The Wandering Earth

Liu, Cixin. The Wandering Earth. New York: Tom Doherty Associates 2013. Print.

First Sentences:

 

The Forerunner now knew that he was the only person left in the universe. 

Description:

Well, that first sentence certainly makes me want to read more. And the ten science fiction stories contained in Cixin Liu's The Wandering Earth collection never disappoint on any level: character, plot, setting, and writing.

Reading this volume is an immersive, challenging, and thought-provoking experience, one I highly recommend to anyone even mildly interested in Earth, space, and the humans (and other beings) that struggle to survive against daunting obstacles.

Here are a few examples of the plot lines for you to decide for yourself that this is one of the best collections of Sci-Fi tales:

• Scientists recognize the sun will explode in several centuries, vaporizing Earth. It is decided the only means of mankind's survival is to make the Earth itself, the only ecosystem large enough to support the world's population, into a gigantic satellite, and blast it towards the nearest habitable planet 4.3 light years away. Humans will move underground during the 2,500 year trip as the Earth heats, cools, and ices over while circles the sun to get necessary momentum to sling it to its destination and then surviving in deep space. During this time, all surface life on Earth will vanish.

• A lone astronaut is the survivor of a twenty-three year mission to discover an alternate, habitable planet for Earth's population. As his ship traveled at the speed of light over those many years, trying to cover the most distance and explore the most worlds, the actual number of years differ between his trip and Earth's time. He realizes he had been gone for twenty-five thousand years. When he finally returns to Earth, what he finds on the seemingly dead planet, is beyond surprising.

• Earth is soon to surrounded by the Devourer, a huge alien spaceship containing an entire civilization confined to this wandering metal world. Along its voyage, the alien ship must eat up resources of victim planets in order to preserve its own population's lives. They siphon everything useful off the chosen planet until that world and all life on the victim workd is sucked dry and the Devourers, fully refueled, can move on to the next planet. The Earth, its next target, has barely 100 years to respond to this looming peril and deal with the aliens before their world is completely consumed.

• An illiterate skyscraper window washer from a poverty-stricken family is trained as an astronaut to travel into low Earth orbit. His job?  Polish space dust and debris off the artificial sun recently created and launched to control weather on his planet Earth. His new job changes his life and perspectives forever.

OK, I admit some (well, all) of these premises sound rather bleak. But the writing and intricacies make the situations and people of each story so compelling that these ominous scenarios totally grabbed me and held on to the very end, usually one that was completely unexpected. 

There is even a joke, a conversation with God (but don't expect any more laughs):

"Oh, God, for you thousands of years are just a brief moment!"  

 God answered, "Indeed, they are just a second to me."

"Oh, God, for you vast riches are just small change!"

God answered, "Just a nickel."  

"Oh, God, please spare me a nickel!" 

To which God then answered, "Certainly. Just give me a second."

The stories are fairly long, so readers have an opportunity to really get to understand the situation, the options, the pathways selected or rejected, and the people who try to coinquer them to survive. A bonus "Easter Egg" feature is that there is a subtle connection among most of these stories, revealing backgrounds to incidents and people previously mentioned, providing even more mind-expanding perspective to the tales, a unique revelation style in my experience that greatly enhanced my appreciation and understanding of the world and people Cixin creates.

I really enjoyed these engrossing stories and hope you will too. Highly recommended for fans of Sci-Fi, world apocolypse, and great writing.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Stephenson, Neal. Seveneves.   

When an unexplained explosion completely destroys the moon, scientists worldwide reach the conclusion that the Earth will soon be bombarded by its fiery falling pieces, ending all life on the planet. Their solution? The world's people must work together and create a ship to choose and launch representatives and resources into space to await a time when the Earth is habitable once again. What could possibly go wrong? Brilliant writing with unexpected problems, solutions, and characters on every page. A wonderful, challenging read that gets my highest recommendation.  (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 435 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars

Greene, Kate. Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration, and Life on Earth. New York: St. Martin's 2020. Print.

First Sentences:

There were clouds in the Hawaiian sky on the morning of June 3, 1965, and beyond them, two hundred miles up, astronaut Ed White floated through the hatch of his Gemini IV capsule and became the first American space walker.


Description:

If you did not make it past the first fitness screening for potential astronauts, the next best opportunity is to be chosen as a guinea pig in a four-month Mars simulation experience. This would involve you living with six other people in a closed geodesic dome to record and analyze what challenges future people might face and how they might address them when humans venture to settle on Mars.  

...[T]hese faux space missions are also used to probe astronaut psychology and sociology--the most unpredictable element in any human expedition--to study coping strategies potentially useful on a long journey far away from Earth.

In 2012, science writer Kate Greene was part of the first group of six "almost astronauts" selected by NASA from over 700 applicants to participate in its HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) project. She and the five other men and women lived for four months in an isolated dome 8,000 feet up the slope of the volcano Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

During this time, she recorded her thoughts on the project, fellow participants, and reflections on herself and the world. She then compiled them all into her fascinating book, Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration, and Life on Earth, 

 

You might be worried that this could be a dry, technical, day-by-day detailing of life in the HI-SEAS dome. That would be a misjudgment. Greene is much too interesting a writer/thinker to settle for such a mundane account. Sure, there are descriptions of the dome, equipment, scientific experiments, food, and general inconveniences. But it is the interpersonal relationships and her own thoughts about the program and people that provide the backbone of this book.

 

Woven in among her routine experiences are thoughtful reflections about her life, decisions, and dreams, and how they became intertwined to place her eventually in this destination. She is open about how her personal life has succeeded (and failed) due to this mission, how she interacts with fellow inhabitants, and even her feelings of isolation, loneliness, and boredom.

Along the way, we learn about:

• The chosen team members "could technically qualify for spaceflight...in terms of education and experience, [but also had] astronaut-like personalities...a thick skin, a long fuse, and an optimistic outlook."

•  Participants "could only leave the dome wearing bulky, cumbersome, space suit-like outerwear,...had an emergency cell phone,...and email transmissions delayed by twenty minutes each way to mimic the actual communication lag to be experienced by Martian explorers." In Greene's mind, this 40-minute lag was "just inside two episodes of Who's The Boss" TV show.
  

• Surveys and questionnaires were constantly taken throughout the day, after every meal, task, experiment, and at the end of each day to gauge the individual's feelings about the specific experience, other people, and their own successes/failures that day;

• On the Mir space station, "you lose the calluses on the bottoms of your feet and gain calluses on the tops of your toes where the footholds rub";
  

• "When in low gravity, the shape of the eyeball changes for reasons unknown....[but] only male astronauts have suffered the effects of altered eyeballs in space;"

• Neil Armstrong's space suit "was designed and produced by Playtex, the women's bra manufacturer;"

• Team member Sian brought 120 individual packages with her into the dome, one to be opened each day of the experience. These were prepared by her best friend, and consisted of "photographs, handwritten notes, painted pictures, [and] little trinkets";
  

• During her interview for the position, Greene told interviewers that in the proposed enclosed environment she would most miss beer;
  

• Greene calculated that because of the lighter weight and food requirements of women, "A mission to Mars crewed only with women would, on average, require less than half the food mass of a mission crewed only with men. But in any scenario, the more women you fly, the less food you need. You save mass, fuel, and money."
  

One of the most important HI-SEAS' studies involved the food they ate. ISS long term resident astronauts historically lost weight on their missions due to eating less and less, possibly due to "food boredom." Weight loss meant fatigue and the inability to perform tasks, think clearly, or respond to challenges. The HI-SEAS team first and foremost had to find methods and ingredients that would keep food interesting and reliably edible.

 

The team found that shared mealtimes were vital to morale, as were fun meals celebrating real and made-up events (birthdays, half- and quarter-birthdays, anniversaries, completion of a difficult task, etc.). These special meals allowed the team to veer off from the prescribed meals and experiment with available ingredients, encouraging creativity that promised unusual meals, some even quite tasty. The crew's morale rose as they looked forward to these meals which gave them something to look forward to out of the ordinary, and also helped to mark the passing of time, often a difficult concept in their routine which was repeated day after day.

It's fascinating, informative, imaginative, reflective, and even scientific from start to finish. It is written in clear prose, often humorous, but always honest and thoughtful. Overall, Greene understood that this experience was only make-believe, an environment that was simply as close as NASA can get to simulating potential close-quarters life on Mars. But the conditions, restrictions, demands, interactions, isolation, and even boredom, are very real to her.

Issues like communal versus individual food stores, how to divvy up chores, whom you trust and how much, how to behave when privacy is at a premium, when resources are scarce, and what kind of problem-solving approaches to take seemed, in the context of a small space with a fixed group of people, mostly domestic....[But] These are exactly the issues that are relevant to larger communities, to nations, and the entire world. Somehow the research questions on an imagined Mars mission began to sprawl beyond their intended bounds. I could see how they were about everything and all of us.

  ***P.S. For information about the real 2024 one-year NASA Mars simulation program in Houston, check out these sites:

Information about the project (which concluded July 6, 2024) 

    https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/volunteer-crew-to-exit-nasa's-simulated-mars-habitat-after-378-days/

Video of the simulation environment 

     https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KIkNI7evLRM

 

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

     See More Recommendations 

          (and an Intro to The First Sentence Reader) 

________________________

If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Roach, Mary. Packing for Mars.   

A fascinating, often humorous and jaw-dropping, look at the challenges faced by NASA which one curious author found while researching and even participating in issues and solutions regarding travel to Mars. Highly recommended. (previously reviewed here)

 

Murmurs of Earth

Sagan, Carl. Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record. New York: Random House 1978. Print.

First Sentences:

 

On August 20th and September 5th, 1977, two extraordinary spacecraft called Voyager were launched into the stars. After what promises to be a detailed and thoroughly dramatic exploration of the outer solar system from Jupiter to Uranus between 1979 and 1986, these space vehicles will slowly leave the solar systems -- emissaries of Earth to the realm of the stars. Affixed to each Voyager craft is a gold-coated copper phonograph record as a message to possible extraterrestrial civilizations that might encounter the space craft in some distant space and time.


Description:

I cannot remember the last time a book made me say, on every page, "Wow, That's really interesting." The book which dis that for me is Carl Sagan's Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record, a detailed recounting of the idea, organization, experts, and final decisions involved in sending a message from Earth's humans out into the universe.

Sagan and his team of experts, from scientist to musicians to artists, were tasked to create something that could piggyback on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977 to provide a description of Earth and its inhabitants to any life form in the universe who happens upon it. The Voyagers were sent to explore Jupiter and Uranus, then launch themselves out of the solar system and into the unknown beyond, traveling indefinitely for billions (yes, billions) of years.

Even quite optimistic estimates place the nearest civilization at a few hundred light-years, where a light-year is almost six trillion miles. It would take our present spacecraft some tens of thousands of years to go the distance of the nearest star, and several tens of millions of years to travel this estimated distance to the nearest other civilization.

So first, Sagan and team had to decide on the medium to present this information, settling on a two-sided metal record and an accompanying player as the most durable, long-lasting medium. (Remember, the project was slated to last a billion years.) Of course, the team had to also create clear instructions on what the disk and player were and how to use them in order for non-humans to interpret the data, a huge challenge in itself.

Here is what Science News writer Jonathan Eberhart said of the project at that time:

Describe the world. Not just that multi-colored ball in the spacecraft photos, but the world -- its place in space, its diverse biota, its wide-ranging cultures with their lifestyles, arts, and technologies -- everything, or at least enough to get the idea across. And do it on one long-playing record.

Oh, there's one stipulation: Assume not only that your audience doesn't speak your language, but that it has never even heard of the Earth or the rest of the solar system. An audience that lives, say, on a planet orbiting another star, light-years away from anything you would recognize as home. 

Once the concept of sending a message was approved by NASA, Sagan was given the deadline to provide a complete recording disk in six weeks. Inconceivable, but NASA made it clear that it was impossible to stretch that deadline.

So what exactly should be included in this limited space? Sagan's team concluded that there should be text and photographs on one side of the disc and music on the other. But what text? What songs or other audio? Which photos? Here is their summary of the decisions made:

Affixed to each Voyager craft is a gold-coated copper phonograph record as a message to possible extraterrestrial civilizations that might encounter the spacecraft in some distant space and time. Each record contains 118 photographs of our planet, ourselves, and our civilization; almost 90 minutes of the world's greatest music; an evolutionary audio essay on "The Sounds of Earth': and greetings in almost sixty human languages (and one whale language).

Sagan's essay in Murmurs of Earth gently, clearly walks us through each phase of this challenging selection process. To introduce different languages, representatives from the United Nations were allowed to voice a brief message in their own language. Music was suggested by experts in ethnomusicology, classical, and modern genres (including "Prelude and Fugue in C" by Bach to "Pygmy Girls' Initiation Song" from Zaire, "Tchakrulo" Georgian chant, "Navajo Night Chant," "Symphony No. 5 in C Minor" by Beethoven, and "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry). 

Photos were selected from archives of National Geographic magazine, the Cornell University library, and shots created specially for this project. Since this was to be a description of the entire world, every country naturally wanted to be consulted and represented, so addressing their needs and suggestions was an added challenge.

And wonderfully, Murmurs of Earth contains all the photos included on the Voyager disk, complete with descriptions and reasons why each particular photo was selected. All music recordings are also listed, again complete with descriptions and stories behind the selection. 

Biologist Lewis Thomas, when asked what message he would send, replied "I would send the complete works of Johan Sebastian Bach." "But that" he added in an aside, "would be boasting."

The chosen text was typed out and then photographed to more easily and permanently be placed on the record, with enough instructional information to make logical connections to language, mathematics, and astronomy for any intelligent being to (hopefully) understand.

Usually, I put torn scraps of paper in books while I'm reading to mark significant passages, unusual writing, or unexpected ideas. In Murmurs of Earth, I found myself marking almost every page. Astonishment, enlightenment, joy, and thrills were recorded in virtually every paragraph of Sagan's matter-of-fact prose, totally engrossing a reader into the complexity and importance of this project. 

 

There are also essays by F.D. Drake to explain the systematic ordering of language and scientific text; by Jon Lomberg on the photographs chosen; Ann Druyan on sounds from Earth; and Timothy Ferris on Voyager's music. Each essay is highly-readable and fascinating in its scope, as well as for the patience from each writer to ensure in layman's language that every reader understands the thorough selection process and value of the piece included.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is readable, fascinating, awe-inspiring, challenging, and beautifully inspirational. Go get it and revel in the diversity and quality of human, their creations, and the world we live in. 

Here is a list of the complete contents of the Voyager Golden Disk:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contents_of_the_Voyager_Golden_Record

(P.S. After reading the selections made by Sagan's team in music, photography, and text, what items would you include for a new message to other civilizations? A fun, challenging thought process.)

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

More book recommendations

About The First Sentence Reader blog

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Al-Khalili, Jim. Aliens: The World's Leading Scientists on the Search for Extraterestrial Life,.   

The author assembled a team or renowned scientists to write essays on many aspects of potential extraterrestrial life, including such topics as "Identifying the Signs of Life on Distant Worlds," "Why Aliens Might Visit Us," "Abducted," "Flying Saucers: A Brief History of Sightings and Conspiracies," "Aliens in Science Fiction Writing," and many moire. Fascinating, challenging reading. (previously reviewed here)

 

Project Hail Mary

Weir, Andy. Project Hail Mary. New York: Ballantine 2021. Print

First Sentences:

"What's twp plus two?

Something about the question irritates me. I'm tired. I drift back to sleep.

A few minutes pass, then I hear it again.

"What's two plus two?

The soft, feminine voice lacks emotion and the pronunciation is identical to the previous time she said it. It's a computer. A computer is hassling me. I'm even more irritated now.

Description:

When I heard last year that Andy Weir, author of The Martian, had finished another science fiction novel (emphasis on the "science"), I marked my calendar for its publication date. Haven't ever done that before. So when Project Hail Mary finally came out, I was already on my library's "reserve" list and one of the first readers of that book in our area.

What a writer Andy Weir is: imaginative, scietific, ingenious, snarky, and best of all, a page-turning story-teller. And Project Hail Mary is a lulu of a tale.

Ryland Grace wakes to find himself in a strangely sterile room, unable to move his limbs, listening to a computer voice. Where is he? Gradually, his memory and body begin to return and he realizes he is the sole survivor on a space ship heading to a distant star. And not to just any star, but one that holds a secret that might mean the survival of a doomed Earth.

Alternating chapters between Grace's backstory and his current deep space mission, Weir unravels the current situation. An unknown microbe is slowly sapping the energy from the Sun, and at such an alarming rate that within a few decades the heat and light the Earth require will be extinguished. Astronomers have also discovered other stars in the galaxy which are experiencing similar energy loss -- all but one, that is, and this is the star Ryland Grace is heading toward.

But as these pieces slowly unfold in his memory and he arrives at this unique destination, he notices something strange. There's another space ship in the same area. Friend or foe? Similar purpose or unknown intentions? Grace knows he will have to meet this other ship and crew, and then deal with ensuing consequences. 

He also realizes his mission is designed to be only one-way. He is to find out why this star is not losing its energy, send his conclusions back to Earth via robot pods, and then live out his days in space since there was no room on his ship to carry food for the 18-year return trip.

Each chapter leaves Grace in a new quandry, facing a dificult decision, wondering what decisions to make, and how to deal with an alien. All these challenges are cleverly presented via Grace's stream of consciousness and self-discussions as he works through each obstacle with scientific reasoning, logic, and common sense.

It is an incredibly readable book, chock full of reasonable-sounding science that make data and complex operations understandable to laymen like me. It's truly a gripping story that will keep you guessing as to how Grace can possible find success with yet another challenge. Right up to the last pages, it is impossible to predict what he will face next.

That's all you get. If you want more, you'll just have to sit down for a few days and immerse yourself in this future environment where one man tries to save the world. Sounds like a hackneyed topic, but in the hands of author Weir, the story is anything but formulalistic. Read it. Read it. Read it. I give Project Hail Mary my highest recommendation.  

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
About The First Sentence Reader blog

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Weir, Andy. The Martian.   

Accidentally left alone on Mars by his fellow astronaut team, Mark Watney must learn how to make his presence known to them and Earth so a rescue mission might be created... and he has to figure out how to survive for the months before any hope of another ship could come for him.  (previously reviewed here)

Stephenson, Neil. Seveneves.   

"The Moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." Has there ever been a better first sentence? The people of the world realize the end of life on Earth will be caused by fallout of pieces from moon in less than two years. Therefore, they must work together to mount a rocket with representatives from Earth to preserve the species for eons until the planet becomes inhabitable again. Incredible, scientific yet readable, and thoroughly engrossing. My highest recommendation.  (previously reviewed here)

 

Apollo 8

Kluger, Jeffrey. Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon. New York: Holt 2017. Print

First Sentences:

August 1968 

The last thing Frank Borman needed was a phone call when he was trying to fly his spacecraft. 

No astronaut ever wanted to hear a ringing phone when he was in the middle of a flight, but when the spacecraft was an Apollo, any interruption was pretty much unforgivable. 

Description:

I admit it. I love books about space, NASA programs, and memoirs from astronauts. Here's a great book to add to any fellow space-lover's reading list: Jeffrey Kluger's Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon. This well-researched book is chock full of inside stories, data, interviews, and photos about the first manned space flight to the moon. Apollo 8 details every thrill, problem, and personality to allow readers to experience every aspect of this history-making flight.

In 1968, the United State was experiencing difficult times. Assassinations, Vietnam, civil rights protests, and the Cold War filled the newspapers. Even NASA was on shaky ground after the fiery deaths of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee on the Apollo 1 launchpad. Therefore, NASA scrapped the next two Apollo missions to revamp all safety procedures, and used unmanned spacecraft for the Apollo 4-6 flights. Apollo 7, the first three-man Earth orbital mission, had problems with both the spacecraft and the crew who complained constantly during their flight about the craft and conditions. (NASA made sure none of these men was allowed to fly into space again.)

NASA needed some good publicity to increase interest from the citizens and government. They therefore decided to upgrade the mission of Apollo 8 from a simple Earth orbit into one that would head to the Moon. It would be humankind's first flight outside our own orbit. NASA even decided to add orbits of the Moon to take photos of potential landing sites and, for the first time ever, bring back scenes from the dark side of the moon. These ambitious goals would certainly catch the interest of the world!

Frank Broman, Jim Lovell, Bill Anders were the crew. NASA hoped these men would rise to the challenge of the more complex flight plan and the revamped training necessary to succeed in the daring mission. And NASA wanted these astronauts and flight to succeed with such perfection that Americans would recover from the Apollo 1 deaths and Apollo 7 sloppiness to again feel proud of the US space program. As a bonus, such an ambitious flight would make the Russians realize how far the US was pulling ahead in the space race.

There were 5.6 million separate parts in the command and service module...which meant that even if everything functioned 99.9 percent perfectly, 5,600 parts might go bad. 

The mission required Apollo use the giant, untested Saturn V rocket to break Earth's orbit. Designer Wernher von Braun assured NASA that the rocket would be ready for the 16-week launch date. Now all that was needed was for :

1. The Earth to be at the precise spot in its rotation for launch, orbit, moon shot to achieve the proper angles;
2. The Atlantic or Pacific Ocean to be in position under the returning spacecraft 6 days later for splashdown;
3. The Moon to be in proper phase for illumination of possible landing site photos

Astronauts and Mission Control staff practiced simulations of every procedure and problems thrown in. Trainers would disable three of the Saturn engines just after launch, kill communications systems, have individual systems break down and give the men three minutes to solve the problems.

In-flight problems still arose. For example, Commander Bormann was nauseated throughout the flight. Stored bags of urine leaked. Temperatures inside sun-facing spacecraft stayed at a steady 80 degrees. Along with the reality of three men living for six days in a small space, these factors combined to produce a definite ripeness to the air in the spacecraft. 

Many more fascinating details emerge from Apollo 8, including the history of the formation of the moon. Author Kluger describes how 4.5 billion years ago a passing body collided with Earth to knock it off its axis to create our seasons and send a ring of dust around our planet that after a billion years condensed into the Moon.

The highlight of the mission was the Christmas TV broadcast from Moon orbit where each man gave his personal impressions of Moon to the vast audience on Earth. Each recited portions of the Genesis biblical verses ("In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth..."), and the listeners were awestruck.

There is so much more, but I will prevent myself from revealing additional wonderful details to those who want to read and savor this historic account for themselves, and to stop myself from boring any who are not space enthusiasts. Apollo 8 is an important piece of the space program puzzle that eventually put humans on the Moon. I found Apollo 8 to be a fascinating documentation of this flight. It was riveting for an armchair astronaut like me to be part of each step for this particular mission.

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
About The First Sentence Reader blog

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Burrows, William E. This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age  

The most complete history of the space program, from initial experiments with rockets to landing on the moon and beyond. Loads of conversations, memos, speeches, flights, triumphs and failures, and the people behind all of these. Interesting because it draws on documents from the Soviet Union to follow the birth and development of their space program as well. 

Cernan, Eugene and Don Davis. The Last Man on the Moon  

Biography of Gene Cernan and his adventures in NASA from Gemini to Apollo to setting the final footprints on the moon. Wonderfully narrated by Cernan as he recalls the training, excitement, frustrations, and eventual rewards for his first space walk and eventual moon walk. (previously reviewed here)

Space Odyssey

Benson, Michael. Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece New York: Simon & Schuster. 2018. Print.

First Sentences:

Things were not going well at the Ceylon Astronomical Association.

Description:

I'm sure every commercial film has an interesting backstory and anecdotes relating to its creation, people, filming, and eventual premier. But when the film is arguably the most thought-provoking, original, technically-innovative masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, then the stories about every aspect and person who helped create it have to be the most riveting imaginable. 

Michael Benson in his brilliant Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece, delivers a breathtaking history behind the making of this film. From the original vague idea hammered out by sci-fi superstar author Arthur C. Clarke and brilliant director Stanley Kubrick to the never-seen-before scenes of space, Space Odyssey covers each intriguing idea and ingenious method necessary (or discarded) to bring the concept to film, all without the aid of computers. 

In 1964, Kubrick sought out Arthur C. Clarke, the best sci-fi writer, to create a story and film that was something completely new, inspiring, and thought-provoking. Together they watched every sci-fi movie, read every space-related book and story, and collected voluminous amounts of photos, articles, interviews, technologies, and everything else that might inspire them.

[Kubrick's factors to consider for every film] - Was it interesting? Was it believable? And, was it beautiful or aesthetically superior?

Eventually Kubrick chose Clarke's story The Sentinal as the basis for 2001, a story which focused on an alien creation found on the moon that, once exposed to sunlight, sent a signal across the universe to alert another civilization... to do what? The 2001 plot, characters, and especially the ending were all loosely defined and constantly argued over during filming, to be re-conceived and even completely abandoned over the next years. But always, 2001 was defined by Kubrick's goals to create a work that was "accurate scientifically" and tied "to current research of all kinds." Psychedelia, technology, NASA, and many more areas were carefully studied, and every conceivable expert was interviewed for opinions and ideas.

The entire project was kept completely secret from the media, public, and even the studio who had recently green-lighted Kubrick for any new movie after his international success with Dr. Strangelove. Of course, there were plenty of snags with 2001 along with the triumphs and lessons learned, and author Benson carefully details them all: 

• 2001 was filmed using 70mm film, a huge medium meant to replicate the new, popular Cinerama technique without requiring multiple cameras.

• To find the right music for the score, Kubrick gave an assistant the equivalent of $5,000 to buy a wide selection of modern classical records (selling for about $2 each). The assistant returned with "his station wagon so jammed with vinyl it sagged visibly."

• HAL's final song, "Daisy Bell," was chosen in homage to the first song ever sung by a computer, recorded in 1962 in the Bell Labs;

• Stars on an inky space background were created using a solution of military turpentine and specks of paint flicked into the mix. Fumes were overpowering. A team of "blobbers" was hired to paint over minute white stars on each frame of film to hide unwanted stars;

• The original 12' tall by 2' thick monolith was created of clear plastic, but didn't film well so the extremely expensive piece was discarded. The new, equally costly black monolith had a surface so highly polished that it constantly showed dusty hand prints during the Dawn of Man and moon scenes;

• The rotating gravity centrifuge wheel of Discovery was 35' high and needed a new, specially-reinforced floor in the studio to support it and the cameras;

• Space helmets, to maintain realism, had no holes to release the stuntman's exhaled carbon dioxide . Filming with helmets was limited to 15 minutes or when the actor passed out, whichever came first;

• Kubrick, a former photojournalist for Look magazine, took Polaroid photos continually throughout the filming to get an idea of what a 3-D scene would look like on the final flat movie screen;

• Vivian Kubrick, the director's four-year-old daughter, played a key on-screen role as Heywood Floyd's daughter who was called on video phone from the lunar transport;

• Gary Lockwood, one of the lead actors, gambled so much with the crew that one man stopped showing up for work because he owed Lockwood so much money;

• Moonwatcher, the man-ape who leads the cluster of apes to fight, was played by a famous mime, Don Richtner, who choreographed all the Dawn of Man scenes;

• Arthur C. Clarke wrote and continually edited a voice-over narration that would help explain some of the abstract scenes and plots, but at the very last minute of editing the film, Kubrick scrapped the idea, leaving just silence;

The book is jam-packed with similar stories, scenes, equipment, conversations, dreams, and frustrations presented chronologically by author Benson. Space Odyssey chronicles the talented engineers, cinematographers, animators, and actors who, without the use of computers, over the period of four years, created the film. Benson even recounts the disastrous New York premier for critics (many of whom walked out of the screening) as well as the subsequent triumph for public movie-goers (who lined up for hours to watch and re-watch the film). 

In short, I loved this and devoured it every chance I got to read it. It is the kind of book you make time for, guard your quiet and privacy while reading, and talk the ears off of anyone around you as you re-tell an anecdote or quote, and in general sing its praises.

Of course, it is most highly recommended. And since this is the fiftieth anniversary of the film's release, I get to see the movie next week in its original 70mm glory. Can't wait.

Two possibilities exist: either we're alone in the universe, or we're not. Both are equally terrifying. - Arthur C Clarke

It is extremely difficult to represent any alien on the screen without either scaring, or amusing, an audience. But unless you show something, people will feel cheated. - Stanley Kubrick

Happy reading. 

Fred

Other book recommendations
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Weir, Andy. The Martian  

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Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles  

Series of chronological-set short stories about the populating, dominance, and eventual fall of Earth explorers on the planet Mars. (previously reviewed here)