"What is more, the ship would be impossible to steer, since control signals, which are restricted to the speed of light, wouldn’t be fast enough to get from the ship’s bridge to the propulsion system located on the vessel’s perimeter."

Would someone mind elaborating on what the author is saying here. I would have supposed the warp field would surround the entire craft. If this weren't the case the ship would be torn apart, no? Everything I think about warp drive is so coloured by Star Trek I observe myself having difficulty imagining it could be any other way.