From the Book - First edition.
Pt. 1: Why. The allure of space ; Exoplanet Earth ; Extraterrestrial life ; Evil aliens ; Killer asteroids ; Destined for the stars ; Why explore ; The anatomy of wonder ; Happy birthday, NASA ; The next fifty years in space ; Space options ; Paths to discovery
Pt. 2: How. To fly ; Going ballistic ; Race to space ; 2001 : fact vs. Fiction ; Launching the right stuff ; Things are looking up ; For the love of Hubble ; Happy anniversary, Apollo 11 ; How to reach the sky ; The last days of the space shuttle ; Propulsion for deep space ; Balancing acts ; Happy anniversary, Star Trek ; How to prove you've been abducted by aliens ; The future of US space travel
Pt. 3: Why not. Space travel troubles ; Reaching for the stars ; America and the emergent space powers ; Delusions of space enthusiasts ; Perchance to dream ; By the numbers ; Ode to Challenger, 1986 ; Spacecraft behaving badly ; What NASA means to America's future
Epilogue: The cosmic perspective.