The Song Behind Today’s Review Title

Today’s review title takes us back again to the 1980s, this time for The Waterboys 1985 song The Whole of the Moon. Coming out toward the tail end of the New Wave era the song did not chart well at first. But over the late 80s it grew in popularity and has become one of the Scottish band’s most recognized tunes.

I remember this song playing in the bars and WLIR-influenced dance clubs of the Connecticut panhandle when I lived there in my 20s, back in the mid to late 1980s. (For those not familiar, WLIR was a Long Island-based radio station that played new wave and alternative songs well before other stations picked them up. They had a strong following among the subset of then young and urban professionals who didn’t see themselves as “yuppies”, which included me.)

The song is a tribute to those who inspire — those who are able and unafraid to take the leap the rest of us cannot. For me the song fits today’s book for just that reason. Ariosto profiles a number of brilliant folks in this book who are on the leading edge of humanity’s space ventures, doing things well beyond my more modest capabilities.

See the Waterboys perform the song on the official music video here on YouTube.

On February 15, 2024, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center. On board was Odysseus, a moon lander built and operated by the American space exploration company Intuitive Machines (IM). When the lander successfully touched down near Malpert-A crater, 190 miles from the moon’s south pole, it became the first craft to soft land on the moon by a private company. It was also the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. Though it landed on an angled surface causing a 30-degree tilt of the lander, it remained functional and the mission was deemed a success.

Much of Open Space covers the current focus of space agencies around the world, and of the private space industry, on the importance of the moon. It is, once again, seen as a steppingstone to exploration of the rest of the solar system. The landing of Odysseus on the moon is the capstone of that portion of the book. It is, author David Ariosto says, a key part of an ongoing race to the moon between the US and China. He explores the current capabilities of the Chinese state run space program, and its main competitors. Those include NASA, of course, but his focus is on the host of private companies who today form the space exploration industry mostly based in the US.

From there Ariosto then looks at what might be next after conquering the moon. He explores current thinking (and capabilities) for journeying to Mars, and then potentially on into interstellar space. Most of what he reviews is hard science and technology and makes for interesting reading. The most “out there” is his coverage of the potential (and its currently ALL potential) for a Star Trek inspired “warp drive”.

The book is well researched and well laid out. For a science geek it’s a fascinating read. For anyone interested in the space industry it’s a worthwhile read, with the caveat that Ariosto’s deep dives may be a little too deep for casual readers. I was surprised, given the timing of its arrival, that there is comparatively little here about the Artemis program.

Read it for the deep dive into the current state of the space race, and the ongoing achievements that don’t get the headlines they deserve.

RATING: Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐

OVERALL COMMENTS: A journalist’s deep dive into the current state of the space race and ongoing space exploration that we seldom see in the headlines.

WHERE I GOT MY COPY: I received an advance reviewer’s copy of the ebook through NetGalley, and courtesy of the publisher Knopf. The book is available to the public starting today, March 24, 2026.

The other books on my nightstand over the last week:

ONE BOOK I’VE READ

Not the Usual Suspects was a gift from a friend. Subtitled Beyond the Batterer: Abusive Power in Politics, it’s written by Michigan-based author Pamela Jayne. She has spent over 10 years working with domestic abuse victims and batterers and focuses her understanding of batterers on power hungry politicians. Trump is definitely in her sights, and as she lays out her case, you’ll find yourself nodding at the number of similar behaviors that Trump, and his coterie of money and power mad hangers-on, have with domestic abusers. Independently published and a quick read. Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

TWO BOOKS I’M CURRENTLY READING

The Future Past by sh.chilli dreams (yes, that’s how they call themselves) is an independently published book that I won through a giveaway on LibraryThing. It promises to be a blend of ”romance, loss and time-bending sci-fi”. I’m fifty pages and so far it’s mostly romance. I am liking the writing style even as I don’t think I’ve hit the heart of the book yet.

Finally, American Scoundrel has been on my To Read list for a long time. I’ve picked it up and read bits at least twice before. I’ve picked it up again and am now about a third of the way through. The cover blurb calls this a true story of “murder, love and politics in Civil War America”. Hoping to finish in the next couple of weeks (in between other books).

WHAT’S NEXT

Next week I’ll be reviewing True Color by Kory Stamper. It promises to be an entertaining read from one of America’s favorite lexicographers. You can find a description of the book here.