Another Book Review: The Starflight Handbook

Here's the other book I mentioned that I thought some people might find
interesting:

"The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer's Guide to Interstellar Travel" 
by Eugene F. Mallove and Gregory L. Matloff, 
published 1989 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN:  0-471-61912-4

I bought this book just before my last big move, and never got to read
it.
I'm doing so now, and really finding it informative. It's basically a
one-volume survey of possible technologies for interstellar travel. The
book
is written for non-scientists; most of the technical data is in
sidebars, to
be skipped or studied as you prefer. (If you skip the sidebars, then the
only
math you need is being able to read scientific notation -- and there's a
refresher course on powers of ten in an appendix for those who have
forgotten
even that!) 

The bulk of the book focuses on possible propulsion systems, including
various types of rockets, nuclear pulse, beamed energy, solar sails,
fusion
ramjets, ion scoops and others. It also discusses nearby star systems,
navigation, scientific payloads, suspended animation and the like. 

I suspect a lot of hard-science types might find this book pretty
elementary,
but for "poets & lovers" like me, it's a great overview of what possible
technologies exist today.

Scott Field

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY: A term used by psychologists to describe any
household
occupied by two or more related individuals.