Truth may or may not be out there and we may or may not know it when we find it. But it's mystery and wonder that drive us to keep searching for the truth.

Our home was a literate and musical one, with little television or radio. This was the key to my motivation to explore the world through books.

My fascination with the white spaces on maps began before my earliest memories-- on an adventurous family trip to see Apollo 14 launch from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A in Merritt Island, Fla., on January 31, 1971--exactly two weeks before my second birthday.

We all know the stats, but what's behind the numbers?