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1999 |
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December, 1999
November, 1999
- Reflections on a Ravaged Century, Robert Conquest
- Robert Conquest is a noted British "sovietologist"
(and was a foreign policy advisor and speechwriter to Margaret
Thatcher - and also is a noted science fiction writer!). In this
book he looks back on the roots and development of totalitarian
ideologies in the 20th century and discusses at length the contrasts
between societies that fell prey to those ideological contagions
and ones that proved largely immune to them. Especially engaging
is Conquest's informed depiction of the thorough corruption of
civic society under Soviet communism in Russia. Very well written:
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against
the Sea, Sebastian Junger
- Well deserving its reputation as a classic
of modern adventure writing, this book is an excellent travel
read. Recommended.
- The Cassini Division,
Ken MacLeod
- Scottish science fiction author MacLeod
offers an excellent to the growing body of books explicitly addressing
transhumanist issues and themes. While I deeply disagree with
what appears to be his own personal political philosophy depicted
in this book, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it as a good yarn that is well-informed
by the best thinking about transhumanism.
September-October, 1999
- Atheism : A Philosophical Justification, Michael Martin
- An exhaustive work of technical philosophy
in which Martin addresses both major and minor arguments for
and against the existence of god. Not a book of significant literary
merit, but rather one that deals meticulously with the logic
and illogic of theism. Recommended to the serious student of
philosophy.
- The Postmodern Turn,
Steven Best, Douglas Kellner
- A historical and analytical overview of
postmodernism by two authors basically sympathetic to the fundamental
concepts. A good introduction and, for those previously unfamiliar
with postmodernism, a work that makes clear how modern Western
academia has worked itself into a quagmire of self-doubt, contradiction
and irrelevancy (although this is not the authors' intent). Recommended
as a good single-volume overview of the subject (but a warning:
contains dense postmodernist and Marxist jargon; if you're allergic
to Marxist jargo, beware!)
- When Things Start to Think, Neil A. Gershenfeld
- Gershenfeld is one of the leading creative
thinkers at MIT's Media Lab. This quick read is a good overview
of the techniques and directions of the Media Lab and provides
some insight into the direction of current technological development.
Recommended.
- Quarantine, Greg
Egan
- One of Egan's early works, it clearly
demonstrates that he is the leading philosophical thinker working
in science fiction today. A book thick with ideas. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- Distress : A Novel,
Greg Egan
- Continues Egan's work as the deepest thinker
in science fiction today. Presages some of the wilder ideas found
in Permutation City. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED.
July-August, 1999
- The Race for Consciousness,
John Gerald Taylor
- Written for the interested layman, but
delving into considerable detail, this book describes the current
state of the art in linking specific neurological structures
and functions in the brain to the specific elements of consciousness
such as qualia, continuity and the like. Starting with the basic
theory of neural networks and fundamental neuoranatomy, Taylor
explains his theory of "relational consciousness" as
an over-arching structure for unifying the growing breadth and
depth of knowledge in this vast arena. I can't endorse Taylor's
writing style, because in attempting to "dumb down"
his material for lay readers, he in fact overemphasizes his metaphor
of a race among researchers and engages in a bit too much repetition.
But I do nevertheless recommend the book for the serious lay
student of cognitive science.
- Vast, Linda Nagata
- A sequel to Deception
Well. Nagata shows a poetic mastery of transhuman technologies
such as nanotechnology, "consciousness scultping" and
especially the problems and promises of uploading. Especially
interesting is her depiction of utterly alien life forms and
the tension between the goals of unitary consciousnesses and
ones formed by union of multiple entities. Highly recommended.
May-June, 1999
Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, Francis Fukuyama
- Continuing his analysis of modern society
in the aftermath of the Cold War, Fukuyama follows up his book
The End of History and the Last Man with a detailed view
of the role that trust plays in a number of societies. He identifies
the concept of trust as one of the basic ingredients of civil
society, labeling it the essential element of what he calls "social
capital" -- a resource that can be cultivated and squandered,
depending on the choices made by a society's leaders and institutions.
Highly Recommended.
Countdown: A History of Space Flight, T. A. Heppenheimer
- A good overview history of space flight,
from the early pioneers of rocketry through the International
Space Station and Beyond. Primarily a history of engineers, programs
and institutions, this book is not a detailed history of specific
space flights. Recommended.
Cryptonomicon,
Neal Stephenson
- Although this book might not be considered
"science fiction" by some, I think it is. From a purely
literary viewpoint, this is the best novel I've read in the last
ten years. Set in two interwoven time frames (World War II and
"the present", Cryptonomicon follows a wide
cast of well-developed and interesting characters through a complex
fabric of personal interaction across time and space. The basic
subject matter is cryptography and the birth and development
of computers and modern communication technology, but saying
that is like saying that Crime and Punishment is about
a murder. EXTREMELY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Earthweb, Marc Stiegler
- Good story of ideas about advanced collaborative
knowledge systems on the web. Not so impressive as fiction.
April - May, 1999
- The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed
Human Intelligence, Ray Kurzweil
- A pioneer of optical character recognition,
computerized speech and many other human-interface tools reviews
the history of computation in a cosmic perspective and projects
the radical impact of vastly increased processing power on the
development of artificial intelligence and, ultimately, human
individuals and society. Written in a casual style for the well-informed
layman, Kurzweil synthesizes insights from many fields to portray
a positive and challenging path for humanity in the first half
of the 21st century. Recommended.
- A Deepness in the Sky,
Vernor Vinge
- In a very well-crafted story, Vinge portrays
three civilizations (two human, one not) in different stages
of adaptation to technology, which is the recurring theme of
his work. Set in the same future (but much earlier) as A Fire
on the Deep, this book ultimately explores the clash between
open closed societies. Highly Recommended.
March, 1999
- Cities in Civilization,
Peter Geoffrey Hall
- A very large book looking at the city
as a focus of civilization from various perspectives, such as
the city as cultural and artistic crucible, cities as locations
for and causes of technological and social innovation and the
city as organizational challenge for the societies that have
built them. Despite its breadth, the book suffers somewhat for
its lack of perspectives from cultures outside the European tradition.
A well-researched and well-written book, recommended to the serious
student of history.
- The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary
Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman, Edited by David Boaz
- Highly recommended resource of the basic
texts of liberty, both for the newcomer to freedom and the committed
libertarian.
February, 1999
- The Real Frank Zappa Book,
Frank Zappa (Introduction),
Peter Occhiofrosso (Contributor).
- The maestro in his own
words. This book was constructed from many hours of taped monologues
in the late 1980s. Zappa reminisces about his childhood, his
early musical influences, the Mothers and his adventures and
misadventures on the road and in his quest to produce and distribute
his own music. The last half of the book contains Zappa's account
of his transformation into a free speech advocate and political
activist, exploring in at least a little depth the thoughtful
and irreverent social philosophy and criticism expressed in his
music. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to Zappa fans.
- Speaking of Frank Zappa . . . (my Frank Zappa page)
January, 1999
- Consilience,
Edward O. Wilson
- Wilson undertakes the laudable task of
restating and revitalizing the ideals of the Enlightenment. In
this project he takes on the failed subjectivist "deconstruction"
program of the so-called post-modernists and seeks new bridges
between "the two cultures" of science on the one hand
and the fine and liberal arts on the other. His critique of post-modernism
is a well-crafted rallying point for those devoted to the ideals
of reason and notions of cultural progress informed by the scientific
method, but he ultimately undermines the power of his prescriptive
solution by succumbing to a static conception of human nature.
Recommended.
- Two Signposts on the Road to a New Enlightenment: My extended review of Consilience by
Edward O. Wilson and The
Future and Its Enemies by Virginia Postrel
