In 1957, a small group of scientists, supported by the U.S. government, launched an attempt to build a four-thousand-ton spaceship propelled by nuclear bombs. The initial plan called for missions to Mars by 1965 and Saturn by 1970. After seven years of work, political obstacles brought the effort to a halt. The Orion team, led by the American bomb-designer Theodore B. Taylor, included the physicist Freeman Dyson, whose son George was five years old when the existence of the project was first announced. In Project Orion, George Dyson has synthesized hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of pages of newly excavated documents, still only partially declassified, to piece together one of the most tantalizing "what if" stories of the twentieth century.

George Dysongrew up immersed in the world of groundbreaking science. His previous books include the acclaimedDarwin Among the Machines. He and his father, Freeman Dyson, are also the subjects of Kenneth Brower's classic profileThe Starship and the Canoe. Dyson lives in Washington State. In 1957, a small group of scientists, supported by the U.S. government, launched a serious attempt to build a four-thousand-ton spaceship propelled by nuclear bombs. The initial plan called for missions to Mars by 1965 and to Saturn by 1970.

After seven years of work, the project's technical challenges seemed surmountable, but political obstacles brought the effort to a halt. The Orion team, led by the American bomb designer Theodore B. Taylor, included the physicist Freeman Dyson, whose son George was five years old when the existence of the project was first announced. InProject Orion, George Dyson has synthesized hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of pages of newly excavated documents, still only partially declassified, to piece together a history of scientific dreams unrealized. Undoubtedly, the mission to build Orionvividly re-created by Dysonremains one of the most tantalizing "what if?" stories of the twentieth century. "[This] absorbing tale . seems little short of mind-boggling today."The Washington Post "Dyson tells [this] story with wit and humor .

and nicely [captures] both the oddness of the idea and the underlying logic that remains compelling to this day."The Seattle Times "Project Oriondescribes one of the most awesome 'might have beens' (and may yet bes!) of the space age."Sir Arthur C. Clarke "The sheer outlandishness of the forgotten space endeavor is nothing less than fascinating."Discover "[This] absorbing tale . seems little short of mind-boggling today."The Washington Post "Dyson tells [this] story with wit and humor . and nicely [captures] both the oddness of the idea and the underlying logic that remains compelling to this day.

"The Seattle Times "Shortly after the first Sputnik launch in 1957, an American scientific team proposed Project Orion, an enormous interplanetary spaceship propelled by exploding hundreds of nuclear bombs. The project commenced during the golden age of support for U.S. scientific research, but the team struggled to find ongoing funding. Civilian NASA found Orion unpalatable because of its inextricable link with nuclear weapons, while the military regarded the team's ultimate goalexploration of the solar systemas peripheral to their own space research program. As public opposition to atmospheric nuclear testing grew, making even a small-scale test shot politically unfeasible, the project died for lack of support. Dyson, son of physicist Freeman Dyson (himself an Orion consultant), interviewed team members and tracked down scores of technical reports to compile this unique history.".