Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization

<p>the Man Celebrated As The Christopher Columbus Of Mars Brings Us To The Very Brink Of Human Exploration. <br><br>using Nuts-and-bolts Engineering And A Unique Grasp Of Human History, Robert Zubrin Takes Us To The Not-very-distant Future, When Our Global Society Will Branch Out Into The Universe. From The Current-day Prospect Of Lunar Bases And Mars Settlements To The Outer Reaches Of Other Galaxies, Zubrin Delivers The Most Important And Forward-looking Work On Space And The True Possibilities Of Human Exploration Since Carl Sagan's <i>cosmos</i>. <br><br>sagan Himself Said Of Zubrin's Humans-to-mars Plan, Bob Zubrin Really, Nearly Alone, Changed Our Thinking On This Issue. With Entering Space, He Takes Us Further, Into The Prospect Of Human Expansion To The Outer Planets Of Our Own Solar System--and Beyond.<br><br>an Exhilarating And Informative Ride. --<i>the San Diego Union-tribune</i><br><br>robert Zubrin Is A True Engineering Genius Like The Heroic Engineers Of The Past. --frederick Turner, <i>american Enterprise</i><p>robert Zubrin Is An Internationally Renowned Astronautical Engineer And The Acclaimed Author Of <i>the Case For Mars</i>. Nasa Recently Adapted His Humans-to-mars Mission Plan. A Former Senior Engineer At Lockheed Martin, Zubrin Is The Founder Of Pioneer Astronautics, A Successful Space Exploration And Development Firm.</p> <h3>publishers Weekly</h3> <p>astronautical Engineer Zubrin Stirred Up More Than A Few Imaginations With His 1996 The Case For Mars, Which Explained How And Why Humans Could Visit The Red Planet Cheaply And Soon. Zubrin's Confident Followup Divides Its Predictions And Programs Into Three Sections: The First Covers Near-term Projects In Earth Orbit, With A View To Commercial Possibilities. The Second Part Takes On The Moon, Mars, Asteroids And The Outer Solar System, And The Third Adopts An Optimistic View Of Interstellar Travel And Extraterrestrial Life. Zubrin's Range Can Amaze: He Begins With The Space Shuttle (misguided And Inefficient, He Argues) And Ends With Speculation About How Humanity Might Change The Laws Of The Universe. In Between, Zubrin (privy To Some Of The Dealings Involved) Shows How American Politics Quashed Recent Chances Of Cheap Space Flight; How Shake-and-bake Processing Can Profitably Mine Helium From The Moon; What We Can Do To Defend Life On Earth Against A Real-life Armageddon Asteroid; And How A Magnetic Sail Might Speed Up And Slow Down A Starship. Zubrin's Engineering Background And His Crisp Prose Make Him A Confident Explainer, As Technical As He Needs To Be But Rarely More So. Regular Readers Of Science Fiction And Anyone Else With High School Chemistry And Physics Will Understand His Arguments About The Engines, Ships And Industries He Proposes To Create. His Gung-ho Clarity May Even Raise Suspicions, Especially When He Moves From Physics To Metaphysics: Will The Species Really Stagnate Unless We Become A Type Ii Civilization? But Anyone Who Cares About Space Travel Will Care About Some Part Of This Book. While Some Will Gravitate To The Near-term Proposals, Others Will Happily Escape Their Pull And Reach, With Zubrin, For The Stars. Agent, Laurie Fox Of The Linda Chester Literary Agency. (sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.</p>