Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier

Space Chronicles: Facing The Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson

"Space Chronicles" is the inspirational plea of why NASA matters to America and what space exploration means to our species. Renowned astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson dissects the politics of space and also enlightens the reader of the sense of awe that comes from space exploration and discovery. This book selections represent commentary, interviews, thought-provoking quotes reflecting a spectrum of fascinating topics from one of our icons of science. I share the love and awe of science that radiates from Mr. Tyson; this book arouses such emotions in witty, lucid fashion while stressing the importance of America retaining its global leadership in space.

This 384-page book is composed of thirty-six chapters and broken it in three Parts: Part I. Why, Part II. How, and Part III. Why Not. The first part of the book (Why) has to do with why we want to explore space. It appeals to emotions and wonder and the politics involved. The second part of the book (How), is of more practical science. The last third of the book (Why Not) wraps everything together and is the most passionate.

Positives:
1. A passionate, engaging prose that reflects the love of science of Dr. Tyson.
2. Fascinating topic in the hands of an icon of astrophysics.
3. Witty and humorous tone.
4. Profound without being unintelligible. An accessible book for the masses.
5. The politics involved. The author stresses the need to eliminate partisan politics.
6. Sixty-seven space tweets interspersed throughout the book. A clever way of injecting topical space wisdom.
7. The allure of space evidence by the most popular museum of the world, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
8. Dr. Tyson is a thinker and educator and uses his prodigious knowledge and skill to enlighten the masses like few scientists can. He makes use of popular science and movies to convey concepts: The Movie Contact to illustrate how radio waves attempt to make "contact".
9. The author's view on fascinating topics like extraterrestrial life and some really interesting views from Stephen Hawking.
10. The reality of killer asteroids and the justification to pursue space. Chart that illustrates impact on Earth.
11. Is China the new Sputnik? And our we losing our scientific edge? Find out...
12. NASA and Dr. Tyson share a birthday. Diverging paths that ultimately converged. Some insights into the interesting life of Mr. Tyson and kudos.
13. The history of NASA, the great Apollo ere and the next fifty years in space.
14. Tidbits of knowledge throughout the book! Love that...there is so much that the universe wants to tell us that doesn't reach Earth's surface. I will not spoil it...
15. The three drivers to justify spending large quantities of state wealth. Find out...a recurring theme. Find out what really drove America to space travel.
16. Find out why the Super Collider budget was canceled.
17. A brief but fascinating account of space discovery. Find out the most important single discovery in astrophysics.
18. The turning point in human understanding of our place in the cosmos.
19. The future of discovery.
20. The greatest achievement of flight is...
21. The great Isaac Newton .
22. The solution to the many-body problem of the solar system.
23. The understanding of the achievements of the Soviets. Many firsts...
24. Facts and fictions of space travel. The greatest challenge to human exploration besides money is...
25. Astronauts...the super models of space travel.
26. The many new technologies that resulted from space travel. An interesting list...
27. The Hubble Space Telescope...the most productive scientific instrument of all kind. The discoveries associated with it.
28. Apollo 11 and the great late Walter Cronkite.
29. Dr. Tyson's absolute admiration for the Saturn V design that launched Apollo astronauts.
30. Very interesting look at the future of propulsion for deep space. Topics include the use of the sun (solar sails) and the difficulty with an anti-matter drive.
31. The points of Lagrange.
32. Star Trek lovers rejoice...Mr. Tyson adds a couple of interesting tidbits.
33. The future of US space travel and the challenges. Money is a recurring theme...the actual cost of NASA.
34. Wisdom, "A review of history's most ambitious projects demonstrates that only defense, the lure of economic return, and the praise of power can garner large fractions of a nation's gross domestic product".
35. One of my favorite chapters, "America and the Emergent Space Powers".
36. One of my favorite quotes, "the greatest conflicts in the world are not between religion and science;they're between religion and religion".
37. How some religious forces have quenched scientific endeavors. Great stuff.
38. The delusions of space enthusiasts.
39. Witty and humorous...projectile dysfunction. Let me leave it at that.
40. By using numbers, Dr. Tyson really puts in perspective how tiny we are...mesmerizing. "More bacteria live and work in one centimeter of my colon than the number of people who have ever existed in the world".
41. Pioneer anomaly...case and point, why science is awesome and the quest to know drives us.
42. The best justification for why we need to spend money on space travel.
43. Practical appendices and charts.

Negatives:
1. The book tends to be repetitive. A lot of the stories and interviews overlap so some concepts and thoughts are repeated.
2. It is not an in depth look at the science of astrophysics. It is more about educating the public of why it's important to funds NASA appropriately. So those looking for an in depth look at the science of astrophysics will surely be disappointed.
3. This book is a plea to fund NASA. Politics is involved but the author treats the topic with utmost respect and care. He is clearly appreciated and respected by both parties as evidenced by being appointed by both parties to important position. That being said, he does make it clear that he is left of liberal.
4. No bibliography or extended notes of references. I would have been interested in reading some recommendations.
5. No colorful illustrations of space, so this is not a coffee-table book.
6. Having to wait for the author's next book and/or Cosmos series!

In summary, I loved this book. It spoke to my love and passion for knowledge and the value to our culture of new voyages. No one makes a better case for the need of space exploration and the drive of discovery than Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Space travel is not just an emotional frontier, it is the frontier of all sciences. That being said, some readers may be disappointed that the book focuses more on the the emotional appeal to fund NASA than the hardcore science. That aside, if you want to rekindle your love for space exploration and discovery by all means read this highly recommended book!

Further recommendations: "[[ASIN:0393330168 Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries]]" by the same author, "[[ASIN:0306819643 The Quantum Universe: (And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does)]]" by Brian Cox, "[[ASIN:1439169594 About Time: Cosmology and Culture at the Twilight of the Big Bang]]" by Adam Frank, "[[ASIN:B005F113MS International Space Station: A Brief History (Enhanced Version)]]" by Vook, "[[ASIN:0670019976 Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . .]]" and "[[ASIN:0471409766 Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax"]]" by Philip Plait, "The [[ASIN:055338466X The Grand Design]]" by Stephen Hawking, "[[ASIN:145162445X A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing]]" by Lawrence Krauss, "[[ASIN:0375727205 The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality]]" by Brian Greene, and "[[ASIN:0802717934 A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos]]" by Dava Sobel.

It's easy to get caught up in Neil DeGrasse Tyson's writing. He's energetic and enthusiastic. But Space Chronicles reads like a promotional presentation on behalf of NASA, rather than a call to reach to the cosmos. To listen to Dr. Tyson is to believe that the only salvation for American space presence is the lumbering juggernaut of NASA. He calls for us to remember all of the things the government's space program has produced for us, from Velcro to cloths used for military and firefighter uniforms. But along the way he totally ignores the fact that much of the research that produced these items was the sweat of private companies who accepted the government's call for new and improved products and materials to enhance our forays into space. He glosses over the colossal blunders, expensive ones, that have been made under the NASA masthead, which contributed to the slowdown of both money and enthusiasm for America's space program.

He calls the space program nonpartisan, but then admits that NASA has been politically marginalized, dividing up into competing camps that manifest all of the same competitive tanglefoot that has neutered congress. Just as with the government, when the differing sides refuse to work together, little, if anything, gets done. Rather than pressing for more privatized involvement in space research, he maintains a focus on NASA, repeatedly bringing economies of scale into the conversation to blur the realities of our country's economic position. He points to other countries which are not in the economic straits we're currently experiencing and tries to throw down the gauntlet that we should be able to do better. Yet he also admits that the only place in space exploration that we were ever number one was in landing on the moon --some 40 or so years ago. That was then, in a different economic and national situation, and this is now. That in ratio and proportion so little could be spent to produce a new wealth of advances totally ignores that it's hard to carve extra money from our mind boggling budgetary deficit. One cannot spend what one doesn't have, and right now the government is spending negative dollars.

I can't help but think about flagging educational monies and our embarrassing position in terms of schooled minds available to perform the research he speaks of. I have to think that perhaps spending more on education --and putting hooks on the money to have educational institutions focus on the sciences rather than sports might be a better way to spend the dollars we might budget. In America we spend $41 billion dollars a year on pets, so strikes me that the private sector has a lot more money to spend on space than the government currently does. For all of the returns on investment that Dr. Tyson speaks of, I have to wonder why, if it is so lucrative, aren't more companies investing in space? When this question is asked of the relative few companies that are investing in space, they speak of the tremendous governmental obstacles involved. Problems which, as I hear the interviews, point at NASA and Homeland Security as the biggest sticks in the mud. So I have to question whether Dr. Tyson is promoting space, or is he promoting NASA?

But Tyson's writing is engaging, and he brings to light a tremendous amount of knowledge in his entertaining writing. He has a ready wit and shows it often as the pages go by. Considering the dryness of much of the information, he makes it palatable with style and grace. But when I lift my head out of the atmosphere he creates, I can see the many things that he readily distracts us from. I metaphor his writing as "Do you want to be rich? It's easy! Get a lot of money." There is just too much missing as he seemingly points the way to future prosperity and growth. I tend to think that if he put his apparently boundless energies into advocating for space, rather than just NASA, that we might tend to see more of the fruits he says are out there for the taking.

As he opened the book, he spoke of how after our astronauts strolled on the moon, that people all over the world would smilingly cheer "We did it!" They took part of the credit as members of the human race. He based this on the fact that the achievement was a planetary one rather than national. He lauded this warmly, explaining that space should be a human endeavor and not a national one. Yet his book continually speaks to how well other nations are doing in space advancement, and keeps saying that we are behind. If it's truly the end product that's important, why is is so imperative that Americans lead, rather than playing a supportive role? If it was alright for peoples of other nations to have only moral supporting roles when we reached the moon, why isn't it alright for us to do so now; and why is it so important that it be NASA making the accomplishments?

I think this book would be a much more valuable writing if it encouraged mainstream American involvement in space and the reach for the stars. It would have been, in my opinion, better to point to the riches and benefits awaiting investors, encouraging them to jump in. Then add pleas for governmental subsidy and tax benefits for the space efforts of private sector investors. Then too, Dr. Tyson speaks to the fact that we haven't really provided a lot of the minds that went into our accomplishments to date, but imported them from other nations instead. He says that now those minds are going elsewhere or staying home where greater opportunities for careers in space research are more prolific. So it only seems to make sense to fan the flames of generating American minds by encouraging for more places for American minds to build on their dreams of space --while not being confined to Hollywood special effects to do it.

I enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to others with an interest in the heavens. But I would do so with the caveat that it appears to be more a promotion of NASA than a promotion of space study advancement.

First things first, I really like reading the work of Neil deGrasse Tyson. This book does not disappoint in the content of thought. But this book is made up of reprints of articles and essays, many of which have been previously published. So, as other reviewers have indicated, there is a good bit of repetition as the author bangs the same drum many times, some articles being nearly 15 years old. After a while, I just felt like shouting "I get it Neil." The consistently of his points are reassuring, but I am disappointed to read the same things many times in one volume. And with 100 pages of appendices, and index, about 28% of the book is not text.

The book is interesting and informative, but overall, I feel like it falls in the realm of just being there to create product. Buyer be cautioned...even at the attractive price through Amazon, I did not really get the full book that I was expecting.

Neil Degrasse Tyson is the most eloquent spokesperson for space exploration alive today. He tells the story which needs to be told and does it in an eloquent fashion without pandering. His witty and intelligent story telling make for a great read and his ability to tell compelling stories without talking above the head of his reader is always worth your time. The reason this book didn't wow me is that it consists mostly of retold tales. I follow NDT closely and found this work to be very repetitive and just not worth anything new.

Read it if you like to be educated and informed. If you follow Dr. Degrasse Tyson closely you wont find anything new here.

As a fellow astrophysicist, I have a lot of respect of Tyson. A very intelligent guy, but he has not researched the parts relating to manned spaceflight very well and hasn't kept up with the political struggle for pork that has been occurring since the Shuttle was discontinued. He says to greatly increase the NASA budget to be able to do everything we want to do. That is not necessary if we stop financing the Rocket to Nowhere: SLS. If we do that, we can finance everything, including returning to the moon and going beyond with the current budget. See these articles that I wrote for Yahoo! News last year.
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I thought that Neil deGRASSE TYSON would have something important to say about mankind's space travel history and prospects. Probibly because he's on enough late night talk shows, saying that we belong in space. However, SPACE CHRONICLES could have been written by the "Drunk Uncle" character on SNL, for as much scientific insight, or informative overviews of NASA's or ESA's current and future space exploration. No doubt you'd like to hear in depth about the entertaining remarks he makes on a show like CORBERT REPORT. Well, sorry. Instead, you'll have to REREAD the Corbert Report TV interview word for word. As well as several other simular interviews, for CNN or NY TIMES. A normal interview repeats a constant theme in this book. That theme isnt the current state of NASA, or how we got here, or where we are going. He doesnt mention CURIOUSITY (the new Mars rover), or the ATLAS rocket, the ARES rocket, tho he does say we have an International Space Station but not what its doing. (Exploring what happens to the human body in prolonged space enviorments, and testing new space technology.) Actually, the book's only scientific information is the last chapter, when he mentions that PIONEER 10 isnt quite as far into deep space as it ought to be, tho he only gives odd speculations as to the reason. Its hardly a fulfilling endcap to this bizarre and rambling book.

Instead of information about how humanity can't currently endure 3 years in space to go to Mars, and the information from MIR, ISS, and SkyLab that informs us of this, you get a constant diatribe against SOCIETY AS A WHOLE! He blames religion, the humanities, lack of education causing public apathy about science. It's not said once, but repeatedly. Do you want to read this book to discover the future of space travel, or hear someone tell you of 543 Nobel Prises, only 2 were given to Muslims? Do you know what that means according to Tyson? That Fundamentalist Christianity, Hasidic Judaism, and Islam are to blame for not humanity not in a space ship to Mars. "When societies and cultures are permeated by nonsecular philosophies, science & technolgy & medicine stagnate. " (p.206) How does raging against religion, explain anything other than his guy doesnt care much for Religion? Oh, add in the humanities, because he mocks the Humanities "Crowd sipping cocktails and talking about Shakespeare & Saddam Ruskie", while they make fun of the science prof who can add numbers in his head. He also says in his culture wars section, that when China became insular in the 1400s they stopped advancing in chinese discoveries. Odd, because in other parts of the book, he says that China will beat us to Mars, since "after all, Mars is red". He says "Our nation is turning into an idiocracy". Right. After looking for a book that explains where NASA is headed, I hear Tyson rail against religion, the humanities, our deplorable education system that doesnt focus on astrophysics, and how we should terraform MARS and send a billion people there. Since what Tyson fails to mention, is that without a VASMR ion drive employing a 500 megawatt engine, we wont make it to Mars in shape to work. And, altho he thinks the USA should have built a MARS spaceship in the 1980s or 1990s, the truth is without the information from MIR, the ISS, and all the MARS rovers, the recognisance satilites orbiting Mars, the advancement in robotics and computers, even the other planetary landers, that mankind would have gone ill prepaired to go to Mars, and wasted a trillion dollars on a space tragedy that would have ended space travel forever. Do you want to learn about the REAL space chronicles, and where the USA is in its mission to Mars? Go to the NASA website and watch their informative, detailed and scientific lectures about MARS. Its free, and you WILL get some useful knowledge, instead of a bunch of ill informed blathering by this conceited Z list celebrity.

I picked this up, thinking I would have a good, in-depth account of the our space program, its history and future possibilities. This is more of a collection of Dr. Tyson's essays, speeches and previously published articles. This wouldn't be a bad thing, but it does become quite repetitive in both the nature of the essays and even the text itself. I'm a fan of Dr. Tyson, but his previous works have been better.

Despite Neil deGrasse Tyson being a major factor in the death of Pluto as a planet, it is impossible to dislike the man - so upbeat, enthusiastic about astronomy, does such a great job of explaining solar issues. However, it is still possible to like Mr. Tyson and not be enthused about this latest book of his.

DeGrasse Tyson believes America's space program is at a turning point, possibly even soon to be eclipsed by those of other nations. This book consists of 15 years' worth of the author's commentaries on space exploration. Author Tyson contends NASA has been above politics, yet also admits we've excluded China from the International Space Station Alliance, citing human rights violations - a bit of politicking if ever there was such. Then it also seemed that NASA was always playing games with the crew lists on its launches - first emphasizing women, then a teacher, then other nations, etc.

NASA has averaged about $20 billion/year expenditures in today's dollars since its origination, and brought us advances in microelectronics, GPS, LASIK surgery, scratch-resistant lenses, cordless power tools, etc. as spin-offs from the space program. My opinion, however, is that we would have achieved all those advances anyway; eg. GPS is derived from a military application. Regardless, the space program is now buried in partisanship.

Actually, I wouldn't have any problem putting another $20 billion/year into NASA, but that thought became derailed when reading the $500 billion price-tag for the proposed Space Exploration Initiative (eg. permanent presence on the moon, manned travel to Mars) - its just too much for America's financial condition today.

Again, I really like Dr. deGrasse Tyson - just not enthused about his latest idea.

As the other reviewers have made clear, this is a wonderful book. This is because it combines Tyson's charming sense of humor with profound thoughts about the future of the American zeitgeist. Dr. Tyson argues very convincingly that NASA is a necessary component if we wish to transform America into a nation that dreams of tomorrow. I would write a detailed review, but the reviewers "Scott", "Frances M. Nesi", and "J. Gomez" did a fantastic job already and said everything that I would say.

I'm a big Neil deGrasse Tyson fanboy.

Partly that's because I'm an Apollo moon mission geek and collect artifacts from the program. (Pretty geeky, right?)

But mostly, I'm a fan because Dr. Tyson is such an awesome communicator. When I read his work or watch him on television, I always take away something that I can apply to my own work as a communicator and marketing strategist.

His bio says Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist and the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. Dr. Tyson is so good at talking and writing about the cosmos and why it is important for us to have an understanding of the wider world in which we live.

Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier - is a collection of essays and speech transcripts around the theme of space exploration and how America has not done much to inspire people in the past 40 years outside of some cool robotic missions and the Hubble telescope.

I read Space Chronicles in three sittings because it is that good.

In the book, he talks about how America boldly embarked on the most audacious scientific endeavor in history by sending humans to the moon. However after 9 lunar missions (6 that landed) we... stopped exploring. For 40 years we've only been to low earth orbit with manned missions.

Sure there have been some spectacular robotic missions such as Cassini's photos of Saturn and the various Mars rovers. And the Hubble has delivered spectacular images. But humans haven't explored.

Dr. Tyson argues that's a problem because we're not inspiring our young people to study science and engineering and that's a problem for the economy.

"Absent such curiosity, we are no different from the provincial farmer who expresses no need to venture beyond the county line, because his forty acres meet all his needs. Yet if our predecessors had felt that way, the farmer would instead be a cave dweller, chasing down his dinner with a stick and a rock."
- From Space Chronicles.

Quick aside - In high school my buddies and I would go to the Hayden Planetarium (after some appropriate preparations of course) to see evening productions of "Laser Floyd" - a cosmic mixture of loud Pink Floyd with colorful lasers projected on the planetarium dome. I've even got a ticket stub from 1978 to prove it. Neil is close to my age. He grew up in New York City. I wonder if he went too? Nah, probably not. He was studying while I was partying.