Rating Explanation

  ***** Outstanding.  One of the best in the subject area.

  ****  Well written; makes you think.

  ***   Okay, but it didn't blow me away.

  **    Below average; only for the author's fans.

  *     Shouldn't have been published.

I've had a lifelong fascination with thinking about the future, but the next few decades concern me. The experts -- men like Kurzweil and Moravec -- believe that our machines will surpass us in intelligence, even merge with us to form something radically new. Leading edge technologies are rapidly changing our lives; most of us feel it's for the better, but the issues are pressing closer. In this section, I review non-fiction books featuring artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology and genetic engineering. These books are written for the intelligent non-specialist; you don't have to be a scientist to enjoy them.

Please select a review from the list to your left or just browse the titles listed without comment below. I am solely responsible for the ratings -- each novel has been evaluated for its literary content and the importance of its theme. I plan to add to this list on a continuing basis, so stop back frequently.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Decoding Your Genes

383 page trade paperback by Linda Tagliaferro and Mark V. Bloom published 1999

Rating ***

Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters 
 


   344 page hardcover by Matt Ridley published 2000

Rating ****

Engineering the Human Germline: An Exploration of the Science and Ethics of Altering the Genes We Pass to Our Children

169 page hardcover by Gregory Stock and John Campbell published 2000

 Rating ****

Are We Spiritual Machines? Ray Kurzweil vs. the Critics of Strong A.I.

222 page trade paperback by Kurzweil et. al.  published 2002

After the Internet: Alien Intelligence

480 page hardcover by James Martin published 2000

Remaking Eden: How Genetic Engineering and Cloning will Transform the American Family

385 page trade paperback by Lee M. Silver published 1998

Nanotechnology: A Gentle Introduction to the Next Big Idea

 

188 page trade paperback by Mark Ratner and Daniel Ratner published 2002

Beyond Humanity: CyberEvolution and Future Minds

487 page trade paperback by Gregory S. Paul and Earl D. Cox published 1996

Our Molecular Future: How Nanotechnology, Robotics, Genetics, and Artificial Intelligence will Transform Our World

392 page hardcover by Douglas Mulhall published 2002

 RATING  ****