<More than once you've raved about Connections, and I agree (though I personaly rank The Ascent of Man as slightly higher on the scale)...

Agree with you on merits of "Ascent of Man." You are aware that both "Ascent of Man" and "Connections" TV shows are available on DVD? Watched "Connections" for the first time in years. The first episode has Burke wandering through the WTC. A bit creepy.

...You own the Mushroom Planet books??? They, and the Borrowers series, were formative works in my own youth.

The Mushroom Planet books are out of print, except for the first one. I was fortunate enough to build a collection from used bookstores some years back when they were still cheap. The prices on good editions now would curl your hair. My editions are what they like to call back in the Old Country, a bit "foxed," and I'm still missing "A Mystery for Mr. Bass." Wish they'd make a movie from this. I spent some time in high school deducing the density of Brumblium from calculating what the mass of Basidium would have to be to generate about 1 G at its surface. Don't ask, I've completely forgotten. I also calculated that the tidal effects of the planetoid would have made it detectable even if invisible, although the effects weren't as great as I thought they would be.

The "Borrowers" series is, thank goodness, still in print. Just saw a British miniseries on the "Borrowers" about a week ago on the Hallmark Channel or some such. A vast improvement over the recent American movie.

I still haven't gotten around to Narnia, though I finally am no longer Potter-deprived, having borrowed all four of them from the library over the New Year holiday and read them cover to cover to cover...

You're never too old for Narnia.

One more recommendation, if you have not already gotten to it: Phillip Pullman's trilogy, known collectively as "His Dark Materials": The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass.

Just got this about two weeks ago in a single collected volume from the SF Book Club, but haven't gotten a chance to read it yet.