The Tower of Babel

I was just made aware of another book (published in August of 2011) that has a Space Elevator as a “major player”.  This book, The Tower of Babel: NASA’s Great Endeavor, was written by Dr. Victor Nelson.  We hadn’t heard of him and he hadn’t heard of ISEC until very recently.  After some brief correspondence with ISEC’s Bryan Laubscher, Dr. Nelson made the very generous offer that any revenues he receives from selling his book from now until the end of the current Space Elevator Conference will be donated to ISEC.

Thank you Dr. Nelson!

Bryan has ordered his copy and I’ve just ordered mine (via Kindle – I love my Kindle – thanks wife!).

The obligatory ‘dust jacket’ description:

Earth has survived into the third decade of the twenty-first century, but the United States and Communist China have become embroiled in a deadly space race. Whoever succeeds will have a dominant advantage in colonizing Mars and producing military bases in deep space and on Earth’s moon. Although the Chinese have a head start with their project, a recently revivified NASA has developed new technologies that will gain for them a competitive edge. The Chinese will stop at nothing to obtain this classified information and to destroy the American scientific leadership. Magnus Kolden, a brilliant scientist, was oblivious to the ominous signs of trouble and disaster when he was appointed as NASA’s project leader. He has never had an interest in the military applications of this technology, but only in its use for the advancement of science. Nevertheless, he will have to lead the Americans to victory in the largest space endeavor in the history of humankind. A life-long dream of creating a better way to travel into deep space has come with a heavy price. Magnus finds himself pitted against a ruthless enemy agent organization and also against Islamic extremist terrorists. Both organizations will stop at nothing to terminate his pursuits. He is fighting for the safety of his family, his life, and his dreams. Many internal and external forces may sabotage his success. A cataclysmic event will change the course of the story. What revelation will be thrust upon Magnus Kolden?

It sounds very interesting and I will probably delve into it during my plane ride home.

So, buy the book and benefit ISEC – thank you again Dr. Nelson, and I hope to get to meet you at a future event.