The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility

I want to give this book 5 stars for its vision, boldness, and optimism; 2 stars for its... naivete?.. and, as I shudder at my own "wokeness," blinkered history; and 3 or maybe 4 stars for schematic programs or predictions or what-ever it is best to call them. So I have to settle for a 3-star overall rating.

Leaving aside the other stuff, I did find some of the "technical" discussion on asteroid mining, settlement, etc. annoying for one recurring reason. He likes to say things like 'having solved the problem of getting stuff into orbit on the cheap, we'll need to sort out settlement on the asteroids; and once that is done, we'll be able to mine and ship back metals in bulk by extracting them and storing them by transforming them via the show more reaction X Y(CO)4 ...' So that he's giving very specific e.g. proposed chemical transformations (nevermind how you would actually get the reactions done) AFTER completely glossing over setting up mining operations and settlements on asteroids. He might as well have included 30 significant digits in all his thrust/impulse figures. Anyway, that kept sticking out to me like a splinter in a sore thumb.

His optimism on human shittiness is well received, generally, and, damn do we need it given the atmosphere of defeatism, self-flagellation, etc. that has taken over the (in particular) left in the US... but is TOO optimistic. People are in fact shitty, and we need to think about that in planning for the future, not just write it off. show less

In addition to being a pretty accurate and concise walk through of the various technologies that are, or will soon, enable increasing spacefaring, it contains a moral case for exploring space, and a modern defense of classical liberalism.

Glad I read it because there was some great ideas that I never considered. Although his points are very one sided. He mentioned too many formulas and details that went over my head.