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During the 1960s, in an age when the height of technology
was a crackly AM transistor, Star
Trek envisioned
a time when communication devices worked without wires. William
Shatner takes us on an adventure to discover the people who
are working on the future and explores the realms of what
was once considered to be science fiction and could soon become
science fact...
I'm
Working on That seems such an obvious idea for a book
that I can't help but wonder why it hasn't been thought of
before. Call me a cynic, but I can't help but wonder whether
this was original the brainchild of Chip Walter and that Shatner
came along for the ride - from a marketing point of view it
makes sense to have Shatner's name blown up nice and big on
the cover.
However,
regardless of who is behind this book it is still an interesting
read. The title, for those of you who were wondering, comes
from a throw away comment that professor Stephen Hawking once
made while visiting the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
While walking around the Enterprise's engineering set Hawking
noted the warp engines and commented: "I'm working on that."
The book looks at faster than light travel, even commenting
that warp engines nearly didn't make it on to Star Trek.
Apparently another form of propulsion that was being looked
into was the Bussard Interstellar Ramjet.
The
transporter technology is also discussed in detail and the
possibility of being able to be beamed around is being looked
into seriously - it is theoretically possible and research
is ongoing into this area. There are also chapters devoted
to AI, cloning and robotics.
The
book is crammed full of interesting research and you don't
have to have a PhD to understand it. Also, should you wish
the authors have provided a good list of Internet links if
you feel you want to dig out more info (or the latest information
as it happens).
This
is a great read, although it is a shame that there was no
index to allow the reader to dip in and out at their leisure.
Nick
Smithson
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