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The issue of space has perhaps been over-emphasised and it is essential that processes of everyday existence, such as globalisation and environmental issues and also notions such as gender, race and ethnicity, are looked at with a balanced time-space analysis.This work undermines the old certainties of time and space by arguing that these dimensions to not exist singly, but only as a hybrid process term.

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Space exploration has always been one of the country's most expensive undertakings. The first moon landing cost $21 billion in 1969 dollars. The International Space Station currently under construction will cost at least $65 billion by the time it is finished. A single flight of the reusable space shuttle costs $400 million. In Faster, Better, Cheaper: Low-Cost Innovation in the U.S. Space Program, Howard E. McCurdy examines NASA's recent efforts to save money while improving mission frequency and performance.

Faster, Better, Cheaper takes its title from the initiative of the same name, which officials at NASA adapted after the high-profile failure of the Mars Observer spacecraft in 1993. Although that expedition was conceived in 1981 as the last in a series of lower-cost missions, its budget by launch had grown from $250 million to more than $800 million.To compensate for research opportunities lost during the hiatus since the last Viking mission in 1976, scientists in 1992 added numerous instruments while technicians added equipment to guard against failure. This effort should have resulted in a more reliable and better- performing spacecraft, and yet, as the Observer approached Mars on August 21, 1993, it disappeared.

McCurdy details the sixteen missions undertaken during the 1990s—including an orbit of the moon, deployment of three space telescopes, four earth-orbiting satellites, two rendezvous with comets and asteroids, and a test of an ion propulsion engine—which cost less than the sum traditionally spent on a single, conventionally-planned planetary mission. He shows how these missions employed smaller spacecraft and cheaper technology to undertake less complex and more specific tasks in outer space. While the technological innovation and space exploration approach that McCurdy describes is still controversial, the historical perspective on its disappointments and triumphs points to ways of developing"faster, better, and cheaper" as a management manifesto. ... Read more

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Managing Space Exploration--It's Not as Easy as it Looks
During the early 1990s NASA undertook a set of low-cost space science mission that became known as the "faster, better, cheaper" program. It was not really a program, of course, but more of a mantra, and Howard E. McCurdy's important study of the trend in the 1990s helps to explain what it was and what it was not. It emerged in the aftermath of the loss of the multi-billion dollar Mars Observer spacecraft in 1993, when NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin announced that he could no longer abide the building of "Battlestar Galactica" type space probes. NASA had to find a way to accomplish low-cost missions to the planets. McCurdy notes that one of the fundamental tenets of the program management concept was that three critical factors--cost, schedule, and reliability--were interrelated and had to be managed as a group. He also notes that managing for all three proved exceptionally difficult; if program managers held cost to a specific level, then one of the other two factors, or both of them to a somewhat lesser degree, would be adversely affected. The "faster, better, cheaper" concept tried to squeeze each of these issues--although many said you could successfully "pick two" to control rather than all three--but remarkably NASA project managers did so with some success.

McCurdy first identifies the missions that fell into the "faster, better, cheaper" model. These included: NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous), Mars Pathfinder, Lunar Prospector, Stardust, Deep Space 1 and 2, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Climate Orbiter, Mars Polar Lander, SAMPLEX, Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST), Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS), Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE), and the Lewis and Clark probes. Out of these 16 missions, five failed to achieve their objectives. Two of the failures were spectacular--Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999--some were equally spectacular such as Mars Pathfinder in 1997 and Lunar Prospector in 1998. Others, such as Mars Global Surveyor, continue to deliver path-breaking scientific data.

After describing the missions and their outcomes, McCurdy then tallies the parameters that led to the success of these missions. These lessons learned included:
1. Use cohesive technical teams with authority to do the job.
2. Maintain visibility through reviews
3. Use a design-to-cost philosophy
4. Apply risk management techniques
5. Use experienced personnel
6. Establish good communication
7. Conduct better up-front planning
8. Have clear requirement definition
9. Use technology with an appropriate readiness level

This is a valuable study written for the project manager seeking to complete a successful high technology effort on schedule and on budget. It is an easy read and worthwhile for anyone seeking knowledge on how NASA has been able to accomplish its complex tasks. McCurdy undertook this study for the NASA History Division while I was Chief Historian, and the result helped to reshape the project management approach at the agency. I highly recommend "Faster, Better, Cheaper."

The Goldin Days...
Pathfinder to Mars was the highlight of Faster, Better, Cheaper and Howard McCurdy's book provides an overview of the management there through effective comparisons. The book is instructive as to the management of high-tech space projects during NASA's Dan Goldin years. Nonetheless, it appears that management can achieve only two elements of the triade of FBC at any given time effectively. Pathfinder was a remarkable exception to the general rule.

Great Analysis of NASA's successesand failures in the 90s
This book examines in great detail why FBC was needed and what its impact was.McCurdy looks not only at the successes like Mars Pathfinder but also examines FBC's failures.His analysis helps highlight the pros and cons of FBC, an understanding that will help the reader understand NASA's space exploration program.
One of the most interesting parts in this book is the comparison of Pathfinder and Viking and the breakdown in costs associated with the two. It also explores the kinds of decisions that went into MPF to dispel the myth that Viking created in that space exploration required multi-billion dollar missions. ... Read more

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Event planning never stops. This industry goes 24/7, 365 days a year. Planners work evenings, weekends, and holidays, often far away from their home base, organizing and running events that simply must go on, and go smoothly. Missing a critical deadline is not an option in the event planning field. Time management errors can cost a company a potential sale, lose them an existing customer, and damage their professional reputation.

Burnout and chaos are real risks in this hectic world of deadlines and multiple projects. Planners often find themselves working down to the wire against crushing deadlines and a mountain of obstacles that impede their progress. Too frequently, there is not enough time to get the job done properly, let alone to spend on personal or professional pursuits. And for many involved in the event planning field, there is the extra dimension of travel to factor in, juggling multiple projects on a daily basis across a multitude of time zones.

For smooth event implementation, and for business success, it is essential that planners know how to manage their own time as well as they manage an event. Time Management for Event Planners teaches readers how to successfully manage their workload, and do what matters most, when it matters most:

• Analyze and prioritize tasks.
• Structure your workload and your day for maximum performance.
• Identify red-flag activities that hinder productivity.
• Reduce stress-producing time crunches.
• Identify when extra help is needed, as well as how to delegate, outsource, and even partner with suppliers in crunch periods.
• Work with rather than against deadlines.
• Save time using technology.
• Manage multiple projects, even in multiple time zones.
• Balance your personal and professional life.

Customer Reviews (1)

Time management tips
I enjoyed the book, though I think it should be more interactive and with less text. ... Read more

Product Description

This work investigates the permissibility and viability of property rights on the celestial bodies, particularly the extraterrestrial aspects of land and mineral resources ownership. In lay terms, it aims to find an answer to the question "Who owns the Moon?"

The first chapter critically analyses and dismantles with legal arguments the issue of sale of extraterrestrial real estate, after having perused some of the trivial claims of celestial bodies ownership. The only consequence these claims have on the plane of space law is to highlight the need for a better regulation of extraterrestrial landed property rights.

Next, the work addresses the apparent silence of the law in the field of extraterrestrial landed property, scrutinizing whether the factual situation on the extraterrestrial realms calls for legal regulations.

The sources of law are examined in their dual dimension – that is, the facts that have caused and shaped the law of extraterrestrial real estate, and the norms which express this law. It is found that the norms and rules regarding property rights in the celestial realms are rather limited, failing to define basic concepts such as celestial body.

The following chapter examines precisely this issue, pondering whether asteroids and comets are immovable land-like territorial extensions that cannot be legally appropriated, or floating movable goods, capable of being captured and reduced into private ownership. The employment of the spatialist and functionalist approaches, the use of the criterion of actual movability from orbit by human action, and original theories such as the analogy between the legal status of asteroids and icebergs, are considered, concluding that some extraterrestrial resources are not, legally speaking, celestial bodies.

An examination follows of the relationship between appropriation under international law, and civil law appropriation, namely whether the non-appropriation principle in the Outer Space Treaty on the international plane, results also in the prohibition of the appropriation of the celestial bodies on the private property rights plane. It is offered that, while appropriation of land can exist outside the sphere of sovereignty, its survival is dependent upon backing from a sovereign entity, yet such endorsement would be unlawful as a means of national appropriation.

The next chapter answers to the main question of this thesis, offering that de lege lata the extraterrestrial realms, as a commons, belong to "everybody and nobody". The contents of Res communis is duly scrutinized. Res publica is then presented together with the "Public Trust Doctrine". The commons regime currently accepted by most space actors is being challenged on two fronts. On the left, the adepts of the Common Heritage of Mankind paradigm have enacted the Moon Agreement, effectively planting the Marxist standard in the lunar soil. The egalitarian regime of extraterrestrial resource development would sanction the culture of entitlement, favouring a "fair outcome"

over "fair process". Such an approach has failed on earth and is poised to fail in outer space, as argued in the following chapter.

On the right, the adepts of the "frontier paradigm" seek to promote individualism, competition, economic liberty, efficiency and laissez-faire economics – all linked to a privatization of the international public domain. The frontier paradigm has proven its worth on our planet, and it most likely will do so in the extraterrestrial realms. Property rights are a useful engine and, in al likelihood, a precondition for pushing forward the development of the extraterrestrial realms. Securing property rights would be more beneficial to humankind, compared to the alternative of keeping the extraterrestrial realms undeveloped.

The last chapter addresses the lex lata status of materials extracted from the Moon, these pertaining to the legal category of movable goods. Several viewpoints are presented, the conclusion being the permissibility, under the current regulations, of extracting and appropriating extraterrestrial material - be it as a scientific sample or as a commercial commodity.

Customer Reviews (1)

Superb Legal Text
This is a superb legal examination of the question of 'Who Owns the Moon'.It is wide ranging yet concise in its facts, arguments, references, and conclusions.Pop debunks the legal myths out there and provides a rational, pragmatic, and logically legally correct summary of the question at hand.His work is highly recommended and I would suggest a must read for all practitioners and students of law, most especially space law. ... Read more

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Financial fluctuations were generally neglected in classical ecnomics and their basic statistical properties have only recently been elucidated in the emerging field of econophysics, a new science that analyzes data using methods developed by statistical physics, such as chaos, fractals, and phase transitions. This volume is the proceedings of a workshop at which leading international researchers in this discipline discussed their most recent results and examined the validity of the empirical laws of econophysics. Topics include stock market prices and foreign exchange rates, income distribution, market anomalies, and risk management. The papers herein relate econophysics to other models, present new models, and illustrate the mechanisms by which financial fluctuations occur using actual financial data. Containing the most recent econophysics results, this volume will serve as an indispensable reference for economic theorists and practitioners alike. ... Read more

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The International Activities Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) recognized, in the early 1990s, that the nature of international space cooperation was evolving and that the opportunities and benefits were increasing. It therefore initiated a series of workshops to bring together experts from around the world to address key issues arising from this new environment.

During the First Workshop, the focus was exclusively on government-to-government relationships. In recent years, investments in commercial space activities have increased to a level where they now exceed government space spending. This trend is expected to increase for the foreseeable future. Against this background, international cooperation now plays an increasing role in the business plans of the industrial space sector and in the relationships between governments and the space industry. These new relationships have been the focus of more recent workshops.

The current report summarizes the outcome of the activities of the Fifth Workshop in the AIAA series, entitled "International Space Cooperation: Solving Global Problems." The Workshop took place in Bermuda, 12-15 April, 1999. It was co-sponsored by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UN/OOSA), the Confederation of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS), and the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI). The Workshop was one of the officially designated preparatory activities of the UNISPACE III Conference.

The Workshop continued the successful format that has been refined over the previous four workshops: the attendees divided into five working groups, each exploring a topic of relevance to the international space community at this particular point in time and the role international cooperation plays.

Three Working Groups concerned with space commercialization, satellite navigation, and the use of space assets for disaster management continued deliberations initiated at previous workshops. Two new Working Group topics were introduced at the present Workshop concerning Earth observation data distribution and facing issues arising from the increasing number of satellites in orbit.

In the course of their deliberations, the Working Groups were asked to keep in mind, where appropriate, the needs of the developing countries, the UNISPACE III Conference having been designated as the venue for the report release. Release will occur at a special session of the Conference, on 20 July, 1999, before an audience of government delegates, representatives of international organizations, and industry. The outcome of this session, including the Workshop Report itself and a summary of discussions, will be included in the Proceedings of the Conference. It is expected that a number of the Workshop recommendations will be considered by the governmental delegates for endorsement and inclusion in the "UNISPACE III Report and Plan of Action" to be adopted by the Conference.

At the time the Workshop took place, an issue of major concern to the world space community was the implication of stricter enforcement by the U.S. government of its export control regulations, in the face of perceived threats to its national security, engendered by technology transfer. A number of Workshop participants devoted time, outside of the Workshop proper, to discuss this issue. Although not appropriate for inclusion in the current report, the content of these discussions will be addressed in other forums. ... Read more

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Governance in outer space defines principles for several different sets of relationships, such as those between people or organizations on Earth; between people and organizations on Earth and their colleagues on temporary or permanent missions in space; or people on Earth and inhabitants of near or deep space societies; or space societies interacting with one another. These relationships have given rise to what lawyers call "Astrolaw" (involving space habitat societies and related business or activities), and "Spacelaw" (referring generally to political/commercial interactions among Earth inhabitants conducting space activities from the home planet). "Space Governance" is primarily about Spacelaw. This book is intended as a reference work related to the future development of living in space. It addresses the history and pattern of national and international governance of space activities, and the consequential issues being discussed regarding the desirability and workability of an international or global space agency. ... Read more

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Dynamical systems provide powerful methods for the study of profound properties of many-dimensional nonlinear systems. In this unique book, the authors offer a consistent geometrical treatment of observational cosmology from the concepts of the theory of dynamical systems. The dynamics of clusters of galaxies differ drastically from stellar dynamics, thus requiring a mathematical approach to large-scale problems. Since mathematical techniques are not a familiar tool in this field, a full summary of the elementary ideas of differential geometry, ergodic theory and catastrophe theory are also considered in this exploratory text. ... Read more

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Most Americans equate space exploration with NASA, but the general public is largely unaware that hundreds of passionate individuals and private organizations are working to allow ordinary people the opportunity to tour near space and to create permanent human settlements on Mars and other celestial bodies. Through a series of fascinating interviews, this book introduces the scientists, astronauts, engineers, and entrepreneurs behind the private space movement and offers a clear-eyed assessment of their prospects for success. The legal, ethical, and political challenges facing the exploitation of space resources are also explored, and issues such as environmental responsibility, safety, law enforcement, property rights, patents, and government policy are discussed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Sets the stage
So much has happened since this book was written. The Space Shuttle Columbia, sadly, was lost on reentry. Scaled Composites won the X-Prize. The X-prize organizers founded the Rocket Racing League (RRL). These are major power quakes in the space field. You'd think Berinstein's book would now be hopelessly out of date. Not so.

In these pages, you'll find the back story behind many of the ideas and personalities driving private space activity today. The interviews are really insightful, and the author profiles just about everybody: Buzz Aldrin, Jim Benson (whose SpaceDev built the engines for Scaled Composites's X-prize winning flights), Peter Diamandis (X-prize and RRL founder), Prof. John Lewis (asteroid expert and author of Mining the Sky), Denis Tito (first private space traveler), Robert Zubrin (author, The Case for Mars) and many more. She lets everyone tell their own story, then provides her own viewpoint, which is sometimes slightly critical (though for truly deep criticism, see Weil's "They All Laughed at Christopher Columbus" or Benjamin's "Rocket Dreams").

Berenstein does leave out a few important figures, such as hotelier Robert Bigelow and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. But it was not for lack of trying. Bezos is still keeping mum about his secret rocket company (Blue Origin) and Bigelow wasn't talking much about his inflatable space stations in 2002.

Berenstein's book sets the stage for today's flurry of activity in private space. If you want a good introduction to the people behind it, this is a great place to start.

A good survey book
This is a good survey book for getting up to speed on what's happening in private space development. It's quite exciting to see all the different activities currently happening with private space.

Berinstein covers many different bases. She talks to people inside and outside of NASA and the aerospace establishment, and people from countries other than the US and Russia. She covers politics, with Charles Miller's Prospace organization. She discusses a wide variety of private space efforts, including the Space Frontier Foundation, the Mars and Moon societies, Applied Space Resources, and Spacedev. She also delves into less technical subjects such as ethics, philosophy and property rights.

Some of the most interesting parts of the book are on the history of private space through the post-Apollo letdown of the 70's and 80's. Some recent successes have been many years in the making, in particular NASA's recent friendliness to private space.

It's also fascinating to see the personal histories of space activists. Knowing what Peter Diamandis, Rick Tumlinson, Jim Benson and others have been up to for the last 10 or 20 years makes them all the more interesting, and in some cases inspiring.

My only qualm with the book would be that Berinstein sometimes gets off on tangents, or poses lots of open-ended questions. She does a fairly detailed analysis showing that women are underrepresented in space, and technical fields in general. An important subject, but this is hardly news, and it seemed to distract from the focus of the book.

As of Jan 2005, the book has become somewhat dated. Sometimes in pleasant ways, as with Scaled Composites' X prize win. I'm also unable to find any current info on google about Applied Space Resources, a company featured prominently in the book.

Aside from a couple minor qualms, this is an expansive book, one that makes it easy to get excited about the opportunities for private space. A good jumping-off point for getting more involved in this area.

Coming: Access to Orbit
"Making space happen" is for me a phrase that conjures up visions of the world as portrayed in "2001: A Space Odyssey". But of course the world portrayed in that 1968 film -- one with routine space travel -- has not come to pass. Now, 45 years beyond our first, tentative journeys into space, that situation begs the question: Why not?

Paula Berinstein's book is a valuable component of the answer to that question. One reason is that Ms. Berinstein understands business and finance. Indeed, she makes her living advising others on business ventures. For this book (her sixth), she spent three years researching the economics of such ventures as tourism in space, and interviewing many of the movers and shakers in this burgeoning, but largely unnoticed, area.

Its publication is well-timed, for today the biggest barriers to getting into space are not technical ones; they are political and economic ones. This is why business sense is the important asset. Good businessmen with an interest in space -- space entrepreneurs -- are not so common as the techies; but they do exist. This book profiles a number of them, revealing that while getting into space is no cakewalk, it need not be as difficult as the powers that be maintain. One example is the chapter on Jim Benson. He took a look at NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission, with its $250 million price tag, and decided it could be done a lot cheaper by the private sector. A feasibility study done in 1997 by industry experts confirmed that $25 million would do it. An order-of-magnitude cost reduction is not bad. (And note that this is with the existing stable of launch vehicles -- themselves much more expensive than they might be.)

Each chapter deals with one aspect of the problem (human health in microgravity, funding space ventures, insurance, laws, etc.) and profiles an individual or team of individuals actively working in that area. Those profiles include generous portions of the interviews with the subjects. Along with these interviews, some surprisingly candid, come cogent discussions of the relevant issues, supported where applicable by numbers. At the end of each chapter, Ms. Berinstein gives her own opinion of the facts and views just presented. These opinions reflect her admitted bias in favor of routine space travel, but are often skeptical about specific points.

Following the 20 chapters and an epilog on Dennis Tito, there are four appendices that go into greater detail about space tourism market issues, market surveys, regulatory issues, and propulsion. A bibliography, a glossary, a biographical sketch of the author, and a very thorough index round out the book. There are also 29 color and three black-and-white plates, many from photogrpahs taken by Ms. Berinstein herself.

I'd say this very readable book is a worthwhile introduction to some people who, relatively obscure today, might be making us all sit up and take notice in just a few years.

Out of this World
This is a great book for long time space enthusiasts as well as those who have just caught the space bug.

This isn't a book about NASA or its programs, though she does discuss them.This is about private citizens who are trying to make space accessible to you and me.

She brings most of the players (individuals and organizations) into this book and what the current burning issues are.There are some people that I wish she would put into the book but this is a very minor quibble.

Her book is an easy read.It doesn't get bogged down in technobabble.She lets the people profiled in this speak themselves through long interviews.

The statistics and data she presents are well placed thus not becoming a distraction or interrupting the flow of reading the book.

There are some people that I didn't know even though I keep up to date on private endeavors.She also brings people in other countries who are involved in private space efforts which is good.We need to know more about what's going on in other nations and what their attitudes are regarding private space efforts and opinions on space generally.

This is a very informative book.She's fair and balance presenting the pros and cons of what it takes for private citizens to get into space.

She presents her opinions at the end of most chapters in a section clearly highlighted as opinion.Her book has helped me crystallized some half form opinions about some of the individuals and organizations that are involved in private space efforts.

If you're interested in who's making things happen space for us and what their technology, plans, and goals are, this is the book.

Good job, Paula!

A remarkable book on the "Other Space Program"
Making Space Happen fills an important void in the dialog and literature on space exploration, exploitation and the future. Reading the visions and realizing how much is underway to achieve dramatic new breakthroughs is exhilarating. Telling these stories by bringing the cast of characters from out of the mainstream fully into the discussion provides many new insights -- and with solid credibility.

I learned an awful lot about some important and exciting initiatives I'd not been aware of -- though I consider myself a fairly serious student of space development and space issues. My assessment is that the two segments of the space industry -- the mainstream and these entrepreneurs in the Making Space Happen story -- have significant voids in their understanding of one another. This book can address one side of that imbalance -- if it is embraced by the mainstream.

I am impressed with how Paula Berninstein has been able to jump into such a complex field as space and in a very short time, capture so broadly and comprehensively the essence of today's challenges in space exploration. It's not that governments -- and particularly the U.S. -- have not "made space happen" in the past 4-5 decades nor realistically that governments ever will be out of the equation. However, her marvelous research and presentation has reinforced my firm conviction that it will ultimately be the private sector lead by entrepreneurs who, through space exploitation, will force the acceleration of space activities and bring the benefits of space finally back down to Earth in a substantial way.

Paula has taken a segment of the rapidly growing space industry that has been largely ignored by all the space "high-rollers" and put it on the map. It's disappointed me in the past to see senior "aerospace industry leaders" ignore and even belittle the creative thinkers and free-spirits who are suggesting unconventional approaches to long-standing space challenges. If these leaders had all the answers, the challenges would not remain so fundamental as high costs of getting to space and generating healthy return on investments -- from other than public coffers. NASA and the aerospace industry personify the bureaucratic approach to space exploration and real breakthroughs and progress will only come with the high-risk, creative directions such as those she's chosen to describe in this book.

Tom Rogers, for example, is one of the best thinkers of our time with regard to space tourism and the potential impact this new industry can have on our capability to get to space. He also has been justifiably critical of how the billions in public resources have been applied to advancing human presence in space. For this, he has not been well received by the establishment. Well, the establishment and all thinking people need to hear what Tom Rogers and the others in this very informative book have to say -- and moreover what they are actually doing to change the future. Then maybe the two segments of the space business will figure out how to cooperate and together make the next great leaps in space really happen. ... Read more

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A rare study originating in Africa, on the gender impact of housingprivatisation in Zambia; and on the impact of privatisation on socialclass and the overall constitution of the housing stock. It considersquestions such as: whether privatisation mainly benefits men and thusimplies a masculisation of ownership; whether it benefits mainlyrichpeople; what tendencies can be identified regarding housing maintenanceand extensions of housing stock; how the policy of privatisation wasformulated and implemented by government and loca authorities, to whatextent these policy formulations were democratic; how gender policy andactivism responded to the privatisation of housing; and whether it affectsgender power relations. The author is Associate Professor of Peace andDevelopment Research at Gothenburg University, Sweden. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent
This book was very informative.We should all encourage and support explorations to these areas.We are at the threshold for "ordinary" people to travel into space -- this is not fiction anymore it is the very near future.It will soon be commonplace to take vacations into space just as we now enjoy traveling to Europe.I hope to see more books on this subject.

The Commercial Space Age: Conquering Space Through Commerce
Very poor production quality. Mainly a retread. ... Read more

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This unique collection of essays investigates both ancient and modern Mayan texts and describes concepts of timekeeping and their role in Mayan culture. Including contributions from anthropologists, a mathematician, an art historian, and a linguist, the interdisciplinary approach in this innovative book offers a synthesis of past and present-day dialogue between people and the world of nature around, and especially above them. The celestial sphere is the place where ancient Mayan rulers derived their source of power and yet, it is the very same realm to which the modern peasant still prays for rain. Current research brought together in this volume attempts to portray skywatching and celestial worship as one aspect of Mayan cultural behavior that possessed an evolutionary history. It depicts the ever-changing function of the sky as revealed in the sacred books of the Classic period, intended for priestly eyes only, through to the documents, written in the foreign tongue of a conquering oppressor, that tell of a transformed world view in which time's calendar was nevertheless still celebrated. ... Read more