Return

On July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin, along with crewmate Neil Armstrong, made history as they placed humankind's first steps on the moon.

Now, in The Return, written by award winning novelist John Barnes, Aldrin offers a compelling novel about the opportunities and dangers that confront us today-and shows why we must, and will, seize the challenges before us.

When a tragic Shuttle accident kills a world-famous basketball player on his trip into space, a trip that had been planned as a PR coup for the space program, former astronaut Scott Blackstone is out of a job. Worse, he and his "Citizen Observer" program are vilified in the media, and he's being sued for a billion dollars. His older brother, Nick, research chief for a major aerospace firm, persuades Scott's estranged ex-wife, Thalia-a top-ranked attorney-to take on Scott's defense. Gradually, it begins to appear that the "accident" might not have been an accident at all.

Meanwhile, as long feared, India and Pakistan go to war-and, worse, Pakistan deploys a nuclear device high in the upper atmosphere, putting the crew of the orbiting International Space Station in iminent danger of destruction by radiation exposure. While the world's space vehicles are grounded by the radiation storm set off by the detonation, only a few weeks remain to rescue the crew, and there's no known way to do it. Save, perhaps, for a secret project of Nick's...

The Return is a story of outsized characters, global crises, and big, daring ideas...and-as told by Buzz Aldrin-it carries a ring of truth. He's been there. He's done that. And he's already helped change the world.

One of the first men to walk on the Moon pens a compelling novel about the opportunities and dangers that confront us in space today. When India and Pakistan suddenly go to war, Pakistan detonates a nuclear device that inadvertently destroys every satellite in Earth's orbit and exposes a space station crew to dangerous radiation levels. The one man who can mount a daring rescue is former astronaut Scott Blackstone--if he can just clear his name in time.

Former astronaut Scott Blackstone's dream of opening outer space to visits from everyday people is under attack. His pilot program has been marred by a fatal accident, he's out of a job, and he's being sued for a billions dollars. And it's beginning to seem that the "accident" wasn't at all accidental.

Then the endless conflict between India and Pakistan heats up...and Pakistan explodes a nuclear device in the upper atmosphere, frying electronics on earth and in space, and putting the crew of the international Space Station at risk. With the Shuttle fleet grounded, only a secret skunkworks project known to Scott and his old friends can save the space station's stranded crew.

The Return is a tale about the kind of space adventure that could happen today--and that will happen tomorrow. As told by Buzz Aldrin, who's been there...and who's already helped change the world.

Dr. Buzz Aldrin was watched by the largest televi-sion audience in history as he and Neil Armstrong be-came the first humans to walk on the Moon. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and one of the world's best-known advocates for the exploration of outer space. He lives in Los Angeles.

John Barnes is the acclaimed author of Mother of Storms, A Million Open Doors, Finity, and many other novels. He lives in Gunnison, Colorado. Aldrin and Barnes have written one other novel together, Encounter with Tiber.