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Buy Mining The Sky: Untold Riches From The Asteroids, Comets, And Planets (Helix Book) by John S. Lewis available and for sale on Brightsurf
| View Larger Image | Mining The Sky: Untold Riches From The Asteroids, Comets, And Planets (Helix Book)
by John S. Lewis
| | List Price: | $16.00 | | Price: | $14.40 | | You Save: | $1.60 (10%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 259907 | | Studio: | Basic Books | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 274 | | Publication Date: | September 22, 1997 | | Publisher: | Basic Books |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
While we worry over the depletion of the earth’s natural resources, the pollution of our planet, and the challenges presented by the earth’s growing population, billions of dollars worth of metals, fuels, and life-sustaining substances await us in nearby space. In this visionary book, noted planetary scientist John S. Lewis explains how we can mine these precious metals from the asteroids, comets, and planets in our own solar system for use in space construction projects. And this is just one of the possibilities. Join John S. Lewis as he contemplates milking the moons of Mars for water and hollowing out asteroids for space-bound homesteaders—all while demonstrating the economic and technical feasibility of plans that were once considered pure fiction. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 25 reviews)
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Non Fiction 
Mining the Sky : Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets
by John S. Lewis takes a balance looked at the possibilities and/or necessities of space exploration and exploitation for economic reasons.
There are a lot of resources out there, and finite resources here, and he looks at both private and public involvement in the activity.
September 03, 2007 | |
Now I see how it can be done 
A short way into this book, I went to the back of the book to see if the author is a journalist or a real scientist. That's because it was so well written. He's a scientist alright. And, it wasn't long before I encountered the dense exposition I expected.
So, there's a dusting of light reading, especially the scifi scenes that serve as introductions to each chapter. The craftsmanship of those would make a professional scifi writer envious.
Then there's the info-packed core of each chapter. My chemistry and astrophysics is practically non-existant and I couldn't keep up, but I got the gist of it. I still appreciated the effort to explain things. Other authors would skip the explanation and merely state the conclusion. That would leave me wondering how trustworthy that statement was.
In the end, I felt I had a good overview of how the future might take shape.
I should warn you of that, at the start of the book, the author presents a version of 15th century Chinese explorations (he doesn't mention the name 'Zheng He') that is a little shakey historically. But blaming "the court eunuchs" makes too good a metaphor to let that get in the way. However, for a couple chapters at the end of the book he turns preachy -- essentially labelling dissenters from expansion into space as "court eunuchs", then disassociating himself from the political left and right by sloppily redefining their positions. I guess he couldn't trust us to make our own way thru political thickets. Fortunately, the just-the-facts bulk of the book make up for these few tantrums.
July 28, 2007 | |
Amazing and important book, even 10 years later 
This is a wonderful book. The author lays out, very plainly, how the vast resources of the solar system will enable a prosperous future for 10 quadrillion people within half a millenium, and at the same time save the Earth from the economic and ecological dangers it now faces.
Parts of the book are a bit dated now, including the "new afterword by the author" which was written in 1997 (only a year after the book was first published). I'd love to see a new edition that takes into account the developments (or lack thereof) of the last ten years. But the vast majority of the book still applies just fine. I highly recommend this book to anyone with any concern about humanity's future.
January 09, 2007 | |
This needs to be required reading in schools
Mining the sky is an encouraging answer to those who worry about overpopulation, global warming, and environmental degradation. It challenges us to expand our limited perspective and seek solutions to the worlds problems in unconventional places. Lewis very logically and reasonably explores the potential wealth of our solar system, and lays out a very feasable framework to follow in order to utilize the seeminly unlimmited resources in our backyard.
January 01, 2007 | |
Makes One Think
Mining the Sky is an excellent book for any person who has had any association with earthly mineral extraction and the potential for utilization of space-based resources on the Moon, Mars, and Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs). While the book is nearly a decade old, the primary message remains poignant and relevant even more so in the 21st Century. It is my hope that the author will do a second edition in the near future. With recent robotic missions to the Moon, Mars, asteroids and comets having taken place since the book was first published, I am certain that there is even much more to now be said about the economics of space-based mineral commerce.
January 01, 2006 | |
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