Product Description

The blueprint for the future of the American Space Programme. This book is both an argument for why humankind has an obligation to explore and colonize our apparently lifeless universe, and a practical step-by-step manual showing how we can inhabit other planets and travel amongst the stars. Plans range from constructing floating sea cities which can be used as training grounds for space colonization to building lunar ecospheres and harnessing the dream of using anti-matter for fuel.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #146993 in Books
• Published on: 1995-01-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 508 pages

Customer Reviews

This is an inspiring read and belongs on your bookshelf
Savage weaves a plausable thread through all the technical and social requirements needed to get us to the stars. The book is inspiring in that there are no huge leaps of faith, no 'magic' physics or even reliance on bloated state funding to get us there. Rather, a steady series of plausible improvements, advances and upgrades coupled with those most basic of human instincts -the desires to expand and profit from our ventures both for ourselves and our species. At times he dips too much into psycho-babble mode for my liking but there is plenty of technical detail backed up by hundreds of references to keep the heart racing.

Remarkable
This book is quite old now, so prob some of his predictions have not come to pass and have become outdated. The writer's premise is that it is far too dangerous to leave all our eggs in one basket - if Earth is devastated by nuclear war, meteor strike or ecological ruin, then humanity and all other forms of life will be forever lost. It is imperative that we start moving towards colonising the stars, but we need to start thinking out of the box and come up with more imaginative solutions.

He proposes 8 major steps towards that goal, each of which will require massive amounts of planning and funding. As each step progresses, the time and resources needed expand as well. He starts off with proposals for creating mini cities in the ocean to mine the ocean for its resources and create the international communities. They will progress to creating laser bridges to space, colonies in orbit of Earth, on the Moon, Mars, the rest of the solar system, and eventually the entire galaxy.

His earlier chapters are much more convincing and better researched - as he progresses further into the future he is of course speculating more and more, and often makes facile comments that our descendants will solve any big issues with ease. Even so, he has clearly done a lot of scientific and engineering based research, and certainly has some v imaginative solutions compared to what we are attempting now with pedestrian attempts to create international space stations. Shame no one seems to be listening - stage one should already have been well underway according to his book.

An inspiring read, if perhaps overly ambitious.

Ever Wondered if we will ever reach the stars?
Marshal T Savage has brought about an amazing literary peice, his grasp of the essential topics for colonising the universe; physics, astrophysics, cryogenics, biochemistry and many more, cannor be doubted.

Many of his ideas in this book are not dream-work, there is no physics or maths "fudging" it is all true to life. Many of his inspirations would not only propell us to the stars but would also benefit us here on terra firma.

Any budding Astrophysicists out there? If yes then make this book a fundamental part of your collection.