A press release from Anna Hartman of Mind Buck Media:

What do the greatest science minds of our day think of interstellar travel? World-renown scientists, among them Stephen Hawking, Freeman Dyson, and Gregory Benford, have come together in the forthcoming anthology Starship Century to puzzle together the feasibility of traveling to another star within the next 100 years.

More than a theoretical science book, Starship Century combines hard fact essays with science fiction, thus illustrating the common foundations that scientists and science fiction writers share and the mutual respect that will drive the future of space exploration.

Will we be able to achieve interstellar travel in the next 100 years? This groundbreaking book is the foundation that long-distance space travel is based on. Even with budget cuts and worldwide recession that have slowed the space exploration’s forward momentum, Starship Century proves that interstellar travel is possible.

As this book was being created, word came that an Earth-sized planet had been discovered circling Alpha Centauri B, one member of the three-star system closest to us. This rocky planet around our nearest neighbor has ignited interest in sending probes there, as a first venture into interstellar space. Whatever the reason, there is a growing interest and effort toward the greatest challenge we can imagine. To begin exploring other stars within a century opens up grand panoramas. Scientific, technical, biological, social, and economic challenges abound. But we can now see how to meet those challenges. Despite all the difficulties, interstellar travel is possible.

A pivotal event took place in October 2011: the 100 Year Starship Symposium. Its goal was first to set a bar high enough and hard enough to seriously challenge the next generations. With help from the finest minds in science and literature, this anthology continues the work of engaging, explaining and inspiring the grand mission of space travel. Starship Century is a ground-breaking anthology of science and science fiction based on findings and discussions of the 100-Year Starship Symposium.

Starship Century will be published by Microwave Sciences on August 13, 2013, in both print (ISBN: 978-1-939051-29-5) and epub (ISBN: 978-1-939051-30-1) versions. The 334-page volume lists for $28.00.

Authors include:

Science writers: Stephen Hawking, Freeman Dyson, Martin Rees, Paul Davies, Robert Zubrin, Peter Schwartz, Geoffrey Landis, Ian Crawford, James Benford, and John Cramer.

Science fiction writers: Neal Stephenson, Gregory Benford, Stephen Baxter, Allen Steele, Joe Haldeman, David Brin, Nancy Kress, and Richard Lovett.

For more information, see www.starshipcentury.com.