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Prospects for Humanity
by Martin Rees
A provocative and inspiring look at the future of humanity and science from world-renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees.
Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes - good and bad - are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees argues that humanity's prospects depend on our taking a very different approach to planning for tomorrow.
The future of humanity is bound to the future of science and hinges on how successfully we harness technological advances to address our challenges. If we are to use science to solve our problems while avoiding its dystopian risks, we must think rationally, globally, collectively, and optimistically about the long term. Advances in biotechnology, cybertechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence - if pursued and applied wisely - could empower us to boost the developing and developed world and overcome the threats humanity faces on Earth, from climate change to nuclear war. At the same time, further advances in space science will allow humans to explore the solar system and beyond with robots and AI. But there is no "Plan B" for Earth - no viable alternative within reach if we do not care for our home planet.
Rich with fascinating insights into cutting-edge science and technology, this accessible book will captivate anyone who wants to understand the critical issues that will define the future of humanity on Earth and beyond.
"Starred Review. An impassioned call to action from one of the world's foremost scientists. A book to be read by anyone on Earth who cares about its future." - Kirkus
"This far-ranging but easily understood collection of ideas shares and communicates the enthusiasm of Rees's 'techno-optimist' view of the prospects for humanity." - Publishers Weekly
"On the Future, by a leading senior scientist and written in a charming and crystalline style, provides the kind of wisdom humanity most needs to make our way on through the twenty-first century." - Edward O. Wilson, professor emeritus, Harvard University
"Curious about the future? Here, one of the world's most eminent scientists takes you through what will happen and why. On the Future is excellent!" - Eric Schmidt, former executive chairman of Google
"From climate change to biotech to artificial intelligence, science sits at the center of nearly all decisions that civilization confronts to assure its own survival. Martin Rees has created a primer on these issues, and what we can do about them, so that the next generation will think of us not as reckless custodians of their inheritance, but as brilliant shepherds of their birthright." - Neil deGrasse Tyson, coauthor of Welcome to the Universe
"Martin Rees offers a compelling vision of our future - on Earth and in space." - Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX and cofounder and CEO of Tesla Motors
"Prophecy may be a lost art, but I can think of no better way to envision what lies ahead than this book...In a time when it is hard to find a dream of the future that is not dystopian, Martin Rees sees and writes with rigor, clarity, and hope." - Ann Druyan, writer, producer, and director of Cosmos
"In clear and simple prose, Martin Rees lays bare the catastrophic dangers now facing humanity: nuclear, biotech, cyber, and climate. Modern science, he says, created these dangers but still provides the only path forward. A real wake-up call." - Jerry Brown, governor of California
"On the Future is a very important book that should be widely read and acted upon. Martin Rees combines his deep scientific insights and compassion for humanity's welfare to address, in clear and elegant prose, the major issues facing human civilization today, some of which are not now commonly considered." - Roger Penrose, author of Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe
"An engaging analysis of the most important issues facing the world, sprinkled with insight and suffused with wisdom and humanity." - Steven Pinker, author of Enlightenment Now
This information about On the Future was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Martin Rees is Astronomer Royal, and has been Master of Trinity College and Director of the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University. As a member of the UK's House of Lords and former President of the Royal Society, he is much involved in international science and issues of technological risk. His books include Our Cosmic Habitat, Just Six Numbers, and Our Final Hour (published in the UK as Our Final Century). He lives in Cambridge, UK.
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