Celebrate the Moon Landing Anniversary with Books

Astronomy lovers are not the only ones excited about the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.Publishers are also taking note，serving up a pile of books to mark the occasion.

One Giant Leap，$29.99

Charles Fishman

Getting to the moon demanded a million hours of work for each hour spent in space，this book argues.Accordingly，the story focuses on the engineers，coders，project managers and others who worked hard to get the Apollo program off the ground.

Moonbound，$35

Jonathan Fetter-Vorm

Colorful and detailed，the comic-style illustrations(连环画风格的插图) in this book bring the moon landing to life.Much of the astronauts’ dialog is based on real recordings，making the book particularly reliable.

The Apollo Missions，$19.99

David Baker

A former NASA engineer uses photographs，illustrations，blueprints and other documents to guide readers through a clear history of the space race and the Apollo program，from the beginnings of rocket science to the successful return home of the Apollo 11 crew.

The Mission of a Lifetime，$22

Basil Hero

The Apollo astronauts rarely gave personal interviews.But now that they’re getting older，the astronauts are starting to get introspective(内省的)．This book deals with conversations with the 12 astronauts who have general wisdom on overcoming fear and appreciating life.

Mini Book Excerpts (节选)

When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land, the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it... The town’s people never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor.

J.D. Sulinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski (Random House, $27)

“You’re a smart boy. Benny’s death was no accident, and you’re the only who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it?” The boy was staring stubbornly at his lap again.

A thought suddenly occurred to Annika, “Did you... You recognized the man in the car, didn’t you?”

The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers, “Maybe,” he said quietly.

Red Wolf by Liza Marklund (Atria Books, $25.99)

She wants to say to him what she has learned, none of it in class. Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don’t want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won’t. Some mothers love so their daughters won’t.

You Are Free by Danzy Senna (Riverhead Books, $15)

Researchers have been investigating for years the ways in which screens affect the quality of a person’s reading. The magazine Scientific American reported that at least 100 studies have been published on the issue since the 1980s.

Virginia Clinton carried out a research examination. She is a professor of Education, Health and Behavior at the University of North Dakota. She found what she called a “small but significant” difference in reading text from screen versus paper.

Clinton looked at 33 past studies that examined paper versus screen reading. All of the studies were done between 2008 and 2018. The studies collectively had 2,799 study subjects, including both children and adults. Clinton’s examination found that reading from paper generally led to better understanding and improved a person’s performance on tests connected to the reading material. And, she found no major differences in reading speed between the two.

Clinton and other researchers have found screen readers often believe they understand a text better than they really do. And, they are more likely than paper readers to overestimate how well they would do on a test of the materials they have read.

Yet, this overestimated sense of understanding is especially common among screen readers. Clinton said, “There are many possible reasons for such findings. Overconfidence of reen readers, for example, could be the result of a distracted, less focused mind. Readers’ preferences are also important. Research shows the majority of people of all ages prefer reading from paper. If you are enjoying the reading process, you’re going to be more involved. You’re going to be paying better attention. Preferences are a key issue here.”

Several studies have found that people often think of paper materials as something more important and serious. “If you are reading from paper, your mind thinks this is something important. I need to pay attention to it,” Clinton said.