From Mercury to the Future: Five Stellar Spaceflight Books for Your Holiday Shopping List

Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash.

This holiday season, give your space junkie friends and family members (or…yourself!) the gift of spaceflight books. For brevity’s sake, I will recommend five (not meaning to exclude any other excellent books out there — there are many great ones!) that will undoubtedly appeal to a wide variety of space fans, whether they’re beginner enthusiasts or seasoned buffs.

1. Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys by Michael Collins: In 2024, this GOAT (greatest of all time) astronaut memoir celebrated its 50th year in print. Collins wrote his initial draft on yellow notepads in longhand while gearing up to lead the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum during the early 1970s. His attention to detail, sense of humor, and commitment show — Carrying the Fire remains the most hilarious, touching, and vivid Apollo astronaut recollection half a century since its initial publication. This is a must-read classic. If you can find a first-edition copy with its fantastic Robert McCall rocket launch cover, grab it. Collins may have left Earth permanently in 2021, but he’s always alive in this magnificent, timeless work.
2. Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961–1965 by Francis French and Colin Burgess: A modern classic that tells the stories of early spaceflight pioneers on both sides of the ocean, with many gems from the Soviet side that we Westerners have either overlooked or never heard previously. The Gherman Titov chapter in this book changed my life and my view of Soviet spaceflight. If you’d like to learn much, much more about the Mercury and Vostok programs — more than, say, Wolfe’s The Right Stuff offers — PLEASE check out this volume.
3. Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story by David Hitt, Owen Garriott, and Joe Kerwin: Many have asked me why I’ve never written a standalone Skylab book. That’s because Homesteading Space cannot be improved upon. It doesn’t get better than this. Homesteading Space illuminates an often-overlooked program with (sometimes hilarious) stories from the Skylab astronauts themselves. If you are on the fence about loving Skylab, this book will tip you into “Skylab obsessive” territory. No major spoilers, but the book also features Alan Bean’s diaries from the Skylab 3 mission!
4. Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record by Andy Saunders: The Apollo program remains NASA’s high point for many space enthusiasts, for great reason — for the first time in history, humankind ventured to a strange new world and back. Apollo Remastered is likely the closest thing to being there, with its views of life inside the Apollo spacecraft and mind-blowing lunar panoramas. Many images — including the book’s cover, which shows Apollo 9 commander Jim McDivitt illuminated by Earthlight, covered in beard scruff and piloting LM Spider — were never before seen, bringing the human element back to Apollo. It is an exquisite book and a testament to human exploration at its greatest.
5. Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps, and Matter, edited by Matthew Shindell: A newer addition to the list (published late this year), Lunar not only features impeccably detailed lunar maps that U.S. Geologic Survey cartographers made during the 1960s and 1970s but also explores our nearest natural satellite on a cultural level, exploring its various myths and legends. Lunar transcends “coffee table book” status (although it is a visually stunning, massive tome) and presents the Moon to its readers as a multifaceted, almost “living” world; I have to agree with the book’s publisher that it is “a stunning celebration of the Moon in all its guises.” A must-read for budding astronomers, lunar obsessives, and anyone fascinated by that greyish-gold orb in the night skies.

Honorable mention: Star Bound: A Beginner’s Guide to the American Space Program, from Goddard’s Rockets to Goldilocks Planets and Everything in Between by Emily Carney and Bruce McCandless III is shipping now from wherever books are sold and will be officially released on Thursday, January 2, 2025. I am slightly biased, but Bruce and I did a good job adequately summarizing spaceflight from its origins to its present time. Publishers Weekly and Forbes agree, which is pretty cool. Also, legendary space artist Chris Calle designed its fantastic cover!

*****

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