Literary favourites from the Canadian Space Agency
Some of our followers on social media have asked us for suggestions on space-related books. Canadian astronauts and employees of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have created a list of books on space, science and science fiction, as well as books that got them interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. There's something for everyone!
– CSA astronaut David Saint-Jacques is an avid reader, both on Earth and in space! (Credit: CSA/NASA)
This list includes books in both official languages. When books are available in French only, it is indicated in parentheses.
CSA astronauts' picks
David Saint-Jacques
- Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman
- Foundation, trilogy by Isaac Asimov
Jenni Sidey-Gibbons
- If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
Joshua Kutryk
- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
Robert Thirsk
- Moonfire: The Epic Journey of Apollo 11 by Norman Mailer
- Outpost in Orbit: A Pictorial & Verbal History of the International Space Station by David J. Shayler and Robert Godwin
Chris Hadfield
- A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes by Adam Rutherford
Julie Payette
Dave Williams
- Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger
- Live from Cape Canaveral by Jay Barbree
- Spiders in Space: Successfully Adapting to Unwanted Change by Todd Hirsch and Rob Roach
Suggestions from CSA employees
Youth books
- The Explorers Club (free e-book created by the CSA)
- Cyrus, l'encyclopédie qui raconte by Christiane Duchesne and Carmen Marois (French only)
- Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space by Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman
- The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield
- To Burp or Not to Burp: A Guide to Your Body in Space by Dave Williams and Loredana Cunti
- Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space by Libby Jackson
- There Was A Black Hole That Swallowed The Universe by Chris Ferrie
Science fiction
- The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
- Space Odyssey, tetralogy by Arthur C. Clarke
Astronomy and astrophysics
- Poussière d'étoiles by Hubert Reeves (French only)
- A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
- Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss and J. Richard Gott
- NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson
- The Physical Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy by Frank H. Shu
- Observer's Handbook, published yearly by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
- National Geographic Picture Atlas of our Universe by Roy A. Gallant
History
- Spacecraft by Michael H. Gorn and Giuseppe De Chiara
- The Measure of All Things by Ken Alder
- A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin
- Apollo: An Eyewitness Account by Astronaut/Explorer/Artist/Moonwalker Alan Bean by Alan Bean
- Deke! by Donald K. Slayton and Michael Cassutt
- Space Stations: The Art, Science and Reality of Working in Space by Gary Kitmacher, Ron Miller and Robert Pearlman
Psychology
- The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
- An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
- Defying Limits: Lessons from the Edge of the Universe by Dave Williams
- Humans in Space: The Psychological Hurdles by Nick Kanas
Mars
- Mars 3-D: A Rover's-Eye View of the Red Planet by Jim Bell
- Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet by Steve Squyres
- Mars: The Pristine Beauty of the Red Planet by Alfred McEwen
- Life on Mars: What to Know Before We Go by David Weintraub
Robotics
- Interplanetary Robots: True Stories of Space Exploration by Rod Pyle
- Remote and Robotic Investigations of the Solar System by C. R. Kitchin
Happy reading!