4 user reviews

• Wei Long Excellent Book but for China Bashing

  At 254 pages, over three dozen charts and an equal number of tables as well as a price of 25-30$, the book is a steal. The only lack of objectivity one comes across is when the author goes into China's space program. The same details and number of charts which support his analysis of China's space program are absent with regards to the US's. The author only briefly talks about the US which is the primary agent of space weaponisation. All said and done, it does look at the entire affair from an Asian rather than American point.The book is certainly noteworthy for its objectivity and originality from this standpoint. The Chapter on space law is good, but the author should have taken it forward by giving recommendations on how to arrest the space weaponisation trend driven by the US. Overall, the book is a work of great merit and originality.

• karen braithwiate Book-Review: Space The Frontiers of Modern Defence

  An unsolicited book-review is mostly "an experiment with truth". The truth is the above book is amongst the few in its genre to meet the challenges of simplicity, objectivity & balance. The information on military space affairs is enormous, the analyses is absolutely rivetting. For a change a perspective that is not judgemental; it rather leaves the judgement to the author. At the same time the subject inspite of its complexity is fast-paced and gripping. The author's examination of space militarisation programs in Asia is an eye-opener; the kind non-proliferation activists need to refer to before going into an anti-US overdrive on space weaponisation. The fifth chapter on space law is one of the few treatises which manages to endure interest till the end. All-in-all, absolute value for money unlike most things in an Indian Bazaar.

• Brig RS Anand (Retd) A Breath of Fresh Air; Nair's Book on Space

  One is generally inundated with retired military brass airing their greviances while in service and blaming everybody but themselves for all and sundry. It is here that the young Sqn Ldr's book makes a great difference. He deals not with past lament but future remedies. He has come straight to the point, handled the subject with enormous maturity and knowledge, analysed the prevailing situation and suggested recommendations. The subject has been handled very lucidly. In brief, no lies, no loose talk, no shit ----strongly recommended for anybody wishing to up-date with military space matters. There are two good chapters on space law and the commercial aspect, nevertheless, the military part is most interesting.

• K Srinivas Rao First Sensible Documentation on India's Aerospace Command

  For the first time ever one finally seems to understand what the Indian Air Force means when it cries itself hoarse over an "Aerospace Command". Apart from the other virtues, its felt that is the outstanding quality of this book. The title, actually is a misnomer & could have done with a more general title. It actually gives an impression that its contents are all military, which is nopt actually so. Apart from the last three chapters which are largely of military use, the rest of the chapters are good for getting acquainted with the subject. More importantly, it clarifies what a military might use in space and whether there is a need for a dedicated payload or otherwise. Excellent for reference because of the large quantity of data available as charts tables etc, in one case the number of footnotes run into 8 pages!!! Going by the writing here, one cannot say the military is not clear of what it is talking. Perhaps, this is a case of civilian s not listening. Surprisingly, a good read in spite of the military character.