Ron Miller is a space artist with a long and distinguished career.   I've admired both his paintings (remember the USPS Solar System Exploration Stamps last year?) and his writings on the history of spaceflight.  For several years he's been working on a *big* project which is almost ready to hit the streets.  A brochure from his publisher has landed in my mailbox, and I thought it was cool enough to type in part of it (it's rather long).  Especially given the Net's strong interest in vaporware spacecraft...                   ==================================                           The Dream Machines: An Illustrated History of the Spaceship in Art, Science, and Literature                              By Ron Miller                   with Foreword by Arthur C. Clarke  Krieger Publishing Company Melbourne, Florida, USA Orig. Ed. 1993 Pre-publication $84.50 ISBN 0-89464-039-9   This text is a history of the spaceship as both a cultural and a technological phenomenon.  The idea of a vehicle for traversing the space betwen worlds did not spring full-blown into existence in the tlatter half of theis century.  The need preceded the ability ot make such a device by several hundred years.  As soon as it was realized that there were other worlds than this one, human beings wanted to reach them.     Tracing the history of the many imaginative, and often prescient, attempts to solve this problem also reflects the history of technology, science, astronomy, and engineering.  Once space travel became feasible, there were many more spacecraft concepts developed than ever got off the drawing board-- or off the ground, for that matter.  These also are described in theis book, for the same reason as the pre-space-age and pre-flight ideas are:  they are all accurate reflections of their particular era's dreams, abilities, and knowledge.  Virtually every spaceship concept invented since 1500, as well as selected events important in developing the idea of extraterrestrial travel, is listed chronologically.  The chronological entries allow comparisons between actual astronautical events and speculative ventures.  They also allow comparisons between simultaneous events taking place in different countries.  They reveal connections, influences, and evolutions hitherto unsuspected.  Every entry is accompanied by at least one illustration.  Nearly every spacecraft concept is illustrated with a schematic drawing.  This allows accurate comparisons to be made between designss, to visualize differences, similarities, and influences.  This text will be of interest to students of astronautical history, and also to model builders who would be interested in the schematic diagrams.   Science fiction fans as well as aviation history buffs and historians of science will also find this book to be fascinating.  The unique collection of illustrations makes it a visually attractive and very interesting history of the spaceship.  SPECIAL FEATURES  Includes scale drawings of several hundred spacecraft, both real and fictional  Contains scores of illustrations: artwork, drawings, and photos contemporary with the subject.  This includes extremely rare illustrations from scarce books and novels, exclusive photos and drawings fromSoviet spacecraft; rare stills from both famous and obscure science fiction films, and unpublished photographs from NASA archives  An index, bibliography, and appendices are included.  CONTENTS  Part I  The Archaeology of the Spaceship (360 B.C. to 1783 A.D.) Part II The invention of the Spaceship (1784-1899) Part III The Experimenters (1900-1938) Part IV The World War (1939-1945) Part V  The Golden Age of the Spaceship (1946-1960) Part VI The Dawn of the Space Age (1961 to the present)  ABOUT RON MILLER  [The brochure has a page of stuff here; I'll try to hit the high spots.]  Former art director for Albert Einstein Planetarium  at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum  Member of International Association for Astronomical Arts, member of International Astronautical Association, Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society,  consulting editor for *Air & Space Smithsonian* magazine  Author, co-author, editor, or sole illustrator on many books since 1979, including *Space Art*, *Cycles of Fire*, *The Grand Tour*, and many others, as well as many articles and papers  Book jackets and interior art for over a dozen publishers   Contributor to IBM traveling exhibition and book *Blueprint for Space*  Production illustrator for movies *Dune* and *Total Recall*  Designer of ten-stamp set of commemorative space postage stamps for U.S. Postal Service in 1991 (Solar System Exploration)  ORDERING INFORMATION  Pre-publication price $84.50 before 1 May 1993 Afterwards, price will be $112.50  Krieger Publishing Company PO Box 9542 Melbourne, FL 32902-9542 USA Direct order line (407)727-7270 Fax (407)951-3671  Add $5.00 for shipping by UPS within USA for first book, $1.50 for each additional book.    For foreign orders, add $6.00 for first book, $2.00 for each additional.  Additional charges for airmail shipments.