INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL & MULTI-GENERATIONAL SPACECRAFT, Edited by Yoji Kondo, Frederick C. Bruhweiler, John Moore and Charles Sheffield, 2003, 126p., Hard Cover with Dustjacket $24.95, ISBN 1-896522-99-8

From Dustjacket:

Interstellar Travel and Multi-Generation Space Ships is a collection of impressive papers which were presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Symposium of the same name, held in Boston, Massachusetts on February 15, 2002.

Considered are not only the technical issues, which are formidable, but also the social and "human" issues that will impact (and perhaps be impacted by) mankind’s excursions to other star systems.

The questions of whether we should be embarking upon interstellar journeys, and when, have been debated for decades. Many people are in favor of it simply because they are "pro-space" and their arguments are more a matter of passion than defensible technological and social facts. There are those, however, who more than make up for the rest in terms of justifying the pursuit of interstellar flight.

Some of the contributors to this volume have made names for themselves as science fiction writers, but before they were writers they were accomplished and respected scientists. They and their colleagues have given us much to consider in this volume with its comprehensive assessment of our ability and our reasons for going to the stars. These are the facts - presented by some of the top names in the field.