LEAVING EARTH, which was published by the Joseph Henry Press in fall 2003, is a history of manned space exploration since the Apollo lunar landings, describing the efforts by engineers and astronauts in both the United States and Russia to build the first interplanetary spaceships.
The Emme Award provides recognition to the truly outstanding book published each year serving public understanding about the positive impact of astronautics upon society.
The award will be formally presented at the November 2004 AAS Annual Meeting in Pasadena, CA.
"Receiving this award is very exciting for the Press," said Senior Editor Jeffrey Robbins, who acquired Zimmerman's book. "With books about space travel appearing all the time, to have this book recognized by the AAS is an exceptional honor and proves once again that we are choosing the best authors for our list."
Zimmerman is an award-winning science journalist and historian. In addition to LEAVING EARTH, he has written two books about the history of space exploration. GENESIS, THE STORY OF APOLLO 8, published by Four Walls Eight Windows in 1998, describes the family and political tale behind the first manned mission to another world. THE CHRONOLOGICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DISCOVERIES IN SPACE, published by Oryx Press in 2000, is a detailed reference book describing what was accomplished on every space mission, beginning in October 1957 with Sputnik and continuing through December 1999.
Zimmerman's articles on science, history, technology, and culture appear regularly in many different magazines, including ASTRONOMY, AIR & SPACE, NATURAL HISTORY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, INVENTION & TECHNOLOGY, FORTUNE, AD ASTRA, AMERICAN HISTORY, and STARDATE.
The Joseph Henry Press, trade imprint of the National Academies Press, was created with the goal of making books on science, technology, and health more widely available to professionals and the public. The National Academies Press is the publisher for the National Academies--National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.
For more information about Zimmerman's work, visit his web site at: http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3cxxp/zimbib.htm