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This book made me think about a lot of things. In the field of science fiction, religion is most often something to be scorned and laughed at, mostly through[return]heavy handed pokes at the Catholic church. While I'd agree that Christianity has a set of major problems, I think most readers and writers of science fiction[return]are throwing out the baby with the bathwater. That's what makes Calculating God so interesting: it takes a new and fresh look at creationism. Oh, basic[return]religious issues have been looked at before, but the treatments that I've seen have been confined to the classic Adam-and-Eve storyline, or to the tiny[return]genre of Christian science fiction. Yeah, there are books in this genre, and the fact that you've most likely never heard of them proves my point. calculating[return]God, however, isn't particularly Christian; the ending proves the fact beyond all doubt. It manages to make points about the existence of God, and our[return]societies views on the matter, without preaching one religion or another. This is not a book to be read for plot or characters. In fact, it's seriously[return]lacking on both those fronts. As with most of Soier's work, I think it would be happier as a popular nonfiction text. Still, the quality of the ideas was[return]heigh enough to make up for the lack in...well, everything else.

This book is a lot more about Walter Schirra than about space. Thankfully, he's a colourful enough character in his own right. If you're interested in mission details or technical information, this isn't the book for you. But if a collection of largely personal stories, along with some personal opinion on the state of manned spaceflight, is down your alley, you'll be happy with this one.