On Sale October 2019

"A lucid, bright and essential work of reporting, analysis and genuine care."

—Rivka Galchen

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The first work of investigative reporting on the impact of private space exploration—and exploitation

The earth is in trouble. So dramatically so that we're scrambling to explore space for valuable resources and a home for permanent colonization. With the era of NASA's dominance now behind us, the private sector is winning this new space race. But if humans and their accumulated wealth have made such a mess of Earth, who can say we won't do the same to space?

In The Consequential Frontier, technology journalist Peter Ward raises this vital question before its too late.

Interviewing tech CEOs, inventors, scientists, lobbyists, politicians, and future civilian astronauts, Ward sheds light on a whole industry beyond headline-grabbing rocket billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson, and introduces a new generation of activists trying to keep commerce from rushing recklessly into the cosmos.

With optimism for what humans might accomplish in space if we could leave our tendency towards deregulation, inequality, and environmental destruction behind, Ward shows just how much cooperation it will take to protect our universal resource—and how beneficial it could be for all of us.


"A deeply-reported and endlessly entertaining journey through the cosmic gold rush that will, one way or another, define commerce—and life—on Earth for generations to come."

—Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, author of The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen


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$26.99 US / $35.99 CAN

Author Peter Ward

PETER WARD studied journalism at the University of Sheffield before moving to Dubai, where he reported on the energy sector. After three years in the Middle East, he earned his master’s degree in business journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His work has appeared in GQ, Bloomberg Buisnessweek, The Economist, and Newsweek. He lives in New York City.