The following books have proven interesting and invaluable to understanding satellite orbits, spotting, and space activity.
King-Hele, Desmond, Observing Earth Satellites. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company New York 1983. ISBN 0-442-24877-6.
Synopsis: Observing Earth Satellites was the book which first satisifed my interest in the technical details of satellite observing. I found this book quite by accident while browsing through the NASA Technical Library at the Langley Research Center. After reading this book, I was hooked on observing satellites.
King-Hele, Desmond, A Tapestry of Orbits. Cambridge University Press 1992. ISBN 0-521-39323-X.
Synopsis: A Tapestry of Orbits was King-Hele's follow on book to Observing Earth Satellites. It is a personal account of the researches based on analysis of satellite orbits between 1957 and 1990 at the Royal Aircraft Establishment.
Bate, Roger R,. Mueller, Donald D., and White, Jerry E., Fundamentals of Astrodynamics. Dover Publications Inc., New York 1971. ISBN 0-486-60061-0.
Synopsis: Funamentals of Astrodynamics was the reference by which I was able to construct my own orbital plotting/prediction program. A mathematical treatment of classic value which also reveals much of the story of Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Issac Newton and their insight into developing orbital theory.
Jane's Information Group Staff, Janes's Space Directory 6th ed. Jane's Information Group, Alexandria, VA. 1994-1995. ISBN 0-7106-1153-6.
Synopsis: Jane's Space Directory describes hundreds of manned and unmanned space projects in great detail, including human interest information. This book is normally a non-circulating reference. However, a circulating copy (circa 1985) is available from the Grissom Library, Newport News, VA. Excellent reading.
Valentin Lebedev, Diary of a Cosmonaut: 211 Days in Space.Originally published as Dnevnik Kosmonavta (1983) by Nauka I. Zhizn. Later translated from Russian by Luba Diangar, edited by Daniel Puckett and Dr. C.W. Harrison. Bantam Edition, 1990. Bantam Publications Inc. 1990. ISBN 0-553-28778-8.
Synopsis: Diary of a Cosmonaut: 211 Days in Space is the personal diary of Cosmonaut Valentin Vitalievich Lebedev. Lebedev shares his personal thoughts about his life, family, and the events leading to and during his 211 day from May to December 1982 aboard the Russian Salyut 7 space station with fellow crewmember Anatoliy (Tolia) Berezovoy.
Excerpt from page 13:
"I was thinking about life. For young people life seems to be less complicated. They have relatives and close friends who can help. They are provided with everything they need. The future for them seems clear: school, work, family; they have no problems. Such a life gives you a carefree attitude. Have fun and enjoy your life; everything will come with time. Maybe, but this is just existence. There should be joy in life, a striving for a dream, for its fulfillment. To have such a dream one must know one's place in life, in the family, at school, and at work: a man must work on himself, work and establish himself. In this there is meaning to a man's life: his usefulness for people and society. that's why the better and more prosperous life is, the more difficult it becomes to grow, morally and socially. It sounds strange, but some problems arise because of affluence and even of education, neither of which guarantees a high consciousness, manners, or an honest attitude toward work. They can instead lead to a paradise for parasites. And it's so important that recognition be given to truly worthy people, hard workers who are anxious about their work and able to organize it. Because only those people form the authority and strength of our society."