Armageddon Science: The Science of Mass Destruction

by Brian Clegg

An exploration of the terrifying threats to our world that fill today's from global warming epidemic to the threat of nuclear weapons and the risk posed by the leading edge devices like the Large Hadron Collider. Armageddon Science by Brian Clegg is everything you want to know about potential man-made disaster.Climate change. Nuclear devastation. Bio-hazards. The Large Hadron Collider. What do these things have in common? They all have the potential to end our world. Every great scientific creation of man is balanced by an equal amount of danger—as there's no progress without risk. Armageddon Science is an authoritative look at the real "mad science" at work today, that recklessly puts life on Earth at risk for the pursuit of knowledge and personal gain. This book explores the reality of the dangers that science poses to the human race, from the classic fear of nuclear destruction to the latest possibilities for annihilation. Combining the science behind those threats with an understanding of the real people responsible as well as providing an assessment of the likelihood of the end of the world, this isn't a disaster movie, it's Armageddon Science.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Reference

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 26, 2010

About the author

Brian's latest books, Ten Billion Tomorrows and How Many Moons does the Earth Have are now available to pre-order. He has written a range of other science titles, including the bestselling Inflight Science, The God Effect, Before the Big Bang, A Brief History of Infinity, Build Your Own Time Machine and Dice World.

Along with appearances at the Royal Institution in London he has spoken at venues from Oxford and Cambridge Universities to Cheltenham Festival of Science, has contributed to radio and TV programmes, and is a popular speaker at schools. Brian is also editor of the successful www.popularscience.co.uk book review site and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Brian has Masters degrees from Cambridge University in Natural Sciences and from Lancaster University in Operational Research, a discipline originally developed during the Second World War to apply the power of mathematics to warfare. It has since been widely applied to problem solving and decision making in business.

Brian has also written regular columns, features and reviews for numerous publications, including Nature, The Guardian, PC Week, Computer Weekly, Personal Computer World, The Observer, Innovative Leader, Professional Manager, BBC History, Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful. His books have been translated into many languages, including German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, Norwegian, Thai and even Indonesian.

Reviews

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a light, breezy, fast read about a subject that might seem morbid to some. It is written in an easy to understand, conversational style. I actually would have liked it to be more heavy on the science. Most of what was covered was just review for me, not that there is anything wrong with reviewing material. The chapter called Atomic Devastation, for example, didn't have a single scientific detail about the development nuclear bombs that I hadn't already read in one or more other books. Usually with non-fiction, I have an expectation to at least learn something new about the subjects covered. For this book, despite the word 'Science' in the subtitle, I had to content myself with the information around the politics and history of the various subjects, which is not a bad thing.
It was interesting that he treated the possibility that humans might transition to a new species through technological development as a form of mass destruction. I for one really want to become a cyborg. It probably won't happen, but I sure do like the idea.

[Scotchneat · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say? More apocalypse porn.

Clegg goes through the list of things that might kill us from the likely (climate change) to the absurd (the LHC). Then he gets at the science and probabilities of these things and assesses how likely it is to destroy Mother Earth.

I think his overall message is really about how there's good and bad in how we pursue knowledge - whether that's for its own sake, or to achieve some kind of power.

And nobody blows up a comet.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid coverage of a wide range of gloomy possibilities. The author's tone is conversational and clear, with no apparent axes to grind, and he ends on a note of cautious optimism (as he calls it.) It's an interesting read - nothing really startling or new, but a lot of information. This isn't science fiction, but it could be a useful resource for anyone writing the kind of dystopian-future stories that are always popular.

[R.C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really like 1.5, because I won't even give it a 2-star "it was ok". I really thought I'd like this more than I did. l like the ghoulish details of how things can go bad. But this book...sheesh. First of all, for a modern reader, it's incredibly dated and a product of its time. And I mean that in ways that explain why some really wacky ideas get top billing in the book (his first topic is the idea that the LHC might cause the end of the universe through wacky quantum hijinks, which was ridiculous at the time and looks even more ridiculous now), but also in that it is very obviously influenced by the post-9/11 era (terrorism is mostly treated as a Middle Eastern thing), AND in the linking of scientists' lack of foresight about the consequences of their discoveries to both autism and "extreme male brain". Just...a whole lot of things in there that have not aged well.

In terms of the science writing, that also has not aged particularly well for all that climate change is now much much more of a threat than it was at the time of writing, so that chapter feels incredibly dated. Also...the book just doesn't feel incredibly solid science-wise. There's a lot of generalities and lack of sources that comes across as the author just...handwaving. There's plenty of theories he advances that he COULD have dug into and looked up the science on...but he didn't. Also, he spends a lot of time talking about some things and then handwaving them aside saying, "but these aren't really apocalyptic events" - so. why. talk. about. them. then? in this book about apocalypses?

So me, who just wanted some interesting facts about doomsday weapons, was just really disappointed. Too shallow, too broad, quite unsatisfying.

[Moniek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this in 2024 makes the book of 2010 perceived as dated. Infound the mass destruction part limited. It's more on dangers resulting in a high amount of casualties, but not so much mass destruction. Towards the second half the author depends more and more on science fiction and rattles away in his fantasies.
Enjoyable book, but outdated and to be read in a fair pace.

[George Lai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice easy to read write-up on what are complex scientific global issues faced by, and facing, mankind. His other books should be worth reading after this.

[Nero Simmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it

[Leta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary...

[Medhavini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had the highest borrowing rate at my library so I thought it would be fun kiddie science but it turned out to be quite intellectually engaging but easy to read at the same time.

[Xanthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this one on audiobook. The book covers a very wide range of topics from nuclear war to natural disasters, with the common thread being a means to an end to humans on this planet. I found the chapter on bio-terrorism and possibility of pan endemic viral and bacterial threats interesting, and I learned a fair amount about a-bombs, h-bombs etc. Some of the physics involved did fly over my head but not to the point where I was getting totally lost. The chapter that I found most compelling - most frightening - was about climate change. A truly scary and real threat that we are already experiencing. The beginning of the book talks about the general 'mad scientist' stereotype in modern culture and the end of the book talks again about the general public's perception of scientists as being 'cold', lacking empathy and how this ties in with people's fear of science and how it is perceived as a threat to some. The question of ethics in science is discussed. Scientific curiosity vs public safety, etc. The author is obviously sympathetic towards science and scientists and although in general I agree with his stance, a part of me also can sympathize with the flip side of the issue. Scientists (many who indeed border on the side of autism and have a lack of empathy - just look at the amount of animal testing they carry out) do not live in a vacuum. Their 'curiosity' may not necessarily be driven by military or commercial goals but it may (and has led) to pretty complicated and dangerous situations for humanity in general. This book is definitely food for thought.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a post-apocalyptic genre devotee like myself, this was an engaging, informative and fun little book. Yes, it was simplistic at times, but I think that's what I liked about it - it provided a quick overview of several plausible apocalyptic events and did so in a way that kept you interested. The chapter on the Atomic bomb was fascinating. I knew a lot about it already from history classes and my own interest, but I found Clegg's writing to be very engaging because of his narrative voice; it was a lot like reading a lecture. And you can't fault him on his facts - he seems to have done a great deal of overview research on his subjects but didn't turn it into a textbook by littering it with footnotes every five seconds.

What I also thought was interesting was how apparently the most likely causes of Armageddon are atomic weapons and climate change, which are both caused by humans (for the most part). The chapter on "extreme biohazards" was also one of my favorites, because I don't know that much about biological warfare and it was neat to learn about it. The part about asteroids was kind of dumb though, because you don't need to blast an asteroid away with a nuclear weapon - you only need a mild deflection of something like a satellite smashing into to to divert it enough to make it avoid the earth( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjECbQ... ).

I could be biased because I love anything to do with a possible post-apocalyptic wasteland, but I enjoyed this bit of non-fiction.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armageddon Science is a well-written, entertaining little book that takes a look at the science behind the things that might obliterate us one day, or cause a great deal of mayhem and destruction. Brain Clegg combines a bit of history with some science (nothing too complicated) to explain how these things work and why they probably will (or won't as the case might be) be feasible in terms of mass destruction. This book was a fun, quick read that covers a different topic in each chapter. Topics covered include: (1) mad scientists; (2) the Large Hadron Collider, antimatter and blackholes; (3) atomic devastation; (4) climate catastrophe; (5) biohazards in the form of gas-based war/terrorism and pandemics; (6) nanotechnology run amok; (7) accidental and intentional meltdown of electronic and information technology systems; (8) human technological upgrading i.e. cyborgs and cybernetics; (9) natural disasters and our interaction with the planet; and the final chapter that is cautiously optimistic about the uses of science and the nature of humans.

[Kamakana · Rating 2 out of 5]

j-j-just a little something to put your problems in place: all the ways all the worst can happen to all people. i do not know why i read this. easy to read, easy to follow, reasonable descriptions of potential destruction from technology. from mustard gas to internet sabotage, perhaps nice to be able to parse threats and fantasies, to argue with your friend the pessimist, the doomsayer, the paranoid. appeal to scientific literacy is worthwhile, but do not know if it will fly. too many people like to be scared and everyone wants to be saved at the last moment eg. climate change.

[Thomas Andrikus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite his oft-times exaggerated hypotheses about what foreseeable dooms are on the earth's doorstep, we can see how some of the author's predictions are possible. Unlike anyother 2012-doomsdayers or lunatic religious however, Clegg only quotes very little from the Holy Scripture. He mostly drew his findings from scientific findings over the last several decades, which contribute to a plethora of maladies that have been bogging us this far.

Because indeed, doomsday may be closer than we think.

[Leda Frost · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF'd. Read the first 2 chapters and the one on climate catastrophe and gave up. The writing is bland and, most damningly, wrong on certain points. The author doesn't want to take a stand on anything, but instead of coming off as informative and accessible it just reads sloppy and uninteresting. There are many, many better books on the topic.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clegg relates the numerous ways that humanity and this planet may possibly come to an end. The writing was denser than I'm used to(or maybe I just don't read enough science books), but the subject is truly fascinating, thought-provoking, and discussion-worthy.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Clegg does a great job in exploring the different ways science could bring about or prevent Armageddon on earth. I throughly enjoyed this book and learned a fair bit about what is and what is not possible in this ever changing world of ours.

[jessi jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very basic overview of subjects like nuclear war and global climate change. No topic is really done in depth, so if you already know a little something about them, this book really doesn't help to expand your knowledge.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how science reading should be for a layperson such as myself. One of the few science books where nothing went over my head, due to the authors talents in conveying with everyday prose the concepts discussed.

[Nate M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical anecdotes and pop-sci apocalypse theory break downs are choked by dry science writing (which is over-simplified for mass audiences anyways), leaving what should be a fun, vivid hell scape a faded science textbook with smart moments.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very informative book that really made a person think about all of the ways that humans are capable of destroying not only our selves but our whole world as well. I would highly recommend it but I can also say on the flip side its a one and done book for me. I won't be reading it again.

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book, overall. Some chapters seemed to ramble a little, but I've already read a lot about most of these topics in other works. Nothing new in terms of topics, but some new details concerning possible world-ending or world-changing events

[Brendan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great, lots of mistakes and bad editing ( if it was edited at all )

[Tushar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging read, provided a quick overview of all the necessary topics and information. The writing style is smart and precise, would love to read more from the author.

[Carole]

Recommended by Frieda Berryhill12/2011

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but no original research.

[Paul Sasse · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books to really open your eyes.

[David Haitel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on how humanity has opened Pandora's Box in its efforts to better itself. In this book Clegg discusses the various ways in which people have created the sources of their own destruction: (ie. nuclear weapons, climate change, AI, etc) and other catastrophies and natural disasters that threaten our existence. Excellent and sobering read!