The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien

Undoubtedly the greatest fanatasy of all time. A story about good vs. evil, ancient times, faraway places and legendary races. Tolkien was a professor of English, and through his readings, it is obvious that he is very well studied in character archetypes and English myths. At the end of the Third Age, Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit, must make a perilous journey to destroy a mystical ring of power before a dark lord can use it to enslave all the peoples of Middle Earth. This is against a backdrop of an all out war, where the forces of good are led by a legendary King, aided by a wise and powerful wizard.

	Wormtongue If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Wormtongue, Man of Rohan, the chief counselor of Theoden. In the movie, I am played by Brad Dourif. Who would you be? Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software

Robots, Galactic Empire Novels, Foundation -- Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was one of most prolific authors of all time. He had written almost 500 books in his lifetime. With a PhD in Chemistry, many of his books were on science, including chem and astronomy. He will be most remembered for his far reaching Robot/Empire/Foundation series. The Will Smith movie, I Robot, is loosely based on a short story of Asimov's. Asimov is famous for penning the 'Three Laws of Robotics', expanded to Four many years later. The concept of the Positronic Brain in Star Trek: The Next Generation is based on Asimov's robots.

The Robot Novels:
The Caves of Steel
The Naked Sun
The Robots of Dawn
Robots and Empire

The first three follow the adventures of private detective Elijah Bailey and his robot partner R. Daneel Olivaw...these novels take place in the distant future, soon after Man has colonized the first fifty planets. What seems to be simple murder cases will have major repercussions for millenia to come. In the fourth novel, Olivaw and another robot, Giskard force mankind away from Earth to colonize the rest of the galaxy and creating the Galactic Empire...thereby saving the race before it collapses on itself on Earth and the 50 Spacer Worlds.

The Galactic Empire Novels:
The Stars, Like Dust
The Currents of Space
Pebble in the Sky

Three separate novels that take place in the time of the Galactic Empire

The Foundation Series:
Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation and Earth
Prelude to Foundation
Foward the Foundation

The first three novels were written as a series of short stories for Amazing Stories Magazine in the forties. The Foundation Series beat out the Lord of the Rings for the 'Best All-Time Series' Hugo Award. The Galactic Empire has stood for twelve thousand years, and now it is falling. Scientist Hari Seldon uses Psychohistory, the science of using mathematics to predict what large populations will do, to guide Man through a millenium of chaos. Without setting up the Foundation, it will take five thousand years of darkness for Man to rise from the ashes. This is based on the concept that a dark age usually follows the fall of any great empire. A very unprecedented and unique story in the annals of science-fiction. This is the best sci-fi I have ever read.

The Dune Chronicles -- by Frank Hebert

A powerful story that spans millenia--Paul Atreides comes to Arrakis, and changes the course of Mankind forever. A complex story of intrigue, suspense, politics, religion, environmentalism--control of the known Universe is at stake--but for the better or the worse?

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse: Dune

and now, Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune --the long awaited conclusion fans had been waiting for for twenty years...culled from the notes of the late author...written by his son, Brian Hebert and noted science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson has been released. A very exciting and surprising conclusion to the grand epic.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- By Douglas Adams

Otherwise known as 'The Bible' -- 'nuff said.

Flight! My Life in Mission Control by Christopher Kraft
Failure is Not an Option by Eugene Kranz

Teacher and Student. Mentor and Protege. Christopher Kraft and Eugene Kranz are two of the pivotal men who made space flight happen. Kraft was the original Flight Director for NASA, working on the Mercury and Gemini programs. Kranz, his protege, would make his mark as the lead Flight Director for Apollo 11 - the first men on the moon, and for the Apollo 13 flight - which due to an explosion, almost didn't make it back. Kranz is immortalized in Ed Harris's performance in the blockbuster movie Apollo 13.

Both men have different perspectives of one of the most pioneering and adventurous periods in American history. Put together, you get a clear picture of how the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs came together.

Kranz would go on to produce 2 documentaries for the History Channel based on his book; both Kranz and Kraft are interviewed extensively in them.