Customer Reviews

Spacecraft, 2000-2100 A.D.: Terran Trade Authority Handbook

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cowley's series was known as the TTA for Terran Trade Authority handbooks. Contrary to some of the above posts the series had four books. Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD, Great Space Battles, Spacewreck (ghostships and derelects of space) and Starliners. The art work in all four which I have is very good, however sometimes the stories don't match the pictures very well. The stories are well done and they give a good sense to an interesting universe I am sorry we did not get to see more of.

Take artwork of spaceships, say from the cover of books or from magazines, and write a history around each one, listing why they were made, what they did and what happened to them. Now put all this ships into a book, split the book into three parts: military, commercial and special function, add a timeline, blueprints and specifcations. Not only did I enjoy the book, but I even recognized much of the artwork used.
I just wish there was more to the book and that the 'history' had more 'meat' to it. I may look for other books by the same author.

This is a very great book with very detailed paintings of future warships and a good description to go along with each one, a must have for anyone who loves art, sci-fi, Space, war, or new ideas (or any combination of such), or is just interested in seeing what it is. No computer 3d stuff, just pure imagination. There is none of that old sci-fi pulp magazine rockets and UFOs and many of the starships in the book would put many of the spaceships used in movies today to shame (by judging how they looked like).

My favorite warhip has to be the Wasp

I read these books as a kid in the early 80's, and I haven't seen them anywhere since. I wish the publisher would reprint them, because, as I recall, the stories and the artwork are better than most of the sci-fi you hear about today (Star Wars & Star Trek included). The stories are basically a future history, but only going forward about one-hundred years or so. Definately worth buying if you can find a copy...

I buy these Cowley titles for the concept art and this one is good, but not as good as some of the other titles. This one is about half the size of Spacebase, and I was hoping to see more artwork. I like it nonetheless, but I noticed that some of the art is duplicated in Spacebase. So, when you consider that it is already thinner, and some of the artwork is duplicated...you may want to put your money on Spacebase 2000.

Read the book as a child and loved it. It's taken me almost 15 years to track down and procure a copy - well worth a look (and still hunting for the other two by the same author)

Ever since I first got this book out of the library, oh, thirty years ago, I've simply adored this book. It has great artwork (although, sometimes, it doesn't make sense--like why is there an antique car getting blasted by one of the ships taking off?); and has been a great influence on me. I've spent countless hours making catalogs of spacecraft and compiling future histories (not to mention writing my own), all because of this one book. (Well, this one and The Third Millennium by Brian Stableford). My one complaint is that sometimes the artwork doesn't quite match the descriptions. And I would have liked to have some sense of the scale of the spacecraft portrayed (but that's not really a major ding against the book). Otherwise, it's a fantastic book.

Well writtten and drawn although outdatted but it was originally written in 1978 and I'm still waiting for my fying car and teletransporter but still imaginative and the art is superb.

This book is one of my all time favorites. I have read it over and over many times in the last fifteen years. The best part is that now some of Cowley's future history is coming true. Not the parts about space ships and intersteller battles, but the TTA (Terran Trade Authority) around which the books are written has now been born. The TTA is the supreme governing body of the 21st century. Today, at the dawn of the 21st century, the WTO (World Trade Organization) has already become more powerful than the United Nations after only five years in existence. As such it is the most powerful international organization in the world! Cowley even got the name right!

I have three of the four books in Mr. Cowley's series (Spacecraft, Spacewrecks & Great Space Battles). I enjoy the photos and short stories. They are written as "historical" stories and I enjoy looking at the future as though it were the past. I wish more books were writen about this unique universe (TTA).