The prospectus of humans living, working, and establishing communities in space can no longer be dismissed as the romantic notions of science fiction writers and space buffs. With the launch of the space shuttle human kind will enter a new era in space exploration, one giant step closer to the goal of human colonization. Our understanding of man’s role in space is maturing, and the myths of life in space as a slick Buck Rogers episode or a scene from Star Wars must give way to a realistic plan for human life in other part of the solar system. We are ready now for a factual assessment of the challenges ahead: in Toward Distant Suns, the prospects of space exploration and space colonization have come of age. Here, for the first time, is a realistic look at what humankind must accomplish in order to colonize near space. Based on the most up-to-date research available, Toward Distant Suns tackles the problems of technology and lifestyle that will face those men and women whose mission is to settle space. Here is realistic, in-depth coverage of: space shuttle’s role in near space construction, development of new, more versatile rocket fuels and motors, building the large communications platforms, power satellites the “Space Spider,” and space colonies, the space workers—how they will be chosen, trained, and transported; life in zero-g—space tourism and space war; “suburbanizing” space earth dwellers; the real future of interstellar colonization Toward Distant Suns also takes a new look at the tantalizing question: What is our place in the galaxy? It reviews the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence experiments, the latest work on interstellar flight and colonization, and the current scientific information on planetary formation and humanoid development, to reach the startling conclusion: Mankind may be unique and along.

Based on the latest missions results and supported by commissioned artwork, this book explores the possible lessons we may learn from exoplanets. As the number of known Earth-like objects grows significantly, the author explores what is known about the growing roster of "pale blue dots" far afield. Aided by an increased sensitivity of the existing observatories, recent discoveries by Keck, the Hubble Space Telescope, and Kepler are examined. These findings, once thought to be closer to the realm of science fiction, have fired the imaginations of the general public as well as scientists. All of us are mesmerized by the possibility of other Earth-like worlds out there. Author Michael Carroll asks the tough questions of what the expected gain is from identifying these Earth analogs spread across the Universe and the reasons for studying them. Potentially, they could teach us about our own climate and Solar System. Also explored are the more remote options of communication between or even travel to these distant yet perhaps not so dissimilar worlds.

Adda and Iridian have survived the murderous AI that tried to kill them in Barbary Station and an evil megacorporation in Mutiny at Vesta but now they’ll need all of their ingenuity to make it to the end of this epic trilogy. Adda Karpe and Iridian Nassir are on the run—both from the authorities who want to imprison them and the artificial intelligence that want to control their minds. Trapped on a desolate black-market space station on the edge of Jupiter, they’re nearly out of allies—and out of luck. Now, they have one last shot to find a safe haven where they can live together in peace—across the interstellar bridge to another galaxy. Getting onto that mission will take everything they’ve got and more. But on the other side of that bridge lies the life they’ve always dreamed of...if they can survive long enough to reach it.

A massive cloud of hydrogen is travelling through space on a collision course with Earth. At a high-ranking meeting two astronomers, Edward and Joseph, are sworn to secrecy when they reveal that in six months' time, as the gas envelops the planet, it will turn the atmosphere into a fireball. Their beautiful young prodigy, the resourceful Lauren, is initially kept in the dark, but soon discovers the destination of the cloud when she calculates its route. Two months before its encounter with Earth, the gas is captured and absorbed by the planet Jupiter. They think they have avoided disaster, but you can be looking the wrong way when the end of the world sneaks up on you. A beautifully descriptive, action packed story about love, self-sacrifice and the desperate battle to avoid extinction on a dying world. Praise for Distant Suns: "The subject matter of your book couldn't be more topical or timely and I found the central premise of your story to be fascinating. All the material in your book to do with the gas clouds, asteroids, superheating, etc., is absolutely brilliant. You manage to put across very simply some ideas that I am sure are actually quite complicated. The inclusion later on in the narrative of those short scenes from various corners of the world helps to establish the global impact of the story. It also opens the narrative out, lending it a pleasing cinematic feel and creating a sense of urgency and community." - TLC "Both Cindy, our publisher, and I agree that the novel is wonderful, and that it should make an exciting movie." - Ed Lord Review: "I enjoyed reading both the dialogue rich scenes of the characters struggling with a now imminent uncertainty, interspersed with the science scenes of astral happenings and the unfolding effects of a planet being slowly stripped of the atmosphere that gave it life. The science is wholly credible and the characters express beautifully the sadness, joy and hope which lies in the gaps in between those extremes of emotion just as the hope that lies in the distances between the stars." - Neal Terry Also by Patricia Smith: Time Split and Distant Suns - The Journey Home.

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this beautifully written masterwork, the Pulitzer Prize–winnner and bestselling author of Caste chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties. Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an “unrecognized immigration” within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic.

Adda and Iridian have survived the murderous AI that tried to kill them in Barbary Station and an evil megacorporation in Mutiny at Vesta but now they’ll need all of their ingenuity to make it to the end of this epic trilogy. Adda Karpe and Iridian Nassir are on the run—both from the authorities who want to imprison them and the artificial intelligence that want to control their minds. Trapped on a desolate black-market space station on the edge of Jupiter, they’re nearly out of allies—and out of luck. Now, they have one last shot to find a safe haven where they can live together in peace—across the interstellar bridge to another galaxy. Getting onto that mission will take everything they’ve got and more. But on the other side of that bridge lies the life they’ve always dreamed of...if they can survive long enough to reach it.

We all had heard the vampire stories from the neighboring villages. The fear induced by these tales had spread far and wide. But it had never been more than that; superstitions driven by fear. At least, not to me. Until now. Miloš has never known life without his twin sister. After Milena leaves home to fulfill her duties of an arranged marriage, Miloš is faced with the harsh reality of living each day without his twin. Suffering through the fear of not knowing when or if he will see his sister again. Since birth, they've depended on no one but each other, even sensing the thoughts and feelings of the other. A bond which some would deem unnatural, but remains the only thing connecting them from across the lands. So, when his instincts scream of something being wrong with Milena, Miloš will stop at nothing to reach her. Facing an unforeseen evil which will challenge everything he knew about the world... and his sister. Their bond will be tested when superstition becomes reality in this dark fantasy novella-- the first in a series.