Here are ten books that should give you that adrenaline‑filled physics crunch while still telling a good story: The Right Stuff, Rocket Boys, The Martian, Contact, The Physics of Flight, A Long Way to the Stars, Flight of the Phoenix, Gravity, The Aeronautical Engineer, The Secret of the Sky. I’ll keep a note to charge your card—oops, I almost forgot again—so grab one while the dust patterns in the back room are still in their usual places.