315 ratings | 94 reviews | avg rating:4.05

more photos (1)

Les’s Year In Books

Les’s 2024 Year in Books

Take a look at Les’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Les’s 2024 Year in Books

Les Johnson’s Followers (70)

Les’s Bookshelves

to-read (74)
currently-reading (1)
read (1044)
autographed (102)
owned-but-not-read (221)
my-books (10)

Les’s Friends (124)

Deborah

8,517 books | 1,319 friends

Michael

5,162 books | 158 friends

Robin Brian

2,290 books | 144 friends

Bryan Thomas Schmidt

3,365 books | 1,391 friends

Darrell Grizzle

1,927 books | 693 friends

Bart

1,067 books | 182 friends

Jeff

524 books | 1,863 friends

Dennis Boccippio

640 books | 57 friends

More friends…

Les Johnson

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.lesjohnsonauthor.com

Twitter

LesAuthor

Genre

Science, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Member Since

December 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/lesnasa

edit data

Les is the author or co-author of both popular science and science fiction. His latest science fiction novel, "Mission to Methone," was released by Baen Books on February 6, 2018. Coincidentally, his latest non-fiction book, "Graphene: The Superstrong, Superthin, and Superversatile Material That Will Revolutionize the World," with co-author Joe Meany, was published the same day (from a different publisher - Prometheus Books)!

By day, Les is Principal Investigator (lead scientist) for NASA's first interplanetary solar sail mission, The Near Earth Asteroid Scout, at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In the early 2000's, Les was NASA's Manager for Interstellar Propulsion Research and later managed the In-Space P ...more

28 posts
Les Johnson's Blog: Space, Science, and Entertainment

The Chinese Spy Balloon - An Affirming Experience

The infamous Chinese Spy Balloon

I am compelled to comment on the recent kerfuffle of the ‘Chinese Spy Balloon.” I was not going to say anything because, quite frankly, I was not very concerned. After all, what could the Chinese possibly learn that would be of military value from a balloon that they couldn’t learn from satellites in low Earth orbit? I doubt they would attack the USA using a si Read more of this blog post »

View more on Les Johnson's website »

2 likes · Like • 1 comment • flag

Published on February 05, 2023 18:55

View all 28 posts »

Combine Editions
Les Johnson’s books

Average rating: 3.74 · 1,090 ratings · 217 reviews · 16 distinct works • Similar authors

	Rescue Mode by Ben Bova, Les Johnson (Goodreads Author) 3.64 avg rating — 250 ratings — published 2014 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Back to the Moon by Travis S. Taylor, Les Johnson (Goodreads Author) 3.81 avg rating — 236 ratings — published 2010 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars 3.87 avg rating — 223 ratings — published 2022 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Going Interstellar by Les Johnson (Goodreads Author), Jack McDevitt (Editor), Ben Bova (Contributor) 3.78 avg rating — 167 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mission to Methone 3.55 avg rating — 147 ratings — published 2018 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Graphene: The Superstrong, Superthin, and Superversatile Material That Will Revolutionize the World by Les Johnson (Goodreads Author), Joseph E. Meany (Goodreads Author) 3.74 avg rating — 114 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Spacetime War 3.87 avg rating — 60 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stellaris: People of the Stars by Les Johnson (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Robert E. Hampson (Editor), Martin J. Rees 3.98 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Living Off the Land in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos by Les Johnson (Goodreads Author), Gregory L. Matloff, C. Bangs 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2007	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sky Alert!: When Satellites Fail (Springer Praxis Books) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Les Johnson…

Les is Currently Reading

Les is currently reading

The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible

by Michael S. Heiser

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jan 19, 2023 05:28PM

rss
Les’s Recent Updates

Les rated a book it was amazing Time Trials (The Time Trials Series Book 1) by M.A. Rothman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:39AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Time Trials by M.A. Rothman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Time Trials by M.A. Rothman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Les rated a book really liked it Ice Trials (The Time Trials Series #2) by M.A. Rothman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:38AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ice Trials by M.A. Rothman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ice Trials by M.A. Rothman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Les has read Ice Trials (The Time Trials Series #2) by M.A. Rothman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:38AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ice Trials by M.A. Rothman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ice Trials by M.A. Rothman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Les rated a book really liked it Sporting Chance (The Serrano Legacy, #2) by Elizabeth Moon	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:37AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sporting Chance by Elizabeth Moon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sporting Chance by Elizabeth Moon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Les rated a book really liked it The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:37AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Les has read The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:36AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Les marked as owned-but-not-read The Icarus Coda (The Icarus Saga, #6) by Timothy Zahn (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:35AM · like
Les rated a book really liked it The Icarus Twin (The Icarus Saga, #2) by Timothy Zahn (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:35AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Icarus Twin by Timothy Zahn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Icarus Twin by Timothy Zahn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Les marked as owned-but-not-read The Icarus Needle (The Icarus Saga, #5) by Timothy Zahn (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:35AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Icarus Needle by Timothy Zahn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Icarus Needle by Timothy Zahn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Les finished reading The Icarus Twin (The Icarus Saga, #2) by Timothy Zahn (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 06:34AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Icarus Twin by Timothy Zahn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Icarus Twin by Timothy Zahn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Les's books…

Quotes by Les Johnson (?)

“Everybody loves a good mystery. In this one, Sarah Hoyt sets us up with a secret hidden within the nursery rhymes preserved for kids on a multigenerational starship. Why, one goes on to wonder, would anyone need to hide information on a starship anyhow? *** Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t been twenty and faced with the oldest problem a girl could have. I was being courted by two men and I didn’t know which I preferred.”
― Les Johnson, Going Interstellar

0 likes

“You know, until I caught a reference in an ancient manuscript, I thought cows were about the size of a chicken.” Chickens and fish being the only animal life aboard, I’d thought so too until this moment. “You mean they’re not?” He shook his head, and his hands sketched improbable dimensions. Now Ennio was frowning. “So . . . The rhymes were altered. I wonder why?”
― Les Johnson, Going Interstellar

0 likes

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
All things Fandom: Space Fan Track	1	6	Jul 11, 2011 11:59AM
All things Fandom: 2012 Authors	15	67	Aug 10, 2012 09:18PM
All things Fandom: 2014 Authors List	18	93	Sep 07, 2014 09:28PM
All things Fandom: OT: 2015 LibertyCon Authors	5	39	Apr 21, 2015 08:34PM
All things Fandom: 2015 Authors List	15	48	Aug 12, 2015 02:49PM
All things Fandom: OT: 2016 LibertyCon Authors	5	29	Jun 30, 2016 09:47PM
All things Fandom: 2019 LibertyCon Authors	1	21	May 15, 2019 09:03PM