There are plenty of great books out there about space — so many, in fact, that it can feel a little overwhelming to figure out where to start, whether searching for a perfect gift or your next engrossing read. So the editors and writers at Space.com have put together a list of their favorite books about the universe. These are the books that we love — the ones that informed us, entertained us and inspired us. We hope they’ll do the same for you!
We’ve divided the books into five categories, which each have their own dedicated pages. On this page, we feature books we’re reading now and books we’ve recently read, which we will update regularly. Click to see the best of:
We hope there’s something on our lists for every reader of every age. We’re also eager to hear about your favorite space books, so please leave your suggestions in the comments, and let us know why you love them. You can see our ongoing Space Books coverage here (opens in new tab).
What we’re reading:
“The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy”
by Moiya McTier
“A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman”
by Lindy Elkins-Tanton
“Horizons: The Global Origins of Modern Science”
by James Poskett
“Space Forces: A Critical History of Life in Outer Space”
by Fred Scharmen
“Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet ― And Our Mission to Protect It”
by Nicole Stott
“The Apollo Murders” (Mulholland Books, 2021)Â
By Col. Chris Hadfield
“Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space” (Harper, 2021)Â
By Stephen WalkerÂ
“The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, & Dreams Deferred” (Bold Type Books, 2021)
By Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
“The Relentless Moon” (Tor, 2020)
By Mary Robinette Kowal
“The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World” (Crown, 2020)
By Sarah Stewart Johnson
“See You in Orbit?: Our Dream of Spaceflight” (To Orbit Productions, 2019)
By Alan Ladwig
“Identified Flying Objects” (Masters Creative LLC, 2019)
By Michael Masters
“They Are Already Here: UFO Culture and Why We See Saucers” (Pegasus Books, 2020)
By Sarah Scoles
“The Andromeda Evolution” (Harper, 2019)
By Daniel H. Wilson
“For Small Creatures Such As We” (G.P Putnam’s Sons, 2019)
By Sasha Sagan
“Dr. Space Junk Vs. the Universe” (MIT Press, 2019)
By Alice Gorman
“Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution” (Penguin Press, 2019)
By Lee Smolin
“Apollo’s Legacy” (Smithsonian Books, 2019)
By Roger Launius
“Finding Our Place in the Universe” (MIT Press, 2019)
By Hélène Courtois
“The Girl Who Named Pluto” (Schwartz & Wade, 2019)
By Alice B. McGinty, Illustrated by Elizabeth Haidle
“Delta-v” (Dutton, 2019)
By Daniel Suarez
Again, check out our full lists here:
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