Beyond
Our Future in Space
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Narrated by:
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Julie McKay
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By:
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Chris Impey
About this listen
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
A dazzling and propulsive voyage through space and time, Beyond reveals how centuries of space explorers - from the earliest stargazers to today's cutting-edge researchers - all draw inspiration from an innate human emotion: wanderlust. This urge to explore led us to multiply around the globe, and it can be traced in our DNA.
Today, the urge to discover manifests itself in jaw-dropping ways: plans for space elevators poised to replace rockets at a fraction of the cost; experiments in suspending and reanimating life for ultra-long-distance travel; prototypes for solar sails that coast through space on the momentum of microwaves released from the Earth. With these ventures, private companies and entrepreneurs have the potential to outpace NASA as the leaders in a new space race.
Combining expert knowledge of astronomy and avant-garde technology, Chris Impey guides us through the heady possibilities for the next century of exploration. In 20 years, a vibrant commercial space industry will be operating. In 30 years, there will be small but viable colonies on the Moon and Mars. In 50 years, mining technology will have advanced enough to harvest resources from asteroids. In a hundred years, a cohort of humans born off-Earth will come of age without ever visiting humanity's home planet. This is not the stuff of science fiction but rather the logical extension of already available technologies.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2015 Chris Impey (P)2015 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants.
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Chasing star stuff always results in technological advances
- By Richard Duede on 12-30-18
By: Natalie Starkey
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On the Future
- Prospects for Humanity
- By: Martin Rees
- Narrated by: Martin Rees, Samuel West
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes - good and bad - are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and best-selling author Martin Rees argues that humanity’s prospects depend on our taking a very different approach to planning for tomorrow.
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Science, the future, and great wisdom
- By Philomath on 10-29-18
By: Martin Rees
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
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The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
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End Times
- A Brief Guide to the End of the World
- By: Bryan Walsh
- Narrated by: Bryan Walsh, Corey Carthew
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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End Times is a compelling work of skilled reportage that peels back the layers of complexity around the unthinkable - and inevitable - end of humankind. From asteroids and artificial intelligence to volcanic supereruption to nuclear war, veteran science reporter and TIME editor Bryan Walsh provides a stunning panoramic view of the most catastrophic threats to the human race.
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Important topic ruined by needless political blather
- By J. Gordon on 08-29-19
By: Bryan Walsh
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Origin Story
- A Big History of Everything
- By: David Christian
- Narrated by: Jamie Jackson
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day - and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence? These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History", the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.
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A brilliant achievement, must read/listen
- By 11104 on 09-05-18
By: David Christian
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Know This
- Today's Most Interesting and Important Scientific Ideas, Discoveries, and Developments
- By: John Brockman
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Dan John Miller
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Scientific developments radically alter our understanding of the world. Whether it's technology, climate change, health research, or the latest revelations of neuroscience, physics, or psychology, science has, as Edge editor John Brockman says, "become a big story, if not the big story". In that spirit this new addition to Edge.org's fascinating series asks a powerful and provocative question: What do you consider the most interesting and important recent scientific news?
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Pete and Repeat and Re-repeat
- By Daniel L on 02-25-18
By: John Brockman
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About Time
- Cosmology, Time and Culture at the Twilight of the Big Bang
- By: Adam Frank
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Big Bang is all but dead, and we do not yet know what will replace it. Our universe's "beginning" is at an end. What does this have to do with us here on Earth? Our lives are about to be dramatically shaken again - as altered as they were with the invention of the clock, the steam engine, the railroad, the radio and the Internet.
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More fluff than science
- By Ivan the Reviewer on 04-15-13
By: Adam Frank
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Exoplanets
- Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System
- By: Michael Summers
- Narrated by: Jon Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than 2,000 exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, remarkable in their variety. Astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space.
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FINALLY, an Attention-Grabbing Planet Book!
- By aaron on 05-11-17
By: Michael Summers
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You Belong to the Universe
- Buckminster Fuller and the Future
- By: Jonathon Keats
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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A self-professed "comprehensive anticipatory design scientist", the inventor Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was undoubtedly a visionary. Fuller's creations often bordered on the realm of science fiction, ranging from the freestanding geodesic dome to the three-wheel Dymaxion car to a bathroom requiring neither plumbing nor sewage. Yet in spite of his brilliant mind and lifelong devotion to serving mankind, Fuller's expansive ideas were often dismissed, and have faded from public memory since his death.
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Bucky, Bucky, Bucky
- By Amazon Customer on 08-25-18
By: Jonathon Keats
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Tomorrowland
- Our Journey From Science Fiction to Science Fact
- By: Steven Kotler
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, Discover bestselling author Steven Kotler has written extensively about those pivotal moments when science fiction became science fact...and fundamentally reshaped the world. Now he gathers the best of his best, updated and expanded upon, to guide listeners on a mind-bending tour of the far frontier, and how these advances are radically transforming our lives.
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Covers a lot of different topics in many industries
- By ErnieA on 06-27-15
By: Steven Kotler
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The Disappearing Spoon
- And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Reporter Sam Kean reveals the periodic table as it’s never been seen before. Not only is it one of man's crowning scientific achievements, it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
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Great Book, Great Narration, But...
- By Henny Button on 09-18-10
By: Sam Kean
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The Science of Rick and Morty
- The Unofficial Guide to Earth's Stupidest Show
- By: Matt Brady
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Blending biology, chemistry, and physics basics with accessible - and witty-prose, The Science of Rick and Morty equips you with the scientific foundation to thoroughly understand Rick's experiments from the show, such as how we can use dark matter and energy, just what is intelligence hacking, and whether or not you can really control a cockroach's nervous system with your tongue. Perfect for longtime and new fans of the show, this is the ultimate segue into discovering more about our complicated and fascinating universe.
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Some good science in here?
- By Darin Harbert on 02-06-20
By: Matt Brady
What listeners say about Beyond
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- Sean D. Mcclinton
- 06-12-15
Great overview of space history and future.
Just the right level of technical mixed with a practical and common sense approach. Highly recommend for those looking to contribute to humanity's future in space in some way.
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 01-10-16
OTHER WORLDS
After listening to Chris David Impey’s book, “Beyond: Our Future in Space”, traveling to other worlds seems distant and practically un-achievable. Impey cleverly begins his story about space travel as though the first human who permanently leaves earth is born in the 21st century. Impey’s novelist beginning is revisited twice, but the true subject of “Beyond: Our Future in Space” is the physics, astronomy, and observational cosmology of the present day.
One presumes Impey’s purpose is to encourage the possibility of reaching the stars but by the end little optimism remains with the listener. The daunting tasks of overcoming gravity, surviving an inhospitable environment, and leaving the only home humans have ever known proffers a gob of pessimism. Some minor relief is offered with a comparison of human migration across the continents in earth’s history but one questions the analogy. With that correlation, Impey speculates that history’s adventurers on earth have something in common with future adventurers in space.
In support of Impey’s speculation: In ancient history, who would have thought human beings would sail for a new world when many thought sailing from land meant you would fall off the edge of earth? Maybe that is where space exploration is today. Impey’s fictional character arrives at an exoplanet with her team. She and her team are at the end and beginning of “Beyond: Our Future in Space”. Now that is optimism.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Ursula
- 09-07-15
Superb intro to the wonders of space travel
I found this book to be a mesmerising account of space travel; where we've come from, what's the current situation, and what are the likely horizons ahead. Impey has a beautiful command of the English language and his writing was intellectually and linguistically stimulating. He attempts to be quite comprehensive but his accounts are brief; however, I felt this to be perfectly adequate for someone new to this topic. More than this would have been overwhelming as a start. The choice of narrator was intriguing as I think the initial expectation is that a man would narrate a book like this, so I enjoyed the alternate approach. I have not listened to many female narrators but I felt that Julie McKay did a good job, she has a pleasant voice and narrated with appropriate feeling for a non-fiction book. I highly recommend this to anyone keen to learn more about space and space travel, and I have purchased another Impey book.
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- Adam
- 08-17-15
Good, But a Bit Pedantic
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I am a big fan of Chris Impey's work and brilliance, but I was disappointed by the fact that this book is fairly pedantic, with low horizons.
It's pitched as an insider's look at futurist speculation about our prospects for space exploration. In practice, it's more of a TED talk for why we should invest in current space science.
I'm a huge supporter of space science, so I am sympathetic to this impulse, but I'm left wondering who Impey and the publishers imagine as their audience.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
For a young student or layperson mostly new to these topics, it's a pretty good survey of the present and near-ish future. However, works of popular science are generally read by well-informed amateurs and professionals from related fields -- i.e., people who are already fairly conversant in the topic.
That's the demographic I fit, and if that is you as well, then most of this book consists of history, science, and technology that you've probably learned about more than once from other sources.
There is also a rather tedious amount of detail on this decade's business leaders in the space industry, which mostly reads like a series of "Who's Who" bios + business plans. That's the section most like a TED talk and most exasperating.
Only the last 3 chapters out of 11 (a bit under 2 hours) really get into speculation about the future. That material was much more interesting, but felt totally inadequate given how long I waited for it.
I certainly don't begrudge a choice to write an "Intro to Space Exploration, Then and Now," but that's not how this book has been portrayed in its promos, NPR interviews, etc -- the focus has almost exclusively been on the "juicy" stuff at the end, which only comprises a couple podcasts worth of material.
Would you listen to another book narrated by Julie McKay?
Additionally, Julie McKay's narration was somewhat exasperating and further reinforced the sense of being subjected to a TED talk.
She is clearly quite skilled and professional so this may just be a discrepancy in my aesthetic, but she read the book with frequent use of two particular intonations that I found frustrating. First, she often adopted a tone of exaggerated wonderment, as if to say, "It might sound crazy today -- but hey, it could happen. You just don't know." Second, she also frequently adopted a chiding tone, as if repeating a cliche scold: "If you fail to plan -- well. That's a plan to fail."
It would be unfair and simplistic to say that's all her narration consisted of, but for me, all the forced profundity eclipsed the otherwise very competent and appealing aspects of her voice and delivery. And that mix of faux wonderment + smug chiding is exactly the kind of patronizing delivery endemic to the delusional nonsense preached by the cult of TED.
That said, this sort of issue may well have been a production / direction choice. I haven't heard other works by McKay, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy one -- I think it was just performative choices specific to this book that I didn't care for.
Do you think Beyond needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
As for a follow-up book, I see no particular point unless Impey were willing to write an entire book expanding on the futurism of the last few chapters. A popular-science review of the sort of scholarship and speculation being produced by organizations like "100 Year Starship" is what I was really expecting and hoping for. But that's not so much a follow-up as an alternate book.
Any additional comments?
In summary: Non-essential listening, but recommended for young listeners and newcomers. Recommended with reservations for listeners versed in this topic.
That said, Chris Impey's work is definitely worth exploring in other volumes. I haven't heard other works read by Julie McKay, but I'm certain her other work elsewhere is also excellent and worthwhile.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Alexander Tuzhikov
- 12-02-16
brilliant!
this is a very well written, relatively short and informative book, the narrator is a very experienced person, her voice sure supplements the excellence of this audiobook.
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- Jonathan
- 06-13-18
Right Narrator?
I felt that the narrator was not the best fit for the book and it’s content. Her intonation and vocal fry would have been a better fit if I was getting relationship advice, rather than the latest thinking on human space travel.
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- David Larson
- 12-19-16
Performance driving me mad
The reader has this strange stilted style that puts all the emphasis in the wrong place. It doesn't actually make any sense, so I never finished listening to the book because it was so distracting.
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