Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, Issue 45 — page 141: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION precession is induced, (f) it is impossible to utilise more energy than is available. Authentic has been pointing out for some time that it is not a good thing for British authors and publishers to help perpetuate what is con- sidered to be a thoroughly unscientific and unworkable design. Even though Temple’s book is for children—or may- be even because of that—there is no excuse for the author’s ignoring the dicta of his intimate astronautical expert friends. That, though, is the only fault we can find with THE TRUE BOOK OF SPACE, and it certainly is not big enough in this instance to prevent anyone’s buying the book. * Somewhat similar to the above is the COMPLETE BooK OF OUTER SPACE, published by Sidgwick & Jackson (44 Museum Street, London, W.C.1) at 10s. 6d. Only, in this case, it is difficult to recommend. The title seems to have little bearing on the contents, for outer space is dealt within only one chapter; the rest concerns the ordinary matters of interplanetary flight. The whole book is American and has been pub- lished by arrangement with the Maco Magazine Corpora- tion, but it has one British article—‘Interstellar Flight,” by L. R. Shephard. The book is spoilt by the illustrations— the non-photographic ones— for these are fantastic in the extreme and bear little relation to the teachings of science. The text is rather better, but not a lot. The authors are mainly those who have ap- peared in the other American books of this type—Across THE SPACE FRONTIER, MAN ON THE Moon, also published by S. & J. Whereas the first two were pretty good, this one is not. And—our old hobby-horse!—it, too, per- petuates the ridiculous cart- wheel space station. * Two highly recommendable books come from Odhams Press (Long Acre, London, W.C.2). One is MODERN SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED at 25s. The other is THE MODERN SELF-EDUCATOR, at the same price. Very often books of this kind are not very good value, but we have no hesita- tion whatsoever in saying that 50s. spent on these two titles is money very well spent by any science fiction reader who has had no academic training 140 comiclooks.cormn