Emigrating Beyond Earth puts space colonization into the context of human evolution. Rather than focusing on the technologies and strategies needed to colonize space,the authors examine the human and societal reasons for space colonization. They make space colonization seems like a natural step by demonstrating that if will continue the human species'4 million-year-old legacy of adaptation to difficult new environments. The authors present many examples from the history of human expansion into new environments,including two amazing tales of human colonization - the prehistoric settlement of the upper Arctic around 5,000 years ago and the colonization of the Pacific islands around 3,000 years ago - which show that space exploration is no more about rockets and robots that Arctic exploration was about boating!
MEDIA REVIEWS
Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York Inc.ISBN: 9781461411642Number of pages: 290Weight: 538 gDimensions: 240 x 168 mmEdition: 2012
MEDIA REVIEWS
From the book reviews:
"This book would be a good introduction to the idea of space colonization for those who otherwise might consider it as an utopian idea while reading about the technologies necessary for transporting hundreds of people to distant locations in the Solar System and possibly terraforming a planet.'Emigrating Beyond Earth'shows it all more in a way that's easily understandable and logical without too much previous knowledge."(Kadri Tinn,Astromadness.com,September,2014)
"A basic premise of this work is that'human migration into space will be the continuation of the natural process of evolution.'...the authors examine the pros and cons of colonization and conclude that it both can and should be attempted. To support their case,they note some potential catastrophes that could lead to the extinction of humans,and believe that space colonization may be necessary for the survival of the human species....Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates and general readers."(T. Barker,Choice,Vol. 50 (6),February,2013)
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