The Star Drive

The True Story of a Genius, an Engine and Our Future

By: Phillip Hills

Narrated by: Tom Perkins

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

In May 2018, NASA called a press conference to announce the successful test-run of their tiny nuclear reactor KRUSTY (Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology). This revolutionary technology, which runs on heat alone, may have profound consequences for the future of mankind, enabling us to maintain permanent bases on the Moon, on Mars, and other planets, and eventually power a starship. On earth too it could have enormous benefits as a new way to generate power at a time when climate change is threatening our very existence.

This book is the amazing story behind this invention, which began with Robert Stirling's original designs for a heat exchange engine in 1816. An invention truly ahead of its time, the practical application of the Stirling Engine has taxed the minds of scientists and inventors for almost 200 years. Only now is it possible for its full potential to be realized. Phillip Hills weaves science and history together to tell the story of one of the most exciting scientific developments the world has ever seen.

©2021 Phillip Hills (P)2022 Tantor

Interesting Info

The narrator was really good. His soothing voice reminds me of Tom Shane, owner of the Shane Company (a diamond jewelry store in Minnesota), who does most of his own radio commercials.
As an audiobook I found it would have been nice to have a few pictures or diagrams at times. Everything is well described, but a few pictures would have been worth more than a thousand more words.
As for the stories, by the end you feel like you know quite a bit about the people, and some of their motivations, but you aren't always given a reason to care about some of them. While many of the people-stories aren't overly inspiring, the technology story does inspire me to want to learn more, and to pay more attention when things like Stirling engines, Kilopwer or KRUSTY are mentioned in the news.
If learning, being inspired and gaining or shifting perspectives are some of your goals, you'll at least appreciate this book. As pure entertainment, it falls a little short, but that's probably not why you read (or listen to) a nonfiction book like this.

Some genius, little future, a lot about engines

Who was Stirling, and why is his old forgotten invention showing up in the KRUSTY reactor, slated by some as a candidate solution for space propulsion?

This book focuses almost exclusively on the Stirling engine and its place during the times of its development. A mysterious inventor with an even more enigmatic and counter-intuitive technology. If we want to understand its reappearance today, we need to understand what happened: how it came about, what the nature of its design was, and why it was forgotten. It is a good premise, and what is the future but an extrapolation of the past? Except, because the book is very uneven it comes across as not being much about the future or its "star drive" at all.

Overall I find that it accomplishes what it sets out to do, however, and the narration is very good. There aren't enough audiobooks exploring the ins and outs of technologies in inspired ways, and that's enough to make this stand out. I wish it would've expanded more on the future context surrounding the KRUSTY reactor, and maybe more about potential star drives beyond it to give it a better payoff, but I still recommend this to anyone interested in technologies or particularly the enigma that is the Stirling.

Nothing about the Star Drive engine.

Nothing but a long history lesson. Almost nothing about the title.
Star Drive engine. Sterling.