COLONIZING THE PLANETS AND STARS

How do you choose members of a space colony? Who should go along? Who would stay on Earth? What are the possibilities, problems, and far-reaching implications of settling outer space? These are just a few of the fascinating questions raised as Isaac Asimov takes on a topic that is popular, intriguing, and for him a personal favorite: how, why, and whether to people other parts of the Universe.

This is a more than usually speculative entry in “Isaac Asimov’s Library of the Universe,” but is still interesting and worthwhile. Of course, our vision of how the colonization of space will proceed shifts rapidly—it is certainly vastly different from what was thought when I was growing up not all that long ago—and so this book won’t be really current for very long. Still, it should remain an interesting read for younger children. And for adults—well, adults would be better off reading Asimov’s sf.