Customer Reviews

Choice, Not Fate

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If I were still teaching at University, I'd require this book for every freshman student, regardless of their majors. It is the most succinct, readable, and thorough assessment of the importance of the space program that I have ever seen, and I've seen plenty of them. Want to know why the space program even matters? Read this book. Want to know how the space program can help us deal with global issues? Read this book. Want to understand what real benefits we get from the space program? Read this book.

In short - read this book.

The book is beautifully written, easily understood by anyone with a working knowledge of the English language. It manages to be both an enlightening primer and an advanced technological assessment - a rare feat, indeed.

In this excellent, thoughtful book, Dr. Vedda focuses on why substantial investment in space technologies (not space destinations) is vital to the nation's and planet's economic wellbeing, and possibly even survival. Space programs to date have focused on what he sees as short-term goals, like landing humans on the Moon, that can be characterized as "field trips" rather than long-term goals such as strengthening the economy, combating climate change, and otherwise improving the human condition through space technology.

The Earth is an open, not closed, system. For example, massive quantities of energy from the Sun sweep by us every second - the technology for capturing significant amounts of this energy in orbiting collectors and beaming it to Earth exists but requires focused investments in the needed engineering and demonstration of the concepts. However, a space project of this magnitude requires long-term planning and investment typically not supported by today's government and industry decision-makers.

Other options for the long-term future include moving manufacturing operations to space, mining minerals from extraterrestrial bodies (an answer to China having bought 98% of the Earth's rare-earth element sources?), and exploiting the microgravity and vacuum environments of space to make materials and medicines that cannot be produced on Earth.

Dr. Vedda's book provides an excellent history of space developments to date and clearly explains why rationales that justified the Apollo program (e.g., enhancing national prestige and creating secondary technological spinoffs) no longer apply in the present. He argues that there are compelling reasons to strengthen societal incentives for long-term thinking, planning, and economic commitments so we can start thinking seriously about where we want to be by mid-century. This book is recommended to anyone who is concerned about our nation's and planet's future.

For nearly forty years a vast omniumgatherum took seriously what it meant to be a good citizen of the space faring age. These "space fans" and professionals educated themselves and others (I was a free lance space journalist). As time passed and the better future of our shared vision mostly receded many of us fell away from the work. Each in his or her own way tried to make sense of events and cast blame. I blamed "the individual" (a general cultural decline), conservatives blamed politics and liberals blamed corporate greed. James Vedda chose the difficult path to answers and enlightenment: real study and cogent analysis. The result is this landmark work for the space community. Like the good captain, Jim steps onto the deck and in Choice Not Fate tells us where we are, how we got here, and how to get back on course.
The academic prose may not "speak to" everyone but it is well worth the effort. For the rest of us (those of us who prefer this direct report style), the book is an eloquent model of clear analysis, thinking, writing, direction, and instruction, leading to real understanding. I most highly recommend it. Thank you, Jim.

Because this book was published prior to Obama canceling America's manned space program (and a manned return to the moon) some of the connections made to our return to the moon are hollow.

Good Book.