Skylife: Space Habitats in Story and Science [Hardcover]

Gregory Benford (Editor), George Zebrowski (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 21, 2000

Respected science fiction author-editors Gregory Benford and George Zebrowski present an anthology, with unique color illustrations, that is filled with the excitement, poetry, and adventure awaiting us in the limitless final frontier that is the sky. For years, science fiction has portrayed humankind growing away from the cradle of Earth through spacecraft, space stations, and space homes. Skylife features stories by such masters of science fiction as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Larry Niven, Joan Vinge, and James Blish-in addition to several essays by scientists-all of which come together in one spectacular volume to provide a picture of our possible future beyond Earth.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Will we ever colonize space, and if we do will our settlements be more like EPCOT Center or a trailer park? Skylife: Space Habitats in Story and Science takes a broad-ranging look at space colonies through the eyes of some of this century's greatest science fiction writers. Edited by Gregory Benford and George Zebrowski, the volume is largely optimistic, even given the writers' urgent need to pose problems for their characters. Arthur C. Clarke's 1957 story "The Other Side of the Sky" contains nearly every important element of today's (and tomorrow's) space program: communications satellites, space shuttles, and orbital stations. David Brin's "Tank Farm," as grim and bleak as its title, still offers hope against the technological and psychological barriers to space travel. Thirteen other pieces, including one each by the editors and nonfiction by Larry Niven and Isaac Asimov, round out a collection spanning 60 years of forward thinking. The editors' introduction is an absorbing, concise history of the collusion between scientists and authors to imagine and promote space colonization, from Jonathan Swift to Gerard O'Neill and Freeman Dyson. Seven full-color plates illustrate conceptions of our future extraterrestrial life that are alternately high-tech and idyllic. As the space program returns to public prominence, we would do well to consider the words of those who have already thought deeply about how we can best adapt to space. --Rob Lightner

About the Author

Gregory Benford is a professor of physics at the University of California at Irvine as well as a critically acclaimed author of science fiction. He is also the editor of Nebula Awards Showcase 2000. He lives with his wife in Laguna Beach, California.

George Zebrowski taught one of the first full-credit courses in science fiction at SUNY Binghamton. His novel Brute Orbits won the John W. Clarke Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of 1998. He lives near Albany, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1st edition (April 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151002924
• ISBN-13: 978-0151002924
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,798,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect blend of science and fiction, June 9, 2000

By 

Louise Marley "Louise" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skylife: Space Habitats in Story and Science (Hardcover)

This is a terrific book, containing knowledgeable and reliable science explorations of the possibilities of living in space with some of the best hard science fiction writers' stories treating the same subject, like Greg Bear's WIND FROM A BURNING WOMAN. SKYLIFE ought to be in every middle and high school library! It also reads beautifully as entertainment.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sci Fi Foundations of Space Science, September 7, 2006

By 

Orville B. Jenkins "Research Guy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skylife: Space Habitats in Story and Science (Hardcover)

A collection of science fiction short stories portraying situatoins of otherworld settlements by humans and the cultures they developed. Writers explore how human societies might develop in non-Earth environments: other planets, planetoids, multi-generation colonization ships, mining colonies on asteroids, and such.

It is a cultural or social collection from Sci Fi, in which various authors portraying their made-up universes and worlds, or various aspects of the quest to conquer pace.

The volume has an excellent introductory essay by the editors, providing a literary and technical foundation. This essay and introductions to each short story in the collection provides a technical reference for actual science and physics involved in the questions of space travel and related physics and engineering knowledge and design.

Many well-known science fiction writers have been very meticulous in their study and use of actual science, physics and other technical subjects, including sociology and economics. Many have been actual science consultants and have written as scientists in their own right. For instance, Isaac Asimov, had a PhD in Chemistry and was a university professor.

Many Sci Fi writers have had uncannily accurate prophecies and forecasts in their stories. Some have specifically dealt with the engineering details of science and its possibilities. This collection of stories provides interesting views of possible social and technical problems and successes in the attempts to establish living environments on artificial satellites, long-range colony ships and actual colonization of other worlds.

One story, "The Other Side of the Sky" by Sir Arthur C. Clarke was written in the 1950s. Yet all the details he describes here about space exploration are right.

It has sometimes been the case that NASA and other space strategists and engineers actually referred to Sci Fi writers as guides to techniques and design. In fact, some of you may have even seen Clarke on coverage of NASA space launches. Clark is a noted consultant on actual space technology. Some terminology now commonly used began in Sci Fi stories of the past.

This is the level of quality of this collection. Two new stories are included which were written just for this volume.