The Obligation is a modern parable about a young Capitol Hill staffer who discovers that the seasoned congressman he works for is far from a typical politician. An obsession over a mysterious inscription on a plaque in the congressman’s office sparks the young aide’s initiation into a worldview that will challenge everything he thought he knew about space, evolution and humanity.
Under the guidance of the congressman, the protagonist is propelled on a journey of mind and spirit that takes him from Washington to California to Arizona and back to the floor of the House of Representatives. Along the way, he meets six extraordinary individuals who help him understand the secret of the Obligation. His emerging consciousness of the Obligation puts him at odds with the woman he loves, an environmentalist who will ultimately provide a critical piece of the Obligation puzzle.
The journey is a gauntlet of emotions, ideas and insights that lead the young aide to not only understand the reason why we yearn to explore outer space, but also see the larger responsibility we have to each other and to the planet that gave us life. Once exposed to the full depth of meaning about the Obligation, his life is transformed forever. Read the first chapter now.
I’m told that Buzz Aldrin will be signing copies of his new book at the Book Revue in Huntington NY on Monday – Buzz Aldrin 2013:
Monday June 24th, 2013, 7pm
Legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin will sign his new book, Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration.
Legendary “space statesman” Buzz Aldrin speaks out as a vital advocate for the continuing quest to push the boundaries of the universe as we know it. As a pioneering astronaut who first set foot on the moon during mankind’s first landing of Apollo 11–and as an aerospace engineer who designed an orbital rendezvous technique critical to future planetary landings–Aldrin has a vision, and in this book he plots out the path he proposes, taking humans to Mars by 2035.
“Any time an Apollo-era astronaut steps forward with ideas for our future in space, it’s time to stop what whatever we’re doing and pay attention. Buzz Aldrin, one of the first moonwalkers, has no shortage of these ideas. And in Mission to Mars he treats us to how, when, and why we should travel there.” —Neil deGrasse Tyson
Check out astrophysicist Rick Boozer‘s new book, The Plundering of NASA: an Exposé, which I read in draft form. It lays out the mess that NASA human spaceflight policy is in, how it got that way, and how to fix it.
At last, here is a book peering behind the veil of Congressional politics which force NASA to do the bidding of regional interests that cripple the nation’s capabilities in both exploring outer space and exploiting its enormous economic potential. Presenting the opinions of astronauts, prominent “rocket scientists” and space policy analysts while also revealing unpublicized studies conducted by NASA, industry and universities, The Plundering of NASA: An Exposé combines into one book many of the facts the major media have either ignored or not discovered. It relates how honest misconceptions, greed, and an outdated faction within NASA itself cause our nation to get less for its space agency tax dollars than it could and should.
Currently it is available as a Amazon ebook, and in paperback at Lulu.com, where there is a 20% discount until it becomes available in bookstores.
Rick will be on the SpaceVidCast program on July 6 to discuss the book.
In the continuing serialization of the updated version of the book The Rocket Company by Patrick J. G. Stiennon and David M. Hoerr, with illustrations by Doug Birkholz. This week you can obtain the following chapters of the book:
In the continuing serialization of the updated version of the book The Rocket Company by Patrick J. G. Stiennon and David M. Hoerr, with illustrations by Doug Birkholz. This week you can obtain the following chapters of the book:
, which I read in draft form. It