Here's a page with a list of some books that I liked, and recommend, plus links to find them on Amazon.com. If you want stuff by me, there's a different page for that.
So far I haven't added very many books here; keep checking back, and I'll add more.
Want to patronize your local independent bookstore? Check Booksense, or search for a store in your neighborhood.
I haven't put in all the links yet, either, but if you see a book that I haven't linked yet, put the title into the search box here and click "go".
Robert L. Forward:
Dragon's Egg
Rocheworld (also published as "Flight of the Dragonfly")
Indistinguishable from Magic. (science essays and short stories).
Robert Heinlein
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Just reissued as a trade paperback. 35 years old, and still a classic.
Gardner Dozois's The Year's Best Science Fiction series is, as the title says, the best (and the biggest) compilation of each year's science fiction around. Every sf collector should have the complete set, but I'll list just the last decade's volumes.
To be fair, I have to point out that these books are written by friends. Nevertheless, these are excellent books, and I recommend them without reservation.
I have occasionally been asked what science reference books are indespensible for a hard-science fiction writer. Here is the list of books that I personally find indespensible on my bookshelf.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
it's big and expensive and hard to find things in, but the CRC handbook is pretty much the reference book for the working scientist (at least in the physical sciences).
A recent astronomy textbook. The one on my shelf happens to be Chaisson and McMillan, Astronomy Today
A recent physics textbook.
I use Halliday and Resnick. (OK, I admit it's not so recent.)
Human Space Systems: Mission Analysis and Design There are a number of textbooks about space engineering; I picked this one to list because it focusses on missions with humans, not just satellite design. (the fact that I wrote a chapter in it doesn't hurt, either)
Beatty, Petersen, and Chaikin, The New Solar System The best overall volume discussing all of the planets of the solar system. The volume I have is the 4th edition.
Kieffer, Jakowski, Snyder, and Matthews, Mars U. Arizona Press
Actually, now that I think about it, far too many people are writing about Mars, so forget I recommended this. University of Arizona press has one of these thick research compilations for almost every planet in the solar system, plus separate volumes for satellites, asteroids, impact hazards, and resources of near-Earth space. I turn to the Mars volume frequently, of course, but if you are writing about, say, Venus, there is a volume available (actually, there are two Venus volumes available).
Greeley and Batson, The NASA Atlas of the Solar System Horribly expensive, but this enormous volume has a map of every body in the solar system that's been mapped.
Mallove and Matloff, The Starflight Handbook The best concise reference to designing starships.
Gregory Matloff, Deep-Space Probes (Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences); $89.95
Expensive, but this is an updated and more technical version of the Starflight Handbook.
E. F. Taylor and J. A. Wheeler, Exploring Black Holes: everything you need to know about black hole physics, without extensive math.
Krauss, The Physics of Star Trek
a popularization, but gives a good brush-through of physics relevant to science fiction.
and, of course, standard writing references: encyclopedia, dictionary, almanac, atlas, thesaurus, Baby-naming book, NY City telephone directory, and a familiar quotations book.
If you're looking for a book not listed on this page, search Amazon.com by typing the book you're looking for into the box below, and hitting "GO":
Do you prefer to patronize an independent bookseller? Book Nook is the largest independent book store in Northern Ohio, and you can purchase any book in print from their web site or toll-free by phone (800) 200-0570 . Want a book seller in your own area? Check Booksense, or search for a local store, or look over the list of stores here.
