Mars Direct
Space Exploration, the Red Planet, and the Human Future
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Mars Direct
Buy for $2.79
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Erik Synnestvedt
-
By:
-
Robert Zubrin
About this listen
The human race is at a crossroads. In the coming years, we will make decisions regarding our human spaceflight program that will lead to one of two familiar futures: the open universe of Star Trek, where we allow ourselves the opportunity to spread our wings and attempt to flourish as an interplanetary species - or the closed, dystopian, and ultimately self-destructive world of Soylent Green. If we ever hope to live in the future that is the former scenario, our first stepping stone must be a manned mission to Mars.
Dr. Robert Zubrin details the challenges of a manned Earth-to-Mars mission. Challenges which, according to Zubrin, we are technologically more prepared to overcome than the obstacles of the missions to the moon of the sixties and seventies. Dr. Zubrin's relatively simple plan, called Mars Direct, could feasibly have humans on the surface of Mars within a decade. Zubrin also discusses the current predicament of NASA, the promise of privatized space flight from companies like SpaceX, and the larger implication behind the absolute necessity to open the final frontier to humanity - the human race's future as a species that takes the necessary baby steps away from the cradle that is planet Earth or, ultimately, perishes here.
©2013 Robert Zubrin (P)2013 Gildan Media LLCListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Case for Mars
- The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must
- By: Robert Zubrin, Richard Wagner, Arthur C. Clarke - Foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 355
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 314
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 311
Since the beginning of human history Mars has been an alluring dream - the stuff of legends, gods, and mystery. The planet most like ours, it has still been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. Now with the advent of a revolutionary new plan, all this has changed. Leading space exploration authority Robert Zubrin has crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct, presented here with engaging anecdotes. The Case for Mars is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling
- By Michael D. Busch on 04-16-18
By: Robert Zubrin, and others
-
The Case for Space
- How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility
- By: Robert Zubrin
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
A noted space expert explains the current revolution in spaceflight, where it leads, and why we need it. Astronautical engineer Robert Zubrin spells out the potential of these new developments in an engrossing narrative that is visionary yet grounded by a deep understanding of the practical challenges. Fueled by the combined expertise of the old aerospace industry and the talents of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, spaceflight is becoming cheaper.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Exciting and Invigorating Call to Action
- By Kindle Customer on 10-21-20
By: Robert Zubrin
-
Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7,780
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,808
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6,801
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
By: Walter Isaacson
-
Liftoff
- Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX
- By: Eric Berger
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,278
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,981
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,973
The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX - and Elon Musk - from a shaky startup into the world's leading-edge rocket company.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent. Would make a good movie.
- By Andrew Dodson on 03-04-21
By: Eric Berger
-
How We'll Live on Mars
- By: Stephen Petranek
- Narrated by: Stephen Petranek
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 275
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 225
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
Award-winning journalist Stephen Petranek says humans will live on Mars by 2027. Now he makes the case that living on Mars is not just plausible, but inevitable. It sounds like science fiction, but Stephen Petranek considers it fact: Within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. We'll need to. In this sweeping, provocative book that mixes business, science, and human reporting, Petranek makes the case that living on Mars is an essential back-up plan for humanity and explains in fascinating detail just how it will happen.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Watch Mars on NatGeo
- By Nathaniel on 12-01-16
By: Stephen Petranek
-
Permanent Record
- By: Edward Snowden
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 12,935
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 11,266
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 11,238
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great (if incomplete) account
- By Ryan L on 09-22-19
By: Edward Snowden
-
The Case for Mars
- The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must
- By: Robert Zubrin, Richard Wagner, Arthur C. Clarke - Foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 355
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 314
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 311
Since the beginning of human history Mars has been an alluring dream - the stuff of legends, gods, and mystery. The planet most like ours, it has still been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. Now with the advent of a revolutionary new plan, all this has changed. Leading space exploration authority Robert Zubrin has crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct, presented here with engaging anecdotes. The Case for Mars is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling
- By Michael D. Busch on 04-16-18
By: Robert Zubrin, and others
-
The Case for Space
- How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility
- By: Robert Zubrin
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
A noted space expert explains the current revolution in spaceflight, where it leads, and why we need it. Astronautical engineer Robert Zubrin spells out the potential of these new developments in an engrossing narrative that is visionary yet grounded by a deep understanding of the practical challenges. Fueled by the combined expertise of the old aerospace industry and the talents of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, spaceflight is becoming cheaper.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Exciting and Invigorating Call to Action
- By Kindle Customer on 10-21-20
By: Robert Zubrin
-
Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7,780
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,808
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6,801
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
By: Walter Isaacson
-
Liftoff
- Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX
- By: Eric Berger
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,278
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,981
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,973
The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX - and Elon Musk - from a shaky startup into the world's leading-edge rocket company.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent. Would make a good movie.
- By Andrew Dodson on 03-04-21
By: Eric Berger
-
How We'll Live on Mars
- By: Stephen Petranek
- Narrated by: Stephen Petranek
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 275
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 225
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
Award-winning journalist Stephen Petranek says humans will live on Mars by 2027. Now he makes the case that living on Mars is not just plausible, but inevitable. It sounds like science fiction, but Stephen Petranek considers it fact: Within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. We'll need to. In this sweeping, provocative book that mixes business, science, and human reporting, Petranek makes the case that living on Mars is an essential back-up plan for humanity and explains in fascinating detail just how it will happen.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Watch Mars on NatGeo
- By Nathaniel on 12-01-16
By: Stephen Petranek
-
Permanent Record
- By: Edward Snowden
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 12,935
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 11,266
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 11,238
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great (if incomplete) account
- By Ryan L on 09-22-19
By: Edward Snowden
-
Packing for Mars
- The Curious Science of Life in the Void
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,550
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,485
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,478
Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Everything You Always Wanted to Know - and More
- By Roy on 09-22-10
By: Mary Roach
-
Thinking in Systems
- A Primer
- By: Donella H. Meadows
- Narrated by: Tia Rider Sorensen
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,177
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,767
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,746
In the years following her role as the lead author of the international best seller, Limits to Growth - the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet - Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001. Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem-solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute's Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Skip to the Middle
- By John Chambers on 06-20-20
-
Chasing the Moon
- The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched America into the Space Age
- By: Robert Stone, Alan Andres
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy proposed the nation spend $20 billion to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. Based on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material, Chasing the Moon reveals the unknown stories of the fascinating individuals whose imaginative work across decades culminated in America’s momentous achievement. More than a story of engineers and astronauts, the moon landing - now celebrating its 50th anniversary - grew out of the dreams of science fiction writers, filmmakers, military geniuses, and rule-breaking scientists.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fifty years ago...
- By GraceAgnes on 06-14-19
By: Robert Stone, and others
-
Apollo 13
- By: Jim Lovell, Jeffrey Kluger
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,382
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,217
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,213
In April 1970, during the glory days of the Apollo space program, NASA sent Navy Captain Jim Lovell and two other astronauts on America's fifth mission to the moon. Only 55 hours into the flight of Apollo 13, disaster struck: a mysterious explosion rocked the ship, and soon its oxygen and power began draining away. Written with all the color and drama of the best fiction, Apollo 13 (previously published as Lost Moon) tells the full story of the moon shot that almost ended in catastrophe.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great story but a terrible narrator
- By Nicci on 01-29-20
By: Jim Lovell, and others
-
The Panama Papers
- How the World's Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money
- By: Frederik Obermaier, Bastian Obermayer
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 748
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 674
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 674
Late one evening investigative journalist Bastian Obermayer receives an anonymous message offering him access to secret data. Through encrypted channels he then receives documents showing a mysterious bank transfer for $500 million in gold. This is just the beginning. Obermayer and fellow Süddeutsche Zeitung journalist Frederik Obermaier find themselves immersed in a secret world where complex networks of shell companies help to hide people who don't want to be found.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
highly recommended for the ears of the 99% and 1%
- By Craig S Smith on 12-06-18
By: Frederik Obermaier, and others
-
Life 3.0
- Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
- By: Max Tegmark
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,903
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,124
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,107
How will artificial intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society, and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology - and there's nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who's helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Irritating
- By Thomas Cotter on 10-25-17
By: Max Tegmark
-
The Theory of Everything
- The Origin and Fate of the Universe
- By: Stephen Hawking
- Narrated by: Michael York
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,125
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 924
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 916
In physicist Stephen Hawking's brilliant opus, A Brief History of Time, he presented us with a bold new look at our universe, how it began, and how our old views of physics and tired theories about the creation of the universe were no longer relevant. In other words, Hawking gave us a new look at our world, our universe, and ourselves. Now, Hawking presents an even more comprehensive look at our universe, its creation, and how we see ourselves within it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Shares a lot of text with a Brief History of Time.
- By Roc Myers on 01-07-15
By: Stephen Hawking
-
The Space Barons
- By: Christian Davenport
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,066
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 904
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 899
The Space Barons is the story of a group of billionaire entrepreneurs who are pouring their fortunes into the epic resurrection of the American space program. Nearly a half century after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, these Space Barons—most notably Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, along with Richard Branson and Paul Allen—are using Silicon Valley-style innovation to dramatically lower the cost of space travel and send humans even further than NASA has gone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Incredible Modern Story Well Told
- By Greg Autry on 04-06-18
-
The Skeptics' Guide to the Future
- What Yesterday's Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow
- By: Dr. Steven Novella, Bob Novella - contributor, Jay Novella - contributor
- Narrated by: Dr. Steven Novella
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 264
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 214
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 212
In THE SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE FUTURE, Steven Novella and his co-authors build upon the work of futurists of the past by examining what they got right, what they got wrong, and how they came to those conclusions. By exploring the pitfalls of each era, they give their own speculations about the distant future, transformed by unbelievable technology ranging from genetic manipulation to artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Thin gruel from the rogues
- By James Weisner on 11-27-22
By: Dr. Steven Novella, and others
-
A Traveler's Guide to the Stars
- By: Les Johnson
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Les Johnson takes you on a thrilling tour of the physics and technologies that may enable us to reach the stars. He discusses the latest exoplanet discoveries, promising interstellar missions on the not-so-distant horizon, and exciting new developments in space propulsion, power, robotics, communications, and more. But interstellar travel will not be easy, and it is not for the faint of heart. Johnson describes the harsh and forbidding expanse of space that awaits us, and he addresses the daunting challenges that we need to overcome in order to realize tomorrow's possibilities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An excellent look at the realities of star travel!
- By Kindle Customer on 11-15-22
By: Les Johnson
-
Drift
- The Unmooring of American Military Power
- By: Rachel Maddow
- Narrated by: Rachel Maddow
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,110
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,783
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,779
Written with bracing wit and intelligence, Rachel Maddow's Drift argues that we've drifted away from America's original ideals and become a nation weirdly at peace with perpetual war, with all the financial and human costs that entails. To understand how we've arrived at such a dangerous place, Maddow takes us from the Vietnam War to today's war in Afghanistan.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Half the National Debt?
- By Dolf Beil on 04-07-12
By: Rachel Maddow
-
The Pentagon's Brain
- An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,949
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,613
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,601
Discover the definitive history of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, in this Pulitzer Prize finalist from the author of the New York Times best seller Area 51. No one has ever written the history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. In the first-ever history about the organization, New York Times best-selling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of DARPA, or "the Pentagon's brain".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Scientia Est Potentia/Knowledge is Power
- By Cynthia on 10-08-15
By: Annie Jacobsen
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
The Case for Mars
- The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must
- By: Robert Zubrin, Richard Wagner, Arthur C. Clarke - Foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 355
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 314
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 311
Since the beginning of human history Mars has been an alluring dream - the stuff of legends, gods, and mystery. The planet most like ours, it has still been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. Now with the advent of a revolutionary new plan, all this has changed. Leading space exploration authority Robert Zubrin has crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct, presented here with engaging anecdotes. The Case for Mars is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling
- By Michael D. Busch on 04-16-18
By: Robert Zubrin, and others
-
Beyond
- Our Future in Space
- By: Chris Impey
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 67
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
OTHER WORLDS
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
-
Space Chronicles
- Facing the Ultimate Frontier
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 763
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 703
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 697
With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of our foremost thinkers on all things space - illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The least helpful review of Space Chronicles.
- By Joshua Kring on 06-17-15
-
Accessory to War
- The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
- By: Avis Lang, Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Courtney B. Vance, Neil deGrasse Tyson - introduction
- Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,970
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,693
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,683
In this fascinating foray into the centuries-old relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in both directions," say the authors, because astrophysicists and military planners care about many of the same things: multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high ground, nuclear fusion, and access to space. Tyson and Lang call it a "curiously complicit" alliance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Inspiring, educational, patriotic.
- By Kevin on 09-17-18
By: Avis Lang, and others
-
Rocket Billionaires
- Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race
- By: Tim Fernholz
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 204
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 170
For the larger-than-life personalities now staking their fortunes on the development of rocket ships, the new race to explore space could be a dead end, a lucrative opportunity - or the key to humanity's salvation. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos take center stage in this fast-paced narrative as they attempt to disrupt the space economy, feed their own egos, and maybe even save the world.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting book; hard to listen to
- By K. Thai on 04-12-18
By: Tim Fernholz
-
Simply Electrifying
- The Technology That Transformed the World, from Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk
- By: Craig R. Roach
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 59
Simply Electrifying: The Technology That Transformed the World, from Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk brings to life the 250-year history of electricity through the stories of the men and women who used it to transform our world: Benjamin Franklin, James Watt, Michael Faraday, Samuel F.B. Morse, Thomas Edison, Samuel Insull, Albert Einstein, Rachel Carson, Elon Musk, and more. In the process, it reveals for the first time the complete, thrilling, and often dangerous story of electricity's historic discovery, development, and worldwide application.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
decent, but ended up disappointing.
- By Alexander Douglass on 12-28-18
By: Craig R. Roach
-
The Case for Mars
- The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must
- By: Robert Zubrin, Richard Wagner, Arthur C. Clarke - Foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 355
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 314
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 311
Since the beginning of human history Mars has been an alluring dream - the stuff of legends, gods, and mystery. The planet most like ours, it has still been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. Now with the advent of a revolutionary new plan, all this has changed. Leading space exploration authority Robert Zubrin has crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct, presented here with engaging anecdotes. The Case for Mars is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling
- By Michael D. Busch on 04-16-18
By: Robert Zubrin, and others
-
Beyond
- Our Future in Space
- By: Chris Impey
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 67
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
OTHER WORLDS
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
-
Space Chronicles
- Facing the Ultimate Frontier
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 763
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 703
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 697
With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of our foremost thinkers on all things space - illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The least helpful review of Space Chronicles.
- By Joshua Kring on 06-17-15
-
Accessory to War
- The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
- By: Avis Lang, Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Courtney B. Vance, Neil deGrasse Tyson - introduction
- Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,970
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,693
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,683
In this fascinating foray into the centuries-old relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in both directions," say the authors, because astrophysicists and military planners care about many of the same things: multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high ground, nuclear fusion, and access to space. Tyson and Lang call it a "curiously complicit" alliance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Inspiring, educational, patriotic.
- By Kevin on 09-17-18
By: Avis Lang, and others
-
Rocket Billionaires
- Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race
- By: Tim Fernholz
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 204
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 170
For the larger-than-life personalities now staking their fortunes on the development of rocket ships, the new race to explore space could be a dead end, a lucrative opportunity - or the key to humanity's salvation. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos take center stage in this fast-paced narrative as they attempt to disrupt the space economy, feed their own egos, and maybe even save the world.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting book; hard to listen to
- By K. Thai on 04-12-18
By: Tim Fernholz
-
Simply Electrifying
- The Technology That Transformed the World, from Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk
- By: Craig R. Roach
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 59
Simply Electrifying: The Technology That Transformed the World, from Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk brings to life the 250-year history of electricity through the stories of the men and women who used it to transform our world: Benjamin Franklin, James Watt, Michael Faraday, Samuel F.B. Morse, Thomas Edison, Samuel Insull, Albert Einstein, Rachel Carson, Elon Musk, and more. In the process, it reveals for the first time the complete, thrilling, and often dangerous story of electricity's historic discovery, development, and worldwide application.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
decent, but ended up disappointing.
- By Alexander Douglass on 12-28-18
By: Craig R. Roach
-
You Belong to the Universe
- Buckminster Fuller and the Future
- By: Jonathon Keats
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 348
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 292
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 289
A self-professed "comprehensive anticipatory design scientist", the inventor Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was undoubtedly a visionary. Fuller's creations often bordered on the realm of science fiction, ranging from the freestanding geodesic dome to the three-wheel Dymaxion car to a bathroom requiring neither plumbing nor sewage. Yet in spite of his brilliant mind and lifelong devotion to serving mankind, Fuller's expansive ideas were often dismissed, and have faded from public memory since his death.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bucky, Bucky, Bucky
- By Amazon Customer on 08-25-18
By: Jonathon Keats
-
Jump-Starting America
- How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream
- By: Jonathan Gruber, Simon Johnson
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
The untold story of how America once created the most successful economy the world has ever seen and how we can do it again.
By: Jonathan Gruber, and others
-
Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper
- How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong
- By: Robert Bryce
- Narrated by: Steven Menasche
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
In this provocative and optimistic rebuke to the catastrophists, Robert Bryce shows how innovation and the inexorable human desire to make things Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper is providing consumers with Cheaper and more abundant energy, Faster computing, Lighter vehicles, and myriad other goods. That same desire is fostering unprecedented prosperity, greater liberty, and yes, better environmental protection.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
I thought I was getting a book on the future.
- By Grant on 08-02-14
By: Robert Bryce
-
On the Future
- Prospects for Humanity
- By: Martin Rees
- Narrated by: Martin Rees, Samuel West
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 154
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes - good and bad - are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and best-selling author Martin Rees argues that humanity’s prospects depend on our taking a very different approach to planning for tomorrow.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Science, the future, and great wisdom
- By Philomath on 10-29-18
By: Martin Rees
-
Climate Shock
- The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet
- By: Gernot Wagner, Martin L. Weitzman
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
Wagner and Martin Weitzman explore in lively, clear terms the likely repercussions of a hotter planet, drawing on and expanding from work previously unavailable to general audiences. They show that the longer we wait to act, the more likely an extreme event will happen. A city might go underwater.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Nuance, balance, risk management.
- By John Christens on 11-23-23
By: Gernot Wagner, and others
-
Five Billion Years of Solitude
- The Search for Life Among the Stars
- By: Lee Billings
- Narrated by: Lee Billings
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Since its formation nearly five billion years ago, our planet has been the sole living world in a vast and silent universe. Now, Earth's isolation is coming to an end. Over the past two decades, astronomers have discovered thousands of "exoplanets" orbiting other stars, including some that could be similar to our own world. Studying those distant planets for signs of life will be crucial to understanding life's intricate mysteries right here on Earth. In a firsthand account of this unfolding revolution, Lee Billings draws on interviews with top researchers.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Bloated
- By Dr A on 01-09-14
By: Lee Billings
-
Catching Stardust
- Comets, Asteroids and the Birth of the Solar System
- By: Natalie Starkey
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A home run in space!
- By Rick B on 07-23-22
By: Natalie Starkey
-
Trekonomics
- The Economics of Star Trek
- By: Manu Saadia
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 841
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 747
What would the world look like if everybody had everything they wanted or needed? Trekonomics, the premier book in financial journalist Felix Salmon's imprint PiperText, approaches scarcity economics by coming at it backward - through thinking about a universe where scarcity does not exist. Delving deep into the details and intricacies of 24th-century society, Trekonomics explores post-scarcity and whether we, as humans, are equipped for it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Amusing & Practical Analysis of Fictional Ideas
- By Lost In The Wash on 09-19-16
By: Manu Saadia
-
Abundance
- The Future Is Better Than You Think
- By: Steven Kotler, Peter H. Diamandis
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 200
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 162
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 161
Space entrepreneur turned innovation pioneer Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler document how progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, digital manufacturing synthetic biology, and other exponentially growing technologies will enable us to make greater gains in the next two decades than we have in the previous 200 years.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Perhaps multiply his time estimates by 10
- By Rick on 11-06-21
By: Steven Kotler, and others
-
Radical Abundance
- How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization
- By: K. Eric Drexler
- Narrated by: Tim Pabon
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 131
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 109
K. Eric Drexler is the founding father of nanotechnology - the science of engineering on a molecular level. In Radical Abundance, he shows how rapid scientific progress is about to change our world. Thanks to atomically precise manufacturing, we will soon have the power to produce radically more of what people want, and at a lower cost. The result will shake the very foundations of our economy and environment.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Drexler Rehashes the Past
- By David on 10-19-13
By: K. Eric Drexler
-
End Times
- A Brief Guide to the End of the World
- By: Bryan Walsh
- Narrated by: Bryan Walsh, Corey Carthew
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 65
End Times is a compelling work of skilled reportage that peels back the layers of complexity around the unthinkable - and inevitable - end of humankind. From asteroids and artificial intelligence to volcanic supereruption to nuclear war, veteran science reporter and TIME editor Bryan Walsh provides a stunning panoramic view of the most catastrophic threats to the human race.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Important topic ruined by needless political blather
- By J. Gordon on 08-29-19
By: Bryan Walsh
-
Adapt
- Why Success Always Starts with Failure
- By: Tim Harford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 277
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 222
In this groundbreaking work, Tim Harford shows us a new and inspiring approach to solving the most pressing problems in our lives. Harford argues that today’s challenges simply cannot be tackled with ready-made solutions and expert opinions; the world has become far too unpredictable and profoundly complex. Instead, we must adapt. Deftly weaving together psychology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, physics, and economics, along with compelling stories of hard-won lessons learned in the field, Harford makes a passionate case for the importance of adaptive trial-and-error....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Hidden Agenda
- By Lawrence on 05-20-13
By: Tim Harford