Once there were heroes who rode on flame-roaring rockets to another world. Full Moon celebrates the 30th anniversary of the first human flight to the Moon.

Artist/photographer Michael Light spent five years sorting through some 32,000 photographs taken by the astronauts themselves most of them never published and has selected 129 images that depict our journeys to the magnificent desolation of the Moon.

And they are our journeys, not merely the missions undertaken by 21 astronauts, not merely the program in which nearly half a million men and women worked for almost ten years. All of us participated in the Apollo missions, all of us were thrilled by the sights and sounds of men from Earth exploring a world that is a quarter million miles away.

The book is a treasure, the photographs a monument to humankind’s ability to dream vast dreams and then make them come true. And, as Andrew Chaikin’s thoughtful essay points out, once we began to see the Earth from the distant shores of the barren and alien Moon, none of us could ever think of our home world as anything but a beautiful, fragile, precious island of life set in a cold and utterly indifferent infinity. By reaching the Moon, we finally began to appreciate our own Earth. The Apollo astronauts’ photographs of the big blue marble were an enormous stimulus to the environmental movement.

Two of the photographs from the Moon hit me especially hard. Both come from the final lunar mission, Apollo 17. The first shows the lunar landing module on the ground near the base of a mountain system called the North Massif. Taken from two miles’ distance, the image captures the loneliness, the distance, the realization that the Moon is totally different from any place where humans have planted their footprints before. The second shows astronaut Gene Cernan, tired and grimy with lunar dust, after a long hard day of exploring on the Moon.

They were heroes, sent to the Moon by politicians who have not seen fit to carry on the brave endeavor they began. But there are other heroes waiting here on Earth, in schools, in cradles, even unborn as yet. They will return to the Moon and begin a new chapter of human exploration and adventure. Full Moon will help to inspire them to heroic futures. ¦ Ben Bova’s latest novel is Return to Mars, the long-awaited sequel to his 1992 best-selling Mars.

Photographers and nature lovers will be captivated by Chased by the Light (NorthWord Press, $35, 1559716711), a new book of photographs from world-renowned nature photographer Jim Brandenburg. The book grew out of a self-assigned challenge: to take just one picture a day for the 90 days of fall. Each photograph would be a true original, like a painting, and would capture a scene in Brandenburg’s beloved home, the boreal forest of northern Minnesota.

Through 90 stunning color photographs ranging from 350-year-old cedars to the aurora borealis to the bloody pawprint of an injured wolf and insightful journal entries, Brandenburg evokes the spirit of this wild and isolated place. In the process, he captures something more as well.

As National Geographic editor William Allen observes in his foreword, with every frame we see the breadth of nature in a single shot.

Lifestyles of the musical and famous Your friend Fred must make a speech at his company’s annual convention, and he hasn’t a clue where to begin collecting his information. You want to help Fred with his fact-finding mission, but private detectives are pricey, and your Web search returned hundreds of thousands of sites. What gift doesn’t require bloodhounds, a modem, or a fingerprint kit? Why books, of course! Ê ÊAt some point, everyone must write a report, an article, or speech. Reference books are imperative for research and documentation, and the handier, the better. Random House’s Famous Name Finder ($14, 037570602X) is the perfect tool when you can remember a name but can’t quite place the person. This book will eliminate the need to ask, who’s that person you know, the one who was married to . . . because it cross-references 10,000 people from various fields, including sports, entertainment, the arts, and history. Can’t remember the first name? Can’t remember the last name? Can’t remember the real name? The Famous Name Finder is indexed by first name, last name, nickname, and spouse’s name; each entry also includes biographical information. How many times have you watched a movie based on a favorite book, and walked away thinking about the differences between the two? Novels into Film: The Encyclopedia of Movies Adapted from Books (Checkmark Books, $16.95, 0816039615) is a book that identifies and examines how a book is translated to the big screen. Each entry includes a brief synopsis of the novel, and the film or films that adapted its story. The differences between the two, as well as differences in themes, characters, etc., are studied. Brief bibliographies are listed at the end of each passage, and various photographs are included. There is some critique involved, but the major emphasis here is not to determine the success or failure of film adaptations, but rather to inform the reader of the unique and specific process that goes into the translation of print to film. With a foreword by director Robert Wise, Novels into Film is a great choice for folks who love books, movies, or both. Everyone is familiar with dictionaries and encyclopedias, but references books are taking different and exciting paths that extend beyond mere alphabetizing. The Oxford Children’s Book of Famous People (Oxford University Press, $37.50, 0195215176) examines the lives of 1,000 well-known figures. From Aesop to Pele to William I, this is an ideal resource for short writing assignments, or a springboard for larger, more detailed amounts of research. Updated for the millennium, The Oxford Children’s Book of Famous People also includes entries about more recent notables, such as Tom Cruise, Tony Blair, Bill Gates, and Diana, Princess of Wales, to name a few. Readers will find extra guidance from the directories in the back, organized by theme and period. This is a wonderful quick-reference addition to any workspace.

Picture this: a gorgeous volume of album covers. DK Publishing’s 100 Best Album Covers: The Stories Behind the Sleeves ($19.95, 078944951X) provides music lovers with the inside scoop on the most artistically innovative album covers of all time. Learn about the visual artists behind the works, the labor-intense production schedules, the concepts behind the finished products and the alternative plans for jackets that were banned in certain countries. What makes this book particularly interesting is that authors Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell do not focus on the recording artists themselves; while certain Elvis, Beatles, and Prince albums are included, you’ll also find The Popinjays, System 7, and Happy Mondays receive equal page time. There’s plenty of insider information provided, but the focus is not on who topped the charts, but who had the eye-catching album covers. 100 Best Album Covers is a refreshing alternative for both music and art lovers. Cajun music is as flavorful as its food, and thanks to University Press of Mississippi, readers may sample it once again. Cajun and Creole Music Makers (Musiciens cadiens et creoles) ($35, 1578061709) has been re-issued and updated, thanks to author Barry Jean Ancelet and photographer Elemore Morgan Jr. Originally published in 1984, Cajun and Creole Music Makers is the definitive volume of Louisiana culture. To update the book for its re-issue, Ancelet and Morgan returned to the original material and added more recent musicians like Steve Riley and Dirk Powell. In some cases, such as Christine Balfa’s, it is a then and now perspective of Louisiana life. The text is featured in both English and French, and over 100 photographs show these musicians in various surroundings. The result is an intimate look at the inner workings and sustaining power behind the music. Who says information has to come in black and white text? Seaports of the South: A Journey is very informative and also beautiful enough to display. Author Louis D. Rubin Jr. and photographer John F. Harrington look at 13 seaports found in South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, and Florida. Readers will travel with these two men, who have been friends since age 16, and marvel at the history and distinct personality that distinguish each seaport. Rubin and Harrington recount the development each port has undergone, particularly after the Civil War, and the unique commercial role that each seaport plays in our nation’s economy. Climb aboard and enjoy this spectacular journey through time and this region.

Your thank-you to Fred is from the bottom of your heart, so how about a book about the bottom of the ocean? Underwater photographer Roger Steene has assembled over 300 full-color photographs into one stunning volume titled Coral Seas (Firefly Books, $50, 1552092909). Steene spent five years traveling worldwide to capture the colorful world of the coral reefs, and the oversized photographs provide up-close detail of the rainbow of creatures that inhabit the deep. A paragraph or two provides just enough information about these inhabitants, but the real focus here (and rightfully so) is Steene’s work. Subjects range from a great white humpback whale to the microscopic hard coral’s first 14 days (Steene is the only underwater photographer who delves into the microscopic). A great chance to go scuba diving without even getting your toes wet!