Why am I the person that I am? Probably because of the books I've read from childhood til now. On another part of the UT forums, a person had asked for space facts. This prompted me to ask myself: How did I get where I am today?

Here's my life story:


When I was approximately in Kindergarten, or even some time before that, I came across a book called Barron's Illustrated Fact Finder, an encyclopedia for younger students. I have come to a conclusion that this book is truly the base, the root of my interests today. It is the perfect book for the kid in your family, or the little boy next door, or the starving child in Asia. It really jump-started my imagination. Maybe it'll jump-start yours (or theirs).

Not long afterwards, I took into my possession three of six books in a series called Voyage Through The Universe. Those three were called The Near Planets, The Far Planets, and Stars. The edition I have is pretty old (it may be the only one). Recently - within the past year or two - I came across the other three books: Galaxies, Life Search, and The Cosmos. I never read any of those books from cover to cover, but their mere presence in my room kept my imagination alive.

The next two major milestone books in my life were The Eyewitness Atlas of the World, and The Great Dinosaur Atlas. One sparked an early interest in prehistoric life, the other sparked an interest in geography, which I carried throughout the fourth grade. My interest in geography soon evaporated, however, when the next pair of milestone books came into my life.

These next two books concerned science in gen'l. The first one is called The Random House Library of Knowledge: First Encyclopedia of Science. It was truly a kid's dream encyclopedia. The next of the two books is the Ultimate Visual Dictionary of Science. It truly was ultimate, and it helped me narrow my science faves down to just one: space.

At this point in my life, however (just before and during middle school) I came out of my astronomy trance, and my new imagination carrier of knowledge was once again atlases - not of nations or continents or geography - but of History. My first, the Concise Atlas of World History, was a wonderful, advanced read for me, and was truly the book that paved the way for my urge to understand my ancestral background. This atlas basically dealt with everything that happenned since the time of australopithecus. The second book that acted as a gateway to my thirst for history is called the Atlas of the Second World War. It explained everything, from the rise of Fascism to the Use of the Atom Bomb. This book jump-started my growing interest in the events of the 20th century.

Next, and probably most important to my most recent explosion of interest in the field of astrophysics and the like, happenned during the summer betwixt 6th and 7th grade, when I was cleaning out my room and found a book called the Scholastic Encyclopedia of Space. I would recommend this book above all others to those who just want some space facts in order to boost any newfound interest in astronomy they might have. Anyway, after discovering and reading through this one simple book, I decided to look for more because I knew I was too advanced for this book and I needed some simple questions answered. Thus, I later turned my attention to two books: the first, Our Cosmic Origins: From the Big Bang to the Emergence of Life and Intelligence. This book was perfect for my reading level, as I was in middle school at the time. This has by far been my favorite, especially in terms of deducing the origin of our species, starting from the Big Bang Itself. It was a perfect read for me, and I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to find out how in the world we got here. for me, anything that talks about the Big Bang and Life and Intelligence in the same book presents a good read. The second book is simply titled the Astronomy Data Book. This book is the most perfect, simplified book for the amateur astronomer. Trust me. It's a good reference read.

Having been fed enough objective data in the last three books, I turned my sights on more subjectve novels. The first, a read completely unrelated to space, is called Global Paradox. It is an economic/philosophical read, just perfect for my mindset. The author, John Naisbitt, writes in Michio Kaku style (though I read Kaku waaay after my dad gave me the Paradox book, I was impressed enough to go after all of Kaku's works. The only other author whose books I have a complete collection of is Michael Crichton). The second, a book most NASA/astro freaks have probably heard of or read, is called A Man On The Moon, which covered the entire Apollo program with stunning detail and accuracy, written by a NASA insider.

Most recently, however, my interest in science changed from astronomy to physics. That was during my first ever term paper, when I did a report on Albert Einstein. I quickly realized that there was purpose and philosophy that guided Einstein, and I realized how much I agree with him, both in his scientific work and his political agenda; I realized how much like him I am. Looking for some stuff to say about him other than his simple scientific achievements, I turned to two books: Physics for the Rest of Us (by Roger S. Jones) , and Einstein's Cosmos (by Michio Kaku). Though I read these two books only months ago, I still feel affected by them today, especially by the message sent to readers at the end of the first book, and by the writing style presented by Michio Kaku. It seems that Kaku, like myself, is an admirer of Einstein the Person, Einstein's work, and the uniqueness and possible revolution of String theory.

For people of all ages, I recommend these books. They shaped me as a person, in a literary way and philosophical way. I have more books to tell you about. But start with these, and you'll see what makes me who I am, and maybe these books will inspire you, or the kid next door, as well.