Space is Cool as Fuck by Kate Howells
Yes, Space is Cool as Fuck (Lost The Plot) is indeed a coffee table book, likely finding a permanent home in millennial living rooms around the globe. But it’s more than a hefty ornament – it’s everything you thought you could never understand about the universe explained in plain-old filthy English. It’s a visually astounding and creatively written book in which artists and scientists collide on the magical, wonderful infinity and possibilities of space.
Space is Cool as Fuck, available this month in the U.S. from Lost the Plot, the innovative imprint of Australian publisher Pantera Press, provides a brief history of the universe that will leave you scratching your head and gazing up in absolute wonder.
“This is no textbook,” says co-author Kate Howells, a space fanatic and global community outreach manager of the Planetary Society, an organization empowering the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration. “We love space, and like fools in love, we want to shout it from the rooftops. But science has a tendency to be a little tough to digest – which is what this book is for.”
“We are not experts, but simply enthusiasts. We want to give you a taste of the glorious reality you inhabit by providing an introduction to some of the incredible stuff out there.”
The book does sneak in at least one expert, offering an in-depth and illuminating interview with everyone’s favorite TV scientist, Bill Nye the Science Guy. Nye, head of the Planetary Society, believes that, no, we are not fucked and this planet and our people have a future, according to the authors.
Space is Cool as Fuck is divided into five sections: Cosmos, Technology, Humans, Physics and Planets. It contains more than 50 chapters in which, among other things, you will read about:
- Just how big shit really is
- The Big Bang
- Black holes
- Things you take for granted until you really think about them, like matter
- How rockets work and why they suck
- Time travel and wormholes
- The degenerate astronomer who drank all night and died from holding his bladder
- Saturn, “you big beautiful bastard”
- Speed of light
- A love letter to Carl Sagan
- Gravity
- Energy
Space is Cool as Fuck features more than 100 wild artworks, photographs and illustrations from 40 international young artists curated by brilliant designer Cynthia Larenas. From hand-picked unknowns like Kate Kurucz and Adrian du P.B. through up-and-comers like Aida Azin, Waiton Fong, and Chrissie Abbott, to the more established Joel Vans, Kareena Zerefos, James Reka, Regan Tanamui and Marina Zumi, each artist brings his or her own aesthetic to the majesty and wonder of space, giving the book its exquisitely eclectic style.
Says one reader, “It’s space-related science explained by space nuts for space nuts, in a colloquial manner that so many science and space titles don’t have.”
Space is Cool as Fuck is now available to purchase.
