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Book Reviews


One Small Step
Author: Jerry Stone

Publisher: Templar Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-84011-988-6

Price: ?14.99 (Hb), 26pp


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One Small Step is a truly commemorative 'souvenir' of the first Apollo Moon landing, which celebrates its fortieth anniversary this July as part of the International Year of Astronomy.
Written and presented in the style of a scrapbook put together by a 12-year-old space enthusiast, it is evident that an
enormous amount of care and work has gone into every last detail.

Beginning with a historical look at the lure of the
Moon, its role in society, art and science fiction, and some Moon basics - phases, facts and figures - the reader is then
taken on an interactive journey through the Space Race and the engineering behind Apollo 11 and the Saturn V, with cutaway diagrams to illustrate. Then it's onto launch preparations
and launch day itself, with astronaut profiles, a guide to using a spacesuit, and photographs capturing the anticipation and excitement of the day. There is even a press pass and mission patch sticker to make you feel like you were really there!


The story continues as the astronauts journey away from Earth and towards the Moon, documented in double page spreads with mission diaries, menus and descriptions of their daily routines. Beautiful images of the astronauts at work accompany descriptions of the experiments that they performed while on the surface of the Moon, from seismics to laser ranging and solar wind detection, as well as the first tentative steps that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made onto the surface, of course.

Newspaper cuttings, mission logs and transcripts of real dialogue between the astronauts and ground crew, and even a replica souvenir medallion all complete the experience.

The last section of the book is dedicated to the global celebrations on the astronauts' return to Earth, and a look to the future of space exploration and how today's children could become the next generation of Moon or Mars explorers is an inspiring end to an equally inspiring book, from which all ages will draw enjoyment.

Emily Baldwin

2009 Yearbook
This 132-page special edition features the ultimate observing guide for 2009, a review of all the biggest news stories of 2008, in depth articles covering all aspects of astronomy and space missions for 2009, previews of International Year of Astronomy events and much, much more.
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Infinity Rising
This special publication features the photography of British astro-imager Nik Szymanek and covers a range of photographic methods from basic to advanced. Beautiful pictures of the night sky can be obtained with a simple camera and tripod before tackling more difficult projects, such as guided astrophotography through the telescope and CCD imaging.
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Exploring Mars
Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition!
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Mars rover poster
This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
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