Iowa Books

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This book has many practice questions and practice tests, but NO ANSWERS. Which means that the parent has to take the tests and answer all the questions to be able to see if the child is answering them correctly.

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Space policy is a dynamic area in public policy today, but this superficial treatment fails in so many ways that it is detrimental to its readers.

The book is divided into six parts, the first of which is a cursory treatment of spaceflight history. Modern rocketry and the history of human and robotic spaceflight, both American and Soviet, are presented in just 19 pages. The remainder of the book deals with the international and domestic "inputs" to the space policy arena (Parts 2 and 3), "conversion" by institutions (Part 4), and "outputs" of programs and technologies (Part 5). The final part consists of one chapter delineating Goldman's personal recommendations for the U.S. space program.

Goldman seems convinced of the logic of presenting topics in this order, but the novice reader is more likely to be confused than enlightened. United Nations space treaties are the first order of business, followed by chapters on U.S. public opinion and space interest groups. While these are important subjects, the uninitiated reader is given no framework in which to fit them until Part 4.

Part 4, covering space policy institutions, should be the book's focus and strength, since it treats the presidency, executive agencies, the Congress, and the judiciary. Instead, these institutions are glossed over in a mere 42 pages, with little or no discussion of important areas like NASA's hierarchy and field centers, relevant congressional committees, or the federal budget process. The section on the judiciary is particularly disappointing given that the author is a lawyer. Scarcely more than one page, it gives a litany of court cases, only one of which had any marginal effect on space policy, yet it omits legal confrontations with significant policy implications.

The most annoying aspect of the book to the informed reader, and the greatest disservice to the uninformed, is the extraordinary number of factual errors throughout. Goldman constantly uses the wrong names for institutions, organizations, and projects, and occasionally misplaces affiliations. Many dates are incorrect. He misunderstands operational aspects; for example, he defines geosynchronous orbit improperly, and elsewhere states that the space shuttle orbiter gets its power from solar arrays. These problems are evident on almost every page.

It is hard to understand why Goldman's research should be so sloppy, given the ease with which the information in question can be obtained. Checking the references in the appendix, one finds that too much reliance is placed on questionable sources.

The publisher should also share some blame. There's no evidence that anyone knowledgeable reviewed this book before its publication. Pass this one by, and keep searching for a better book of more recent vintage. A good choice, though pricey, would be "Space Politics and Policy: An Evolutionary Perspective" edited by Eligar Sadeh.