The Visioneers: How a Group of Elite Scientists Pursued Space Colonies, Nanotechnologies, and a Limitless Future Hardcover – December 9, 2012

In the early 1970's, after the cancellation of the Apollo lunar exploration program, a sense of gloom pervaded th popular culture. Movies like 'Logan' s Run' and 'Soylent Green' showed life in the future to be either nasty, brutish and short or decadent, meaningless and short. Into this, the Club of Rome released its work, Limits to Growth, a statement on the futility of attempting better living through technology.
Most people would be discouraged by such a work, but the heroes of this book took it as a challenge. Along the way, they managed to develop many of the technologies ,such as nanotech,personal computing and advanced space travel, that are making a difference today.
I feel honored to have met some of these people. This book is an interesting history of that time.

Visioneers presents a well documented history of two people who were strongly motivated to make substantial improvements to man's future, and were not necessarlily noticed by the popular press / media. A great book!

Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Before choosing to review this book, I had a chance to fan through it quickly. There, I found 26 pages of a thorough (fine print) index, 41 pages of (842 total) highly credible, wide-ranging, footnotes that revealed, depth, breadth, and an incredible wealth of knowledge. Footnotes included numerous interviews (in-person and by telephone). Just knowing, in advance, that the book was published by the Princeton University Press (2013) will give many potential readers pause, just as knowledge that the author is a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I realize, however, that a well-prepared index, thorough footnotes, a credible author, and a prestigious press, doth not a whole book make, but it was, indeed, these features that caused me to select this book.

For myself, an interest in science began as early as the eighth and ninth grades when my passions directed me toward a career in medicine, passions that did not cease until I was a sophomore in college--six years of predominantly math and science courses. Although the academic pursuit of math and science ended, the lifetime interest in these subjects continued unabated.

I found the author's writing style to be friendly and accommodating. It could have been a stilted, awkward, difficult academic book, but it wasn't. McCray is accurate, thorough, and insightful--and a very good writer to boot.

The word "visioneering" means, "developing a broad and comprehensive vision for how the future might be radically changed by technology, doing research and engineering to advance this vision . . ." (p. 13).

Although the book is expertly written, it should be clear that it is not for those who do not have a reasonable vocabulary. Here is a random excerpt to give you an example of McCray's language:

"O'Neill's plan for settlements in space was an amalgam of engineering-oriented conceptualizations coupled with established ideas about how technology had helped create modern American society. As a hybridized and evolving vision, O'Neill's advocacy of space settlements blended his fascination with large-scale engineering and his belief that technology could offset cultural stagnation. He also believed his plan offered pragmatic solutions to social issues" (p. 68).

The stories are fascinating, well-described, and fast-moving, the information is unique and unlikely to be found elsewhere, and the detail, depth, and intellectual significance of the material is overwhelming. McCray's credentials are appropriately and effectively displayed throughout the book, and, if you're a techie, this is a "must read." It is truly a technology-driven book whether it be space technology, bio-technology, microelectronics, or nano-technology.

What I found most fascinating was following the careers of these scientists--Gerard O'Neill and K. Eric Drexler. Where they began their education, what their interests in college were, what events or situations changed their lives, then what trajectory they chose to follow and how they did it, including, of course, the people, magazines, books, studies, articles, and experiences that caused them to contemplate or change directions. I loved following their publishing careers. Having been in "publish or perish" educational institutions myself, it was enjoyable seeing these men satisfy university requirements to publish and then some. McCray is an historian, and this is a history book.

How these scientists fought against conventional wisdom, countered mainstream thinking, and dealt with those who disparaged them or their work, added to the addiction I had to this book. In addition, I found it fascinating how these scientists, "by combining their broad views of the future with technical skills, experience, and research took speculative ideas out of the hands of sci-fi writers and technological forecasters and put them on firmer ground" (p. 273). This is truly a five-star book.

america is suffering from a vision deficit. it doesn't know where it is going or why. but one of the biggest visions in the history of humanity arose in the 1980s. and that vision is about to be the very picture of a paradise that we need to give our lives meaning today. this book is the story of that vision and its makers. read it. and think big.