Description Details
In the present volume there have been covered in a comprehensive and popular manner the various departments of Astronomy. Owing to its treatment in a definitely historical and descriptive manner, however, it may be possible to supplement the general review by a few brief statements of some of the results and problems that confront us in the actual work of the observational astronomy of to-day....

Excerpt Details
The astronomical beliefs of prehistoric man were doubt similar to those entertained by the Eskimo of the Arctic regions and the untutored tribes of Argentine' Republic, South Africa and Australia, tribes who, living only for the day, concern themselves but little with to- morrow and yesterday and care nothing about the universe......

Description Details
Ronny Bronston has dreamed all his life of getting a United Planets job that would take him off-world. He finally gets the opportunity when he is given a provisional assignment with Bureau of Investigation, Section G. But will he be able to complete his assignment and find the elusive Tommy Paine?...

Excerpt Details
Science fiction

Description Details
In 1907 Wallace wrote the short book Is Mars Habitable? to criticize the claims made by Percival Lowell that there were Martian canals built by intelligent beings. Wallace did months of research, consulted various experts, and produced his own scientific analysis of the martian climate and atmospheric conditions. Among other things Wallace pointed out that spectroscopic analysis had shown no signs of water vapour in the Martian atmosphere, that Lowell's analysis of Mars's climate was seriously flawed and badly overestimated the surface temperature, and that low atmospheric pressure would make liquid water, let alone a planet girding irrigation system, impossible. (from Wikipedia)...

Excerpt Details
Science, Essay/Short nonfiction

Description Details
This is a collection of 3 of Harry Harrison marvelous early stories that were published in Galaxy, Analog and Fantastic Universe. The Repairman (1958) is a straight fun SF story of a man getting a job done. It is most typical of his later style in series like the Stainless Steel Rat; Toy Shop (1962), a short piece exploring bureaucratic blindness and one ingenious way around it and The Velvet Glove (1956), my favorite for its writing style, fun perspective, sly social commentary on the scene in 1956 and just plain delightful imagination. And he manages to pack excitement and mystery in at the same time....

Excerpt Details
Science fiction, Short stories

Description Details
While many scientific men now understand our place in the universe, we electrons are anxious that every person should know the very important part which we play in the workaday world. It was for this reason that my fellow-electrons urged me to write my own biography. I am pleased to say that my relationship with the scribe who has put down my story in the following pages has been of the most friendly description. I have allowed him to place what he calls The Scribe's Note at the beginning of each chapter, but it will be understood clearly that these are merely convenient embellishments, and that I am responsible for the story of my own experiences. (Introduction adapted from the text)...

Excerpt Details
Children, Science

Description Details
A jolly romp, which could be described as Gulliver's Travels Through Our Solar System and Beyond, as written by C. S. Lewis on a rainy Sunday afternoon after one too many mugs of cocoa....

Excerpt Details
Fantasy, Teen/Young adult, Science fiction, Adventure

Description Details
Lester del Rey (1915 – 1993) was a Golden Age science fiction author and editor closely connected to John W. Campbell Jr. and Astounding Science Fiction magazine. He also founded Del Rey Books, a popular publishing label he edited with his wife Judy-Lynn. Victory is the story of an undefended Earth in a warring galaxy. It appeared in the August 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. (Summary by Gregg Margarite)...

Excerpt Details
Science fiction

Description Details
An alien race has put a station on Earth and other planets in order to steal the rays of the sun, possible causing the sun to nova within two years. Burl Denning, a high school student, is the only person who has the power to stop the alien project. Can he and the crew of the experimental space ship Magellan act in time to save the earth? (Summary by Richard Kilmer)...

Excerpt Details
Science fiction, Adventure

Description Details
Garrett Putnam Serviss (1851-1929) was an astronomer, popularizer of astronomy, and early science fiction writer. Serviss showed a talent for explaining scientific details in a way that made them clear to the ordinary reader. Serviss's favorite topic was astronomy, as shown by the fact that of the fifteen books he wrote, eight are devoted to that science. He unquestionably was more widely read by the public on that topic than anyone prior to his time. In his private life Serviss was an enthusiastic mountain climber, describing his reaching the summit of the Matterhorn at the age of 43 as part of an effort to get as far away from terrestrial gravity as possible. Five of Serviss's books are science fiction (a term not invented when he wrote). (Summary from Wikipedia)...

Excerpt Details
Science fiction

Description Details
This was the last story published by Twain, a few months before he died. The story follows Captain Elias Stormfield on his extremely long cosmic journey to heaven. It deals with the obsession of souls with the celebrities of heaven, like Adam and Moses, who according to Twain become as distant to most people in heaven as living celebrities are on Earth. Twain uses this story to show his view that the common conception of heaven is ludicrous and points out the incongruities of such beliefs. A lot of the description of Heaven is given by the character Sandy McWilliams, a cranberry farmer who is very experienced in the ways of heaven. The heaven described by him is similar to the conventional Christian heaven, but includes a larger version of all the locations on Earth, as well as of everywhere in the universe. Once in heaven, the person spends eternity living as he thinks best, usually according to his true (sometimes undiscovered) talent. According to one of the characters, a cobbler who has the soul of a poet in him won't have to make shoes here, implying that he would instead turn to poetry and achieve perfection in it. As Stormfie...

Excerpt Details
Short stories, Fantasy, Humor

Description Details
Three years after the events that took place in The Lost World ( /the-lost-world-by-sir-arthur-conan-doyle/ ), Professor Challenger urgently summons his fellow explorers (Professor Summerlee, Lord John Roxton, and reporter E.D. Malone) to a meeting. Oddly, he requires each to bring an oxygen cylinder with him. What he soon informs them is that from astronomical data and just-received telegraphs of strange accidents on the other side of the world, he has deduced that the Earth is starting to move through a region of space containing something poisonous to humankind. Shutting themselves tightly up in Challenger's house, they start to consider what may be done. But as their countrymen start to drop, will their oxygen last long enough to determine and implement a solution? (Summary by Mark Smith)...

Excerpt Details
Adventure, Science fiction, Mystery

Description Details
The Wood beyond the World is a fantasy novel by William Morris, perhaps the first modern fantasy writer to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural, and thus the precursor of much of present-day fantasy literature. His use of archaic language has been seen by some modern readers as making his fiction difficult to read, but brings a wonderful atmosphere to the telling. Morris considered his fantasies a revival of the medieval tradition of chivalrous romances. In consequence, they tend to have sprawling plots of strung-together adventures. In this story, Walter leaves his father and his own unfaithful wife and sets sail in search of adventure. This he finds aplenty, encountering love, treachery and magic in the Wood of the title and in travelling through the Mountains of the Folk of the Bears. But can he find happiness and peace by means of his Quest? Read by Cori Samuel. Edited by http://www.wisemandarine.com/ Mandarine . Summary by Cori with reference to Wikipedia....

Excerpt Details
Fantasy

Description Details
Sailors Sam Dunlap and Arthur check in to a New York hotel to await their mate Vern Engdahl when a girl shows up proposing to purchase Arthur. They need guys like Arthur to help run the city, and the fact that he fits in a small suitcase is even better. – The Knights of Arthur was first published in the January 1958 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. (Summary by Gregg Margarite)...

Excerpt Details
Science fiction

Description Details
Astronomy is known as the oldest of the sciences, and it will be the longest-lived because it will always have arcana that have not been penetrated.-Excerpt from the Preface of Curiosities of the Sky by Garrett Serviss...

Excerpt Details
Science

Description Details
Weather Explained: Fog, clouds, rain, haze, thunder, cyclones, dew point and how to count dust motes are just a few of the 35 topics covered in short, easy to read and understand chapters in this book published in 1905. (Summary by phil chenevert)...

Excerpt Details
Instruction, Science

Description Details
4 great essays.

Excerpt Details
“If I had a time machine I'd visit Marilyn Monroe in her prime,” wrote Professor Hawking in his article “STEPHEN HAWKING: How to build a time machine,” in Daily Mail. I liked very much his idea and prepared to go back in time. I started with time travel research, reading reference books and articles, and exchanging emails with leading experts on time travel. Scholars most often suggest using the following time travel methods: to travel faster than the speed of light, to use black holes, cosmic strings, negative ener-gy, negative mass, exotic matter, or wormholes. After making some brisk calculations with my favorite pocket calculator, I came to the conclusion that the easiest, and financially accessible, way to travel back and forth in time is to build a wormhole. Constructing a wormhole is more or less clear, and I could make a time machine based on this technology in about a few months. ...

Table of Contents Details
Table of Contents Humanity is perfectly visible to extraterrestrials E=mc2 or how to visit Marilyn Monroe Dinosaur Extinction Mechanism Finally Revealed Alien Bugs ...

Description Details
Integrating concepts from philosophical, anthropological, and astrobiological disciplines, Cosmos and Culture begins to explore the interdisciplinary questions of cosmic evolution....

Description Details
The Path of Splitness is a major non fiction work of 1,868 pages: This is the latest revised version. The book analyzes and explains: 1: The origins of our Universe: where it came from and how it was created. 2: Basic aspects and dynamics of the Organic Universe and Organic Life. 3: The origins of modern humans going back 25 million years. 4: Human Psycho-biology. 5: The beginnings of civilization. 6: The effect of civilization upon humans. 7: Death, the existence of evil and its effect on humans. Offered as a free E-book at: http://thepathofsplitness.com/ ...

Table of Contents Details
Chapter 1: The Universe. Pgs 1-112 How the Universe came into being. Chapter 2: Life Pgs 113-131 Structural dynamics of the Universe and Life Chapter 3: Hominids Pgs 132-187 A: How we evolved into Humans Pgs 188-222 B: Summary of Hominid-Human Development Chapter 4: Modern Human Dynamics Pgs 223-266 Human Psycho-biologic Totality. Chapter 5: Modern Humans: Pgs 267-299 The Transition from Hunter-gatherers to Settlements Chapter 6: Civilization Pgs 300-704 A: The Beginnings of Civilization Pgs 705-1474 B: The Effect of Civilization on Humans Pgs 1475-1868 Chapter 7: Entities and the Alternative ...

Description Details
Overpopulation is responsible for many of our planet's problems--global warming, the lack of fresh water, poverty, high gasoline and food prices, air and water pollutions, the scarcity of natural resources, the excess of wastes and their proper disposal, and even some wars. In the year 2020 Commander Lemuel Gulliver XVI returns from a twenty year odyssey around the solar system, searching for sites where the world's excess people can be re-located. He found none. On his return he vows to search for solutions to the planet's most pressing problem. He has written six books of his planned fourteen book series and invites you to read them....

Description Details
Overpopulation is responsible for many of our planet's problems--global warming, the lack of fresh water, poverty, high gasoline and food prices, air and water pollutions, the scarcity of natural resources, the excess of wastes and their proper disposal, and even some wars. In the year 2020 Commander Lemuel Gulliver XVI returns from a twenty year odyssey around the solar system, searching for sites where the world's excess people can be re-located. He found none. On his return he vows to search for solutions to the planet's most pressing problem. He has written six books of his planned fourteen book series and invites you to read them....