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wynnnie's review against another edition
4.0
Re-read.
Just like the book. Space things & O’Neill Cylinders. One of my favourite books as a teen. Rating is partially due to fondness, because I don’t feel I can accurately rate it. Very formative book.
Has some hilarious quotes about people that I should use more often.
Just like the book. Space things & O’Neill Cylinders. One of my favourite books as a teen. Rating is partially due to fondness, because I don’t feel I can accurately rate it. Very formative book.
Has some hilarious quotes about people that I should use more often.
Finally, as we strive to find solutions to the physical problems faced by mankind, we must realize, with humility, that we can offer no panaceas. There are no Utopias.
Mankind does not change, and retains always the capacity for evil as well as for good.
Will the space communities be free of conflict, free of misery, free of sadness?
Certainly not, as long as they are human.
Also, this one - which was very scandalous:
Finally someone named a delightful sport that, even in these uninhibited days, is carried on only in private. The skeptic instantly became a believer: can one imagine a better location for a honeymoon hotel than the zero-gravity region of a space community?
And finally, something inspirational for all those space activists:
"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow."
But actually, that’s just O’Neill quoting Goddard. Another cool Rocket dude.
robotswithpersonality's review against another edition
Way more approachable than I thought it would be. A balance of feasibility from a technical standpoint as well as economic. Appreciate the emphasis on environmental, humanitarian considerations and justifications for developing space habitats.
I particularly enjoyed the the sci fi moments, where the author writes letters from the perspective of fictional people inhabiting these new habitats, we life a little sci fi in the middle of the science! If you like the nitty gritty of the Red, Green, Blue Mars series, I think you'll like this.
I have to admit, it's the first time I remember encountering engineered space stations/habitats, versus terraforming a planet, as the FIRST choice for carrying human civilizations into space. You see them in sci fi films, but the idea of it being actually more feasible, more beneficial is not one I'd considered before.
The emphasis on staging so that the required investment makes sense, see a return early enough to keep people supporting the project, go from manufacturing to larger habitats, supplying the Earth with solar power while the Earth supplies the habitats with things it can't get until it's set up with asteroid belt harvesting/homesteading to get what they need...and possibly go further from Earth...seems doable!
The digression into what ifs about the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life, was amusing, if a bit flimsily connected to the main purpose of the work.
I figure the need to keep meat and dairy sources as sources of protein, 'for the children' would be deemphasized in an age with tastier vegan options, and the recognition of widespread lactose intolerance, especially since the author acknowledges the infeasibility of cattle for early habitats, to paraphrase, not a good enough exchange of plant matter required to feed for end product. 😬
The whole New World analogy reaallly aged badly:
No nuance to the multiple mentions of 'hostile Indians' as an obstacle space settlers won't have to face. YIKES.
There's definitely bleed through from a time when the frontiersman, the 'settling of America', colonialism were ideas that held only romance for White westerners. 'Our pilgrim ancestors', again YIKES.
All of which is to say...I think if this book was written today, it would probably phrase a few things differently, add in whatever technical knowledge has been gained in the intervening fifty years, and as a result calculate the time table differently. But so much of what O'Neill describes, even to someone whose eyes tend to glaze over when financial or technical details are discussed, feels reasonable and in the eventuality that Earth becomes unliveable, (because otherwise I'm staying on solid ground!) and desirable. He had me as soon as he described the size dimensions and the amount of greenery, and animals, really. 🤷🏼♂️
I can't judge him too harshly for being hands off when it comes to speculating about how human society and government will develop in their new habitats, because we've definitely proven ourselves unpredictable as a species. I remain hopeful that if we all had a bit more space, and a bit more hope, things could work out better for all.
I particularly enjoyed the the sci fi moments, where the author writes letters from the perspective of fictional people inhabiting these new habitats, we life a little sci fi in the middle of the science! If you like the nitty gritty of the Red, Green, Blue Mars series, I think you'll like this.
I have to admit, it's the first time I remember encountering engineered space stations/habitats, versus terraforming a planet, as the FIRST choice for carrying human civilizations into space. You see them in sci fi films, but the idea of it being actually more feasible, more beneficial is not one I'd considered before.
The emphasis on staging so that the required investment makes sense, see a return early enough to keep people supporting the project, go from manufacturing to larger habitats, supplying the Earth with solar power while the Earth supplies the habitats with things it can't get until it's set up with asteroid belt harvesting/homesteading to get what they need...and possibly go further from Earth...seems doable!
The digression into what ifs about the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life, was amusing, if a bit flimsily connected to the main purpose of the work.
I figure the need to keep meat and dairy sources as sources of protein, 'for the children' would be deemphasized in an age with tastier vegan options, and the recognition of widespread lactose intolerance, especially since the author acknowledges the infeasibility of cattle for early habitats, to paraphrase, not a good enough exchange of plant matter required to feed for end product. 😬
The whole New World analogy reaallly aged badly:
No nuance to the multiple mentions of 'hostile Indians' as an obstacle space settlers won't have to face. YIKES.
There's definitely bleed through from a time when the frontiersman, the 'settling of America', colonialism were ideas that held only romance for White westerners. 'Our pilgrim ancestors', again YIKES.
All of which is to say...I think if this book was written today, it would probably phrase a few things differently, add in whatever technical knowledge has been gained in the intervening fifty years, and as a result calculate the time table differently. But so much of what O'Neill describes, even to someone whose eyes tend to glaze over when financial or technical details are discussed, feels reasonable and in the eventuality that Earth becomes unliveable, (because otherwise I'm staying on solid ground!) and desirable. He had me as soon as he described the size dimensions and the amount of greenery, and animals, really. 🤷🏼♂️
I can't judge him too harshly for being hands off when it comes to speculating about how human society and government will develop in their new habitats, because we've definitely proven ourselves unpredictable as a species. I remain hopeful that if we all had a bit more space, and a bit more hope, things could work out better for all.
scheu's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book more for what it represents than for the actual content. A shining dream that if not for the Challenger and Columbia disasters, and NASA's woeful management of the space program, might be partly realised today. This is the future I always wanted to live in growing up, the clean and white-plastic future of 1970s films and Vincent di Fate paintings. Something hopeful. May it yet come.
chalicotherex's review against another edition
3.0
Hard to tell if this is naïve or way ahead of its time. I mean, there's nothing that I know of that's strictly impossible in here, but it's almost forty years since publication and our one fully functional space station is nowhere near the Islands or Bernal Spheres that the author outlines. I think the big thing stopping us is the sheer cost of getting a payload out of our gravity well, something O'Neill doesn't really address and that a lot of people mistakenly thought would just get easier as time moves on. I think the shuttle program was probably a huge setback for the space program in this regard.
In the news today, a Canadian (!) firm announced they'd patented a mini-space elevator (space tower?) which could be the answer. Though a large amount of skepticism is necessary. It probably won't work. But wouldn't it be something to try?
In the news today, a Canadian (!) firm announced they'd patented a mini-space elevator (space tower?) which could be the answer. Though a large amount of skepticism is necessary. It probably won't work. But wouldn't it be something to try?
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