Space Struck

by Paige Lewis
Space Struck
Author: Paige Lewis
Publisher: Sarabande Books
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2019-10-08
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 1946448451
GET BOOK

This astonishing, self-assured debut leads us on an exploration to the stars and back, begging us to reconsider our boundaries of self, time, space, and knowledge. The speaker writes, “...the universe/is an arrow/without end/and it asks only one question;/How dare you?” Zig-zagging through the realms of nature, science, and religion, one finds St. Francis sighing in the corner of a studio apartment, tides that are caused by millions of oysters “gasping in unison,” an ark filled with women in its stables, and prayers that reach God fastest by balloon. There’s pathos: “When my new lover tells me I’m correct to love him, I/realize the sound isn’t metal at all. It’s not the coins rattling/ on concrete, but the fingers scraping to pick them up.” And humor, too: “...even the sun’s been sighing Not you again/when it sees me.” After reading this far-reaching, inventive collection, we too are startled, space struck, our pockets gloriously “filled with space dust.”

Star Struck

by Ronald Brashear
Star Struck
Author: Ronald Brashear
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2001
Genre: Astronomy
ISBN: 9780295980973
GET BOOK

These 150-plus illustrations would be perfectly fascinating on their own, but the accompanying text is also excellent. Authors Brashear, rare books curator at the Smithsonian's Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, and Lewis, curator of American historical manuscripts at the Huntington Library, are joined by Owen Gingerich, senior astronomer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and professor of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University. Together they document the evolution of humanity's understanding of the cosmos, drawing on some of the most rare and beautiful books in the history of astronomy. Sources of the illustrations include the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Huntington Library, and the Hubble Space Telescope. c. Book News Inc.

Movie-Struck Girls

by Shelley Stamp
Movie-Struck Girls
Author: Shelley Stamp
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2018-06-05
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0691187754
GET BOOK

Movie-Struck Girls examines women's films and filmgoing in the 1910s, a period when female patronage was energetically courted by the industry for the first time. By looking closely at how women were invited to participate in movie culture, the films they were offered, and the visual pleasures they enjoyed, Shelley Stamp demonstrates that women significantly complicated cinemagoing throughout this formative, transitional era. Growing female patronage and increased emphasis on women's subject matter did not necessarily bolster cinema's cultural legitimacy, as many in the industry had hoped, for women were not always enticed to the cinema by dignified, uplifting material, and once there, they were not always seamlessly integrated in the social space of theaters, nor the new optical pleasures of film viewing. In fact, Stamp argues that much about women's films and filmgoing in the postnickelodeon years challenged, rather than served, the industry's drive for greater respectability. White slave films, action-adventure serial dramas, and women's suffrage photoplays all drew female audiences to the cinema with stories aimed directly at women's interests and with advertising campaigns that specifically targeted female moviegoers. Yet these examples suggest that women's patronage was built with stories focused on sexuality, sensational thrill-seeking, and feminist agitation, topics not normally associated with ladylike gentility. And in each case concerns were raised about women's conduct at cinemas and the viewing habits they enjoyed, demonstrating that women's integration into motion picture culture was not as smooth as many have thought.

The End of Astronauts

by Donald Goldsmith
The End of Astronauts
Author: Donald Goldsmith
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2022-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0674257723
GET BOOK

A world-renowned astronomer and an esteemed science writer make the provocative argument for space exploration without astronauts. Human journeys into space fill us with wonder. But the thrill of space travel for astronauts comes at enormous expense and is fraught with peril. As our robot explorers grow more competent, governments and corporations must ask, does our desire to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars justify the cost and danger? Donald Goldsmith and Martin Rees believe that beyond low-Earth orbit, space exploration should proceed without humans. In The End of Astronauts, Goldsmith and Rees weigh the benefits and risks of human exploration across the solar system. In space humans require air, food, and water, along with protection from potentially deadly radiation and high-energy particles, at a cost of more than ten times that of robotic exploration. Meanwhile, automated explorers have demonstrated the ability to investigate planetary surfaces efficiently and effectively, operating autonomously or under direction from Earth. Although Goldsmith and Rees are alert to the limits of artificial intelligence, they know that our robots steadily improve, while our bodies do not. Today a robot cannot equal a geologist's expertise, but by the time we land a geologist on Mars, this advantage will diminish significantly. Decades of research and experience, together with interviews with scientific authorities and former astronauts, offer convincing arguments that robots represent the future of space exploration. The End of Astronauts also examines how spacefaring AI might be regulated as corporations race to privatize the stars. We may eventually decide that humans belong in space despite the dangers and expense, but their paths will follow routes set by robots.

Seveneves

by Neal Stephenson
Seveneves
Author: Neal Stephenson
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 419
Release: 2015-05-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0062190415
GET BOOK

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years. What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . . Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth. A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.

Space Opera

by Catherynne M. Valente
Space Opera
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2018-04-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1481497510
GET BOOK

2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy meets the joy and glamour of Eurovision in bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente's science fiction spectacle, where sentient races compete for glory in a galactic musical contest…and the stakes are as high as the fate of planet Earth. A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented—something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding. Once every cycle, the great galactic civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix—part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Species far and wide compete in feats of song, dance and/or whatever facsimile of these can be performed by various creatures who may or may not possess, in the traditional sense, feet, mouths, larynxes, or faces. And if a new species should wish to be counted among the high and the mighty, if a new planet has produced some savage group of animals, machines, or algae that claim to be, against all odds, sentient? Well, then they will have to compete. And if they fail? Sudden extermination for their entire species. This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny—they must sing. Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes have been chosen to represent their planet on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of Earth lies in their ability to rock.

CatStronauts: Race to Mars

by Drew Brockington
CatStronauts: Race to Mars
Author: Drew Brockington
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2017-04-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780316307505
GET BOOK

In the sequel to CatStronauts: Mission Moon, your favorite elite group of cat astronauts are thrust into the space-race of the century! Fresh off of their heroic mission to save the world, the CatStronauts--Major Meowser, Pom Pom, Blanket and Waffles--are taking a well deserved victory lap. Parades and fancy awards dinners are the new norm! But around the world, other cat space programs are watching--in particular the CosmoCats, the first cats to go to space! With national pride and scientific research on the line, the world's space programs rush to be the first cats to Mars, and the CatStronauts are starting months behind! Can they catch up and prove their first mission was no fluke? In this graphic novel, debut author/illustrator Drew Brockington takes the CatStronauts further than they've every gone, adding in mounds of jokes, charm, science, and enough yarn and scratching posts for everyone!

Strike the Zither

by Joan He
Strike the Zither
Author: Joan He
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2022-10-25
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1250258596
GET BOOK

A dazzling new fantasy from New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, full of secrets and betrayal, Strike the Zither is an inventive and sweeping fantasy perfect for fans of Rebecca Ross and Chloe Gong, “rich in intrigue and epic in scale.” Orphaned at a young age, Zephyr took control of her fate by becoming the realm’s most powerful strategist, serving under a leader whose cause jeopardizes their survival in a war where one must betray or be betrayed. When Zephyr is forced to infiltrate an enemy camp, she encounters the enigmatic Crow, the only strategist who has ever rivaled Zephyr’s talent. But mastermind though Crow may be, he is no match for Zephyr. She will defy the heavens to win and no one—neither human nor god—can stop her. Featuring gorgeous map art and black-and-white portraits, Strike the Zither is the first book in Joan He's riveting Kingdom of Three duology that explores human greed and ambition in a war-torn world. Don't miss the epic conclusion in Sound the Gong!

The Book of Sand

by Jorge Luis Borges
The Book of Sand
Author: Jorge Luis Borges
Publisher: Dutton Books
Total Pages: 136
Release: 1977
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:
GET BOOK

Thirteen new stories by the celebrated writer, including two which he considers his greatest achievements to date, artfully blend elements from many literary geares.