Described as "a liberal education
in one volume", this is a very readable history of Western
thought from the pre-Socratic Greeks through "post-modernism".
The book concentrates mainly on the history of metaphysics and
epistemology (as the ground for the great story of the Copernican
revolution), and suffers from a less well-developed treatment
of moral and political thought. Recommended.
Far-future "hard" science fiction
novel, assuming the full panoply of transhuman technologies (mature
nanotech, AIs, "sculpted entities", etc.). Well written,
although slightly adolescent (as if that weren't a criticism
of 99.999% of science fiction) and a little slow to develop.
Nagata saves her forced exposition until the very end of the
book, allowing the reader to figure things out on his own --
a nice touch. Recommended.
Mainly political history of the Roman
army from Julius to the end of the empire. Full of detail and
texture, a good book for the committed student of Roman history.
October, 1997
The Spike,
Damien Broderick
Perhaps the first book-length treatment
of the transhumanist idea of the Singularity. A good overview
of the technological and social issues raised by the possible
coming superacceleration of progress. Discusses the ideas of
Vernor Vinge, Hans Moravec, Frank Tipler, Max More and others
who have been seminal in the formation of transhumanist thinking.
Even though I don't agree with Broderick's political economics,
I think the book does a good job of introducing the key ideas
of transhumanism, especially to a public not yet familar with
them.
A very well-written biography of Benjamin
Franklin, a figure who bears out as well as any other my thesis
that the 18th century is a valuable text-book for our age of
fundamental progress and potentially revolutionary change in
every sphere of human life. Recommended.
Kauffman, one of the leaders of "Complexity
Theory" uses a minimum of mathematics to walk the reader
through the theoretical bases and practical implications of the
idea that complex systems spontaneously generate their own new
"laws" of organization, an important new contribution
to evolutionary theory with implications in fields as diverse
as biology, economics and social policy toward technology. Recommended.
An overview of the moral and ethical dimensions
of genetic engineering. Reiss is a biologist and Anglican priest
and Straughan is an academic moral philosopher. The book presents
a surprisingly (to me) positive view of human control of biological
destiny via genetic engineering. Unfortunately, neither author
is likely to receive a Pulitzer prize for their writing style...
Ben Rich ran Lockheed's secret projects
division from the early 1970s to the early 90s, the era of the
F-117 Stealth Fighter. The book also recounts the history of
the U-2, the SR-71 and other, less well-known projects. Highly
recommended for any aerospace or Cold War history buff.
This is the very well-written book that
fully set out the evidence for TJ's brief affair with the English
painter Maria Cosway during his period as ambassador to France
and also his long relationship with his slave, Sally Hemmings.
Highly recommended.
Tuchman follows one small thread in the
fabric of the history of the American revolution, the first recognition
of an American warship as that of a sovereign state (at the Dutch
island of St. Eustatius in the Carribean), into a rambling but
entertaining and informative discussion of the naval and "great
power" context of the beginnings of the U.S. Recommended.
Sequel to Jurassic Park. The book
is obviously intended as a (sort-of) prose movie script. Pretty
good airplane book and the material will look good as a movie,
with lots of good special effects and simple action scenes.
The "prequel" to Eon
and Eternity. Not as good as those books, but consists
mainly of the portrayal of the interesting life forms on a planet
in "The Way".
January, 1997
No Turning Back,Wallace
Kaufman (1994 Basic Books;
ISBN 0-465-05118-9)
I highly recommend this book for anyone
in environmental issues, the "environmentalist movement"
and generally our relationship to nature. Kaufman is a self-confessed
"recovering environmentalist", conservationist and
science journalist. A listing of chapter titles reveals the scope
and subject matter of the book:
Confessions of an Environmentalist
The Search for Authority
An Opposition Movement is Born
The Roots of Environmental Thinking in
America
Searching for a New Sense of the Sacred
Winning the Public Away from Science
Nature as We Want It: Can the Environmental
Movement Adapt to the New Ecology?
Who Owns Nature?
Technology to the Rescue
This is Not the End, But the Beginning
Kaufman, who has been an "insider"
in leading environmentalist groups, traces the anti-scientific
development of the American environmental movement from its roots
in late 18th century romanticism through it's modern anti-capitalist
political activism. He makes a compelling case for privatist
approaches to conservation and the employment of advanced, intelligent
technology to natural resource management issues. Kaufman explores
scientifically reasonable definitions of "nature" in
light of the special place of humans and current insight into
the chaotic nature of complex systems. His scientifically critical,
but ultimately optimistic, approach to environmental questions
such as global warming, deforestation, wetlands and wilderness
preservation, species extinction, land and other resource use
and human population growth are clear and encouraging expressions
of extropian values.
Classic of the cyberpunk genre, this near-future
science fiction novel depicts a semi-anarchist world with significantly
weakened nation-states, and the power of what I like to call
the "hypernet". Very well written in a hip and humorous
style, not like the one employed in The Diamond Age --
revealing Stephenson to be a versatile writer. Recommended.
