Societies in Space

The Author: Alvin Rudoff is Professor Emeritus at San Jose State University in the Sociology Department. A graduate of the University of California - Berkeley, he has taught at Berkeley, Chinese University - Hong Kong, and the University of Maryland in Japan. He is the author of two books, five monographs, and some twenty journal articles, and many special reports. Societies in Space is the outcome of a sabbatical with NASA.

"'Societies in Space' awakens social scientists to the importance of their disciplines for space developments. It gives any interested reader a realistic history of space science and what the future involves. It is not difficult to read. The style is respectably academic but not pedantic and avoids all ideological postures, especially those seeking Utopia way out there.
Rudoff's book is an overwhelming statement. The summary in Part I gives the novice who knows just snatches of space developments an impressive run-down on what has been created and who did it. The discourse in Part II reminds the reader that human relations and an awareness of how people interact are as important to the success of Space Settlements and their later orbiting Communities as the hardware they are made of.
In 'Societies in Space', Rudoff shows great vision, an ability to generalize, a vast sweep of knowledge, and a capacity to integrate separate and over-lapping disciplines into a coherent whole. It is a summons to all readers, all scientists and technicians, whether physical or social, to a unified partnership in the space frontier." (Dr. T.C. Esselstyn, Emeritus Professor, Sociology)