for their achievements in the space race. Far from being a mere collection of facts, the author speaks of the imagination and curiosity fueling interest in the Moon. Foreword by Harrison Schmitt. Paperback.

• Kope's Outer Space Directory by Spencer Kope. Everything in space, with internet addresses: products, places, and people. If you're interested in space, and if you want to find new space-related sites on the web, this is the book for you! Yes, that's the MGS SCIENCE KIT on the cover! Paperback.

• The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence by Carl Sagan. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author takes us on a compelling voyage to the inner space between our ears, offering his vivid insight into the brain of man and beast, the origins of human intelligence, the function of our most haunting legends, and their amazing links to recent discoveries. Illustrations and photos.

• Edwin Hubble, Mariner of the Nebulae biography by Gale E. Christianson. The story of an extraordinary person and the greatest astronomical quest since the Copernican revolution. Hardcover. Also available in Paperback.

• The Evening Star, Venus Observed by Henry S.F. Cooper. An intimate view into the process of flying the Magellan Mission. Hardcover. Also available in Paperback.

• Dictionary of Astronomy by Ian Ridpath (Editor). This indispensable reference lists 3,400 up-to-date entries fully describing planets, stars, constellations, galaxies, comets, asteroids, and nebulae, as well as astrophysical and aerospace engineering terms. Paperback.

• Eye in the Sky: The Story of the Corona Spy Satellites (Smithsonian History of Aviation Series) by Dwayne A. Day (Editor), John M. Logsdon (Editor), Brian Latell (Editor), John M. Lodsdon. Explores the far-reaching effects of the Corona satellites on foreign policy and national security. Arguing that satellite reconnaissance was key to shaping the course of the Cold War, the book documents breakthroughs in intelligence gathering and achievements in space technology that rival the moon landing. Hardcover - 320 pages, 63 photos. (March 1998).

• Mission to the Planets: The Illustrated Story of Man's Exploration of the Solar System by Patrick Moore. Hardcover.

• Cosmos by Carl Sagan. The book that was the companion to the thirteen- part 1980s television miniseries that made science and astronomy knowable to the average American. Cosmos takes our understanding of the universe from the Stone Age to the Space Age.Written and shown at the time when the Voyagers were making their surveys of Jupiter and Saturn. Paperback.

• Perfect Machine, Building the Palomar Telescope by Ronald Florence. Gripping account of the people who overcame seeming impossibilities at every turn. Sets the stage for the Keck Telescope's new paradigm. Paperback.

• Mission to Deep Space: Voyager's Journey of Discovery by William E. Burrows. Photographs from the Voyager space probe bring home to readers the red spot of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, sideways spinning Uranus, irenic Neptune, and other astronomical phenomena, explained by a veteran science reporter. Hardcover.

• Contact by Carl Sagan. In 1999, a multinational team of astronauts ventures deep into outer space, where they come face to face with an advanced alien civilization, in a tie-in to the blockbuster film. Paperback.

• Eye on the Sky, Lick Observatory's First Century by Donald E. Osterbrock, John R. Gustafson, and W.J. Shiloh Unruh. Earth's first mountaintop observatory. Hardcover. Out of print, but Amazon.com may be able to obtain a used copy.

• Countdown: A History of Space Flight by T. A. Heppenheimer. A well-engineered history of a complex subject, the entire story of how humans got into space. Hardcover.

• The Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin and Richard Wagner. How human exploration of Mars can happen on a sensible, bare-bones budget of $20-30 billion and a "travel light and live off the land" philosophy. Hardcover. Also available in paperback.

• The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan. In this stirring, brilliantly argued book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cosmos shows how scientific thinking is necessary to safeguard our democratic institutions and our technical civilization.

• Project Viking; Space Conquest Beyond the Moon by Irwin Stambler. Although it is no longer available from the publisher, Amazon.com will query a large network of used bookstores for you and send an update within two weeks.

• Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan. "TAKES READERS FAR BEYOND Cosmos... Sagan sees humanity's future in the stars." -Chicago Tribune. Hardcover - 429 pages. Also available in Paperback.

• Voyager (Missions in Space) by Gregory Vogt. Important new scientific data were collected on the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune by a dozen instruments aboard the two "Voyager" spacecraft. For the first time, scientists were able to collect information by studying the giant planets at close range. Well illustrated with photographs. Although it is no longer available from the publisher, Amazon.com will query a large network of used bookstores for you and send an update within two weeks.

• Protecting Yourself Online: The Definitive Resource on Safety, Freedom, and Privacy in Cyberspace by Robert B. Gelman, Stanton McCandlish, Esther Dyson. The authors cover a lot of territory in a concise, direct manner. Among the topics are free expression and online censorship, reconciling individual liberties with community standards, secure communications and online commerce, and the protection of intellectual property online. A major focus is placed on recognizing online spoofs and scams. Additional topics include protecting yourself from spam and mail bombs, issues of government control online, and how can you protect your personal information (including credit-card numbers, medical information, and passwords) by using encryption and authentication. Each issue is discussed calmly, rationally, and without sensationalism. Paperback.

• The Road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands by by Nicholas Clapp. Using both modern tools (photographs taken from space, courtesy of NASA) as well as old ones (maps, descriptions, and written accounts), Clapp and his team slowly pieced together the clues until they arrived, at last, at the site where they would spend the next four years digging. How they got to the end of The Road to Ubar and what they found there is at the heart of this unusual travel memoir.

• The Ascent of Science by Brian L. Silver. This is more than a primer on science; Silver contextualizes science within the philosophy and politics of past and present times. Of particular fascination is the Renaissance era, when scientific reasoning was equated with a violation against God. Descartes was accused of fostering atheism, because of his belief that God's role was as creator of the universe only, and not as "mover of the planets." Although Silver died prior to the publication of The Ascent of Science, his book remains a lasting testament to his love for science and his remarkable ability to open up this world to everyone.

• Managing Martians by Donna Shirley. The leader of the team that created the "Sojourner" Mars rover recounts how she made the dream of "getting to Mars" come true and shares her methods for tapping the imagination's power to spawn boundless creativity. Hardcover. 8 pages of photos.