- Hardcover: 403 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group; 1st Anchor Books Ed edition (Oct 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385484984
- ISBN-13: 978-0385484985
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
528,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Production, Manufacturing & Operational > Reliability
- #19 in Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Mechanical & Materials Engineering > Reliability Engineering
- #80 in Books > Science & Nature > Experiments, Instruments & Measurements > Reference
- See Complete Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Take it easy: that's Michio Kaku's motto. Given the extraordinary advances science has thrown up in time for the millennium, the only way you could possibly fit them into a single volume is by a correspondingly massive simplification.
Subtitled "How science will revolutionise the 21st century and beyond" Visionsassumes that by and large scientists get to do whatever they like, that all technologies are consumer technologies and that consumers welcome anything and everything science throws at them. Kaku gets away with this frankly dodgy strategy by dint of sheer hard work. He has based his predictions on interviews with more than 150 renowned working scientists, he integrates these interviews with a huge body of original journalistic material and above all he roots that mass of information on an entirely reasonable model of what the purpose of science will be in the third millennium. Up until now, science has expended its efforts on decoding most of the fundamental natural processes--"the dance," as Kaku puts it, of elementary particles deep inside stars and the rhythms of DNA molecules coiling and uncoiling within our bodies". Science's task now, Kaku believes, is to cross- pollinate advances thrown up by the study of matter, biology and mind--modern science's three main theatres of endeavour. "We are now making the transition from amateur chess players to grand masters," he writes, "from observers to choreographers of nature." Then again, he also believes that "the Internet...will eventually become a "Magic Mirror" that appears in fairy tales, able to speak with the wisdom of the human race." Kaku, in short, deserves a good slapping--but he also deserves to be read. --Simon Ings --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
If you only read one book about the 21st century, this is it (Focus )
highly accessible and readable (New Scientist ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
highly accessible and readable (New Scientist ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
THREE CENTURIES AGO, Isaac Newton wrote: ". . . to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on a seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
THREE CENTURIES AGO, Isaac Newton wrote: ". . . to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on a seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A fascinating book, which gets better the futher away from the present it goes. Unfortunately being writen around 5 years ago some of the modern predictions seem dated. Still worth a read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The last review from 2005 said that the book is interesting but had become dated and now 3 years later this is even more true.
The book was written 10 years ago with the optimism of the genome, computer and quantum revolutions. A lot has happened since then. From the quantum revolutions all of the space projects have been abandoned. From the biological revolutions cancer has proved to be much more complex and the genome has less genes than we expected but nevertheless is more reluctant to yield its secrets. In computing we have done better than expected even without the quantum computer or optical computers.
So now it is a book that is more interesting for those looking at the history and philosophy of science. It shows how a scientist makes predictions and hypothesizes about the future only to find the future rarely unfolds as expected.
The book was written 10 years ago with the optimism of the genome, computer and quantum revolutions. A lot has happened since then. From the quantum revolutions all of the space projects have been abandoned. From the biological revolutions cancer has proved to be much more complex and the genome has less genes than we expected but nevertheless is more reluctant to yield its secrets. In computing we have done better than expected even without the quantum computer or optical computers.
So now it is a book that is more interesting for those looking at the history and philosophy of science. It shows how a scientist makes predictions and hypothesizes about the future only to find the future rarely unfolds as expected.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is certainly a recommended book to read. It is appealing and gives a very broad perspective of the advances in the main pillars of modern science. The author was in a very privileged situation (as explained by himself) which gives him the necessary background to produce such a handful of predictions of how technology will probably change our lives in the next 100 years. However, we have an uncomfortable feeling about these predictions, since some of them are really fantastic and are close to what we imagine as science fiction in some cases. These predictions also show some potential threats to things such as individual freedom. This is an issue only slightly touched by this book, which tries to give a very optimistic vision of the future, of which I am not so sure about. Anyway, this should not stop the advances in science and the best way of preserving our freedom is to keep being informed about these subjects.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Michio physics
This is Michio at his best, entertaining, interesting and totally absorbed in the subject which results in the reader becoming absorbed also. Can never get enough of this man.
Published on 13 Feb 2010 by M. Crane
wonderful signed copy
the book not only came on time and in great condition it was signed by Michio Kaku himself! what a lovely suprise thanks!! :) great seller would be happy to use this one again!!
Published on 28 Jan 2010 by J. James
Great VISION!
How can you review a book like this..
Its so easy on the eye and a beautiful brain installation of all the futuristic possibilities and conceptions straight off the cuff, or so... Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2006 by "andrewtebb"
A Window to the future
If you want to have a feel of what the future will be... try this book. Apart from a few scientific terms, Kaku provides some good examples and relates very well to real world--our... Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2002
You simply must read this book...
Rarely have I found a book where the subject matter is so intriguing that I simply couldn't put it down. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2000
Jungle village better than Kaku's global village
The give-away in Kaku's book is the "Week In The Life" he sketches of an American in 2020. War has vanished. Want is no more. The technological surround is complete. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 1999 by rowland.morgan@virgin.net
ACE
This book is just fantastic, It predicts the future in a nostradamus type fashion and is very believable!
Published on 28 May 1999
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Computing & Internet
- Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Mechanical & Materials Engineering > Reliability Engineering
- Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Production, Manufacturing & Operational > Reliability
- Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Reference
- Books > Science & Nature > Experiments, Instruments & Measurements > Equipment & Techniques
- Books > Science & Nature > Experiments, Instruments & Measurements > Reference
- Books > Science & Nature > History & Philosophy > Reference
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Research & Development > Equipment & Techniques
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
