Some books are too big to be 'q' or 'oversize. They are called 'folio' book, and this one probably qualifies as a one, at least it's too big to fit on any of my shelves! Vision's of the Universe is a glorious book! With paintings by Kazuaki Iwasaki, text by Isaac Asimov, and a preface by Carl Sagan, it's hard to go wrong. The description from the book itself is the best "... beauty informed by science." This is a wonderful journey through the solar system and beyond.

It's 1971, just one day before Mariner 9 arrived at Mars. A group of "distinguished panelists" gathered to discuss this momentous event. Those panelists were: Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Bruce Murray, Carl Sagan, and Walter Sullivan. Combined with pictures from Mariner 9, Mars and the Mind of Man was the result of that gathering. As you read this, imagine what is was like when this was all new!

Time-Life used to publish 'libraries' of books on such subjects as Science, Nature, History and so on. Fortunately for me, my folks subscribed to some of them and the Life Science Library was a favorite. Planets, by Carl Sagan, Jonathan Norton Leonard and the editors of Time-Life Books is the one still on my shelf. Each chapter (they range from discovering the solar system to some of the nearby planets to what lies beyond) comes with a wonderful picture essay. Since it was published in 1966 much has changed, but it was an excellent read in it's day.

Remember the PBS show 'Cosmos'? The original one with Carl Sagan? It's the reason I bought a color TV (the first in my family)(!) When the companion book came out I was there to get one. I've read Cosmos, by Carl Sagan, many times, and have even sort of followed along as I watch the old series.

In times past folks went on a Grand Tour of the world. It was considered a rite of passage and included England, France, Italy and so on. What if folks still did this, only now it was a tour of the universe? For now, it has to be an arm chair tour, but The Grand Tour: a Traveler's Guide to the Solar System, by Ron Miller and William K. Hartmann is the way to go.

"We are, all of us, descended from astronomers." -- Carl Sagan

Reading Hermit With Dog