"I want to show you marvels. Dreams, in technicolor, with sharp edges. I want to tell you something of the wonder and excitement of science; of the birth of the universe; of black holes, and cities of the future; of how man and computer may forge between them something greater than both; of the world of energy, from garbage to outer space; of worlds transformed, and how many may direct the evolution of stars. I want to show you a world that might be made."

So begins A Step Farther Out, Jerry Pournelle's visionary compilation of science-fact essays that he wrote between 1970 and 1977. Despite being older than many of today's readers, the book is still a fascinating look at the cutting edge of science. Remarkably, Pournelle had sufficient foresight to look at technologies that are still "future tech."

The preface, written by author Larry Niven (who co-authored a number of science fiction books with Pournelle), starts out with the words "Jerry Pournelle is out to make the whole world rich." Mr. Niven isn't kidding. Woven in with the fascinating and entertaining look at science and technology is a common thread: Pournelle's dream of seeing the whole world live as well as the United States. He has the knowledge and intelligence to be convincing. Pournelle opens his first chapter thus:

"Suddenly we're all going to die. Look around you: a spate of works...and organizations...all have the same message: Western civilization has been on an energy and resources spree, and it is time to call a halt."

He responds: "I don't accept that. I want Western civilization to survive; not only survive, but survive with style...I do not call it survival with style if we must remain no more than an island of wealth in the midst of a vast sea of eternal poverty and misery. Style, to me, means that everyone on Earth shall have hope of access to most of the benefits of technology and industry--if not for themselves, then certainly for their children."

The Four Dooms are famine, pollution, overcrowding and depletion of natural resources. He disposes of the them. Or, rather, he points out real solutions, if we just have the will to obtain them. You'll have to read the book to fully grasp his message, but here's a glimpse.

Can everyone live as well as people in the United States, and avoid the Four Dooms? Pournelle's answer is a resounding "yes," and he backs it up with strong, data-based arguments.

The Four Dooms assume that there's only one Earth. That there's only one place we can get water, food, minerals and space to live. That if every country were to live at the same level of affluence as the United States, we'd need two Earths to supply the raw materials, and there's only one Earth.

Pournelle points out that, for the purpose of the Four Dooms, there's more than one Earth. There's dozens. Venus, Mars, the Moon, Mars' moons, Jupiter's moons, asteroids. It's all there for the taking, if we just have the vision and fortitude to use it to save ourselves. One medium-sized, earth-crossing asteroid could supply enough metals that everyone on Earth could consume resources at the same level as the United States did in the mid sixties for a year. There are thousands of such asteroids out there. Depletion of natural resources can be put off to the far distant future.

Famine can be dealt with, for the foreseeable future, through better agricultural practices and electricity and resources for storing food. Pournelle shows the way to both agricultural practices and resources. His look at renewable energy sources is both fascinating and eye-opening. Some of the technologies he talks about are just beginning to be deployed commercially; others are still very much in the development stage, languishing for a lack of funding. Famine can be dealt with, if we really want to, as the saying goes, not by simply giving food to the needy, but by teaching them how to fish.

Pournelle shows that energy is, again, the solution for pollution, but so is development of space-based resources. Mining an asteroid, for instance, doesn't produce any pollution, because the mining happens in space. There's a third Doom down.

The last is population, and there Pournelle advocates improved education and a move off-world to the moon, Mars and the asteroids. There's an awful lot of elbow-room available up there.

Pournelle then goes on a journey through the universe and the human body, focusing on things like black holes, brain-enhancing implants and fusion. Much more is known about black holes than when Pournelle wrote, and work has progressed on fusion and implants. Still, Pournelle is intelligent enough and far sighted enough that his thirty year old essays are still interesting and topical.

This book had a profound impact on my when I read it twenty years ago, and even now when I have the education to evaluate his discussion with a more critical eye, it continues to be a valuable resource and source of inspiration. I hope that, if you can find a copy, you will find it equally thought-provoking and enjoyable.

Recommended: Yes