Becoming Spacefarers: Rescuing America’s Space Program by James A. Vedda; Xlibris Publishing; Bloomington, Indiana; Casebound Hardcover: $29.99; 2012.
Just in time for an election year!
The author has provided a no-nonsense review of what arguably seems to be the nonsensical and on-going twisted trajectory of U.S. space program. This is a well-reasoned and expertly researched book that is unique in its scope and issues covered.
Vedda’s book is carved up in several sections: The Dream, The Politics, The Future. One of his closing thoughts wraps up the space soup we’re in. “Instead of getting all dreamy about what we could do, or becoming irritated as pessimists carry on about what we can’t do…we can go out and try it for real.”
But just how can the space program rise above being a pawn, Vedda asks, in a highly-charged environment of politics, parochialism, and short-term thinking?
That being said, the author does provide an inoculation of common sense, as well as thought-provoking treatments to help cure some space program maladies.
Vedda is a senior policy analyst with a government contractor in the Washington, D.C. area, where he does research on civil, commercial, and national security space issues.
For even the most hardened space cadet, my advice is to lift up your helmet visor and take a clear, close read about good, bad, and muddled decision-making in the past – but more importantly, what’s needed to create a sustainable space agenda for the future.
For more information on this book, go to:
http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-0118399049/BECOMING-SPACEFARERS.aspx
By Leonard David