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AN Optimist's Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer "What's Next?"
In the tradition of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, a smart and entertaining guide to the future of civilization When unexpectedly confronted with his own mortality, Mark Stevenson-a writer, deep-thinker, and stand-up comedian-began to ponder what the future holds for our species. "The past is a foreign country," writes Stevenson. "By my analysis it's a bit like France-in that I've been to parts of it and eaten some nice food there. But the future? The future is an unknown territory-and there isn't a guidebook." Thus, his ambition was born. Stevenson set out simply, asking, "What's next?" and then traveled the globe in pursuit of the answers. Along the way, he visited the Australian outback to visit the farmers who can save us from climate change, met a robot with mood swings, and talked to the Spaniard who's putting a hotel in space. While some might be overwhelmed, or even dismayed by the looming realities of genome sequencing, synthetic biology, a nuclear renaissance, and carbon scrubbing, Stevenson remains, well, optimistic. Drawing on his singular humor and storytelling to break down these sometimes complicated discoveries, An Optimist's Tour of the Future paints a wonderfully readable, and completely enthralling portrait of where we'll be when we grow up- and why it's not so scary.Watch a Video
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 4, 2010
62 people are currently reading
837 people want to read
About the author
Mark Stevenson
66 books20 followersCo-director of Flow Associates, Britains most respected cultural learning consultancy, and ReAgency, a leading organization promoting science communications, Mark Stevenson is a uniquely funny and unashamedly intelligent comedic talent. After graduating with first-class honors from the Information Technology Institute at Salford University, he became an editor at an IT industry think tank before mixing two careers as a musician and an expert in prime number cryptography. He works with museums, galleries, and archives around the globe to promote learning. He was recently elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufacture, and Commerce and currently lives in London."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
December 1, 2019
Awesome read. Entertaining and informative.
January 13, 2011
For anyone genuinely interested in science, save your cash and subscribe to the Beano. It's less bland, contains better science and is funnier. The author does not appear to be an expert on science: rather, just some bloke who's been paid to go to go round the world doing fun things and exclaiming how "cool" they are. You can tune into a holiday programme on TV if you want see that - it'll be more relevant. If the future holds more banal ways to waste your cash like this one, I for one am not feeling too optimistic.
January 1, 2013
This is one of the most optimistic books I have ever read. It is clearly stated on the cover of the book that the author is not science expert but rather a layman. While I knew some of the material, I appreciated the review. The material that was new to me I found astounding. Some aspects of the book are indeed scary, even disturbing, but new developments in science and technology often are, especially to those of us who are no longer young. You do not have to agree with all the folks interviewed to be inspired that these are positive-minded people dedicated to making our lives better. If you are already knowledgeable about recent development in science and technology, then this book may not be for you. But if you are like me, interested in science and technology but not always up to speed on the latest developments, then there is a lot of great stuff here to ponder.
June 30, 2016
I wasn't sure what this book was going to be about exactly. Initially I was bored but I found myself being intrigued more and more with each page. This is science for the future for the general population. You will be bored if you are well versed in nanotechnology, robotics, genetics, etc. We have the impossible being built all over the country its pretty amazing what we as a species have accomplished in 100 years. The future is bright and perhaps those dystopian novels can take note: for every mad scientists with questionable morals there is another one trying to save the world.
July 9, 2012
This felt like a very superficial tour of a number of technologies likely to play a large role in the near future. However, the author lacked any special insight and often got very obvious things wrong. Once he told me Aristotle was a student of Socrates, I checked out, never to fully return. While the topic (to the extent there is one) is interesting, this book was only marginally worth reading.
November 15, 2021
Once again I’m participating in King County Library’s “Ten to Try” challenge. One of the categories is to “read a book about the future”. I tried reading two different books before getting this one, and found them incredibly dry, and way too technical. Fortunately, that was not the case with this book.
Author Mark Stevenson traveled the world to talk to various experts about what the future might hold in medicine, nanotechnology, robotics, climate science, agriculture and several other fields. He writes in a conversational and very accessible style, and he managed to make me laugh, too. Overall, this was a fascinating book. My only complaint is that the book is ten years old, and I would love it if there was a new edition.
Author Mark Stevenson traveled the world to talk to various experts about what the future might hold in medicine, nanotechnology, robotics, climate science, agriculture and several other fields. He writes in a conversational and very accessible style, and he managed to make me laugh, too. Overall, this was a fascinating book. My only complaint is that the book is ten years old, and I would love it if there was a new edition.
March 7, 2013
I picked this book up because I'm writing some sci-fi books at the moment and, let's face it, most futurology is, at best, pessimistic. Of course, a great deal of sci-fi is pretty pessimistic too, but I didn't want that. Also, this is written by a guy who used to be a stand-up comedian, not a scientist, so I figured it would be both humorous and relatively down to earth. All good things.
It's quite an enjoyable listen. I suspect the delivery is better coming from the guy who wrote the book than just reading it, but YMMV. Stevenson has a fairly dry humour, which I enjoy.
Of course, the book is out of date. The author acknowledges the fact that his work is a snapshot of a moment of the changes in the world. Things are changing so fast that anything more is difficult. It does give a snapshot of some very interesting potential future technologies and a view on how to deal with them all.
If you like your future dark and corporate, a bit like Alien, don't read this. If you want to think the future could be bright, do.
It's quite an enjoyable listen. I suspect the delivery is better coming from the guy who wrote the book than just reading it, but YMMV. Stevenson has a fairly dry humour, which I enjoy.
Of course, the book is out of date. The author acknowledges the fact that his work is a snapshot of a moment of the changes in the world. Things are changing so fast that anything more is difficult. It does give a snapshot of some very interesting potential future technologies and a view on how to deal with them all.
If you like your future dark and corporate, a bit like Alien, don't read this. If you want to think the future could be bright, do.
November 9, 2012
Honestly, I did not finish this book so I can't give it a full review- this is just for my own records. This book has an interesting premise: finding various perspicacious individuals involved in designing technology to improve the state of the world in the future. Whilst I found this aspect interesting and I wanted to follow up with what progress these developments had made since the book was published, I couldn't stand the style of writing. Stevenson has tried to develop this "blokeish" style of writing, peppered with irritating trivia, unnecessary details (about the scientists' appearance or presumed characters) and worst of all, deeply deeply unfunny jokes. I tried to skip over all that shit to access the information of his research but I just found it too aggravating. Due to the nature of the information, the book would have been so much better (and shorter) had it been written in a more formal style.
March 5, 2013
I was unsure about this and put off by the jaunty style, but nevertheless some of the people he talks to and the innovations he explains are interesting. The problem is that, while he does explain the context of (for example) the threat posed by climate change, he doesn't really assess how realistic the claims are for the various innovations that will supposedly enable us to successfully face it. He appears to conclude that combating climate change is a piece of cake. I suspect his optimism is a bit overdone.
February 17, 2013
For the uninformed (like me) this was a great book that covered most of the topics listed on the back of the book with enough depth to make you sound like you know something. At parts it was a little dry, but that is mostly due to my lack of patience with non-fiction titles. As non-fiction titles go, this was one of the funnier and more interesting ones to read.
September 2, 2012
If you want inspiration of ideas that are going to change our world , and you want something that challenges the view that everything in the world is getting worse this is the book for you.
And if you want to change things Mark Stevensons League of Pragmatic Optimists is worth a look too.
And if you want to change things Mark Stevensons League of Pragmatic Optimists is worth a look too.
Read
June 23, 2020For the month of March, I set myself to read a book whose title caught my eye, “An Optimist’s Tour of the Future” by Mark Stevenson. Any time I’ve lately seen a movie, the trailers are almost exclusively portraying a grim, post-apocalyptic world in which we’ve variously destroyed ourselves using the latest and most trendy methods imaginable (currently trending: eco-disaster). I-robot, the Matrix, and Battlestar Galactica (just to name a few) channel this morbid fascination we have with self-inflicted doom and gloom. I suppose this makes us all some kinda pan-masochists? – All that to say, the title intrigued me. I wanted to inject my vision of the future with some positivity!
And indeed, Stevenson delivers. Methodically and over the course of a year, Mark Stevenson traverses the Western World to meet, see, dine and wine with leaders in the fields of robotics, genetic engineering, longevity, carbon sequestration, energy production, private rocketry and more. Though each encounter, Stevenson presents the reader with a very real sense that the future will be entirely different than it will be now and that that isn’t doesn’t have to be a bad thing. That, in fact, it could be a really really good thing. If our generation does live well past our 100s, an incredible crescendo of innovation will surely follow. Advances in robotics and nano-machines could mean living a life surrounded by unimaginable ease and cleanliness. Communications technology has tied humanity closer together and may one day lead to a global milieu where violent acts are universally unconscionable.
Of course, with each one of these technologies, there is introduced the possibility for misuse and disaster, Stevenson does his best to now rose-tint that fact. He also goes through a historical narrative from time to time to demonstrate how with every new technology there has been a certain pivotal catastrophe or possibility for such an event, and yet we’ve overcome each of these. New laws are put in place. Tighter regulation is enforced. Armageddon is pushed a little further out. The risk of such failure is not reason enough to not pursue what may one day seem to be magical-like abilities to manipulate the physical universe.
I’m not entirely certain that I agree with his optimism, but I did find it reassuring – and even bewildering at times! – to hear of the technical advances being made across the board by ordinary human beings. Albeit humans with supreme gusto and ego, but humans nonetheless. Makes me wonder if 15 years from now, will CTEPs be instructing lower-income families on how to properly interact with robots? Will it be morally imperative for all people to have access to gene therapy, and if they’ll access their genetic codes from the library?
It was a very interesting read by a Brit with dry wit! Highly recommended.
And indeed, Stevenson delivers. Methodically and over the course of a year, Mark Stevenson traverses the Western World to meet, see, dine and wine with leaders in the fields of robotics, genetic engineering, longevity, carbon sequestration, energy production, private rocketry and more. Though each encounter, Stevenson presents the reader with a very real sense that the future will be entirely different than it will be now and that that isn’t doesn’t have to be a bad thing. That, in fact, it could be a really really good thing. If our generation does live well past our 100s, an incredible crescendo of innovation will surely follow. Advances in robotics and nano-machines could mean living a life surrounded by unimaginable ease and cleanliness. Communications technology has tied humanity closer together and may one day lead to a global milieu where violent acts are universally unconscionable.
Of course, with each one of these technologies, there is introduced the possibility for misuse and disaster, Stevenson does his best to now rose-tint that fact. He also goes through a historical narrative from time to time to demonstrate how with every new technology there has been a certain pivotal catastrophe or possibility for such an event, and yet we’ve overcome each of these. New laws are put in place. Tighter regulation is enforced. Armageddon is pushed a little further out. The risk of such failure is not reason enough to not pursue what may one day seem to be magical-like abilities to manipulate the physical universe.
I’m not entirely certain that I agree with his optimism, but I did find it reassuring – and even bewildering at times! – to hear of the technical advances being made across the board by ordinary human beings. Albeit humans with supreme gusto and ego, but humans nonetheless. Makes me wonder if 15 years from now, will CTEPs be instructing lower-income families on how to properly interact with robots? Will it be morally imperative for all people to have access to gene therapy, and if they’ll access their genetic codes from the library?
It was a very interesting read by a Brit with dry wit! Highly recommended.
Read
July 24, 2025Mark Stevenson started this book with the simple question, ‘What’s next?’ but he really wanted to know how was what the future will look like, how long he will live in it, and what part he would play … all practical and philosophical questions that we all want answering. So with this very broad brief, the author looks at a lot of the new technologies (nano-, bio- and genetic), the future of the internet, challenges and solutions to overpopulation & climate change etc. Part way along this ‘journey’, as all such books are, he becomes an ‘optimist’ (not the original working title) mostly because of the enthusiasm and inventiveness of the people he meets. There’s no doubt about what can be done to save the planet many times over with the right will, but this book doesn’t (who can?) provide a blueprint to motivate and co-ordinate collective action. Some ‘old’ stuff for me, but some fascinating new topics as well, such as ‘transhumanism’, pyrolysis and carbon sequestering. I was surprised how the internet figured as an enabler of other things, and as a communication and data sharing medium rather than a solution of itself?
Lastly, in one of those coincidences, whilst reading this book I watched an episode of ‘West Wing’ that had the same Lincoln quote, (chpt 14), ‘The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.’ As the last few chapters suggest, the present challenges are different in magnitude, and the solutions are more complicated and involve the very nature of organisations (re-framing industrial revolution era ‘factories’), individual roles and the skills we are measured by (asking questions, innovating and connecting/influencing, not making money!), and dealing with exponential and continuous change. It’s going to be a rocky ride.
Lastly, in one of those coincidences, whilst reading this book I watched an episode of ‘West Wing’ that had the same Lincoln quote, (chpt 14), ‘The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.’ As the last few chapters suggest, the present challenges are different in magnitude, and the solutions are more complicated and involve the very nature of organisations (re-framing industrial revolution era ‘factories’), individual roles and the skills we are measured by (asking questions, innovating and connecting/influencing, not making money!), and dealing with exponential and continuous change. It’s going to be a rocky ride.
November 16, 2019
Desondanks het feit dat het al 'gedateerd' is - het origineel kwam uit in 2011 - kan het niet tegenstaande aanschouwd worden als een actueel boek, in ieder geval de erin vermelde topics zijn nog steeds actueel. Nuchter, scherp en grappig, toegankelijk voor iedereen. Het biedt een klare kijk op sommige 'cutting-edge' ontwikkelingen binnen het wetenschappelijk discours, gaat onconventionele ideeën niet uit de weg tot sci-fi-aandoende toestanden passeren de revue.
Opgedeeld in 4 stukken: Mens, Machine, Aarde en het slotstuk biedt een resem aan 'what to do next' oplossingen. Gen en nanotechnologie zijn de hoofd noemers in het stuk Mens, A.I. is het binnen het stuk Machine en in het stuk Aarde komt het hot topic klimaat uitgebreid aan bod.
Boeiend, een must read!
Opgedeeld in 4 stukken: Mens, Machine, Aarde en het slotstuk biedt een resem aan 'what to do next' oplossingen. Gen en nanotechnologie zijn de hoofd noemers in het stuk Mens, A.I. is het binnen het stuk Machine en in het stuk Aarde komt het hot topic klimaat uitgebreid aan bod.
Boeiend, een must read!
March 21, 2017
This book is published in 2011 and gives an introduction on new technologies and innovations at the edge during that time. They have progressed and a lot of them have been realised. If you are reading it now, expecting something new out of it, then you've made a wrong judgement. It's a good read and explains concepts in very layman terms. If you are expecting deeper dives, it will take a few books to tell you everything. It's a decent book for starters and my only gripe is that the humour makes light of many things in the book. Not exactly British wit at all.
December 23, 2017
Viszonylag az elején, a genetikai résznél megbillent a bizalmam a könyvvel kapcsolatban, mert konkrétan valótlanságot állított. Nem tudom, a többi részben mennyi csúsztatás volt (bár nem értem, miért volt rá szükség, mert nem volt rá szükség az igaza bizonyításához). De a szerző stílusa baromi szórakoztató és izgalmas, fontos témákat feszeget. Jó lenne egy rövid tanulmány, hogy a kötetben említett projektek azóta hol tartanak.
March 14, 2022
Whistle-stop tour of some key emerging technologies circa 2011. So some of it is inevitably dated, but there's still a lot that isn't, and what's more valuable is the lessons Stevenson learns about our attitude to the future, and the viewpoint that evolution isn't over, and the future isn't something that happens to us, but something we choose. And it's nice to see at the end that he puts some of what he's learnt into practice.
June 29, 2017
Since I read it alongside John Gray and Michel Houellebecq I found his relentless optimism about new technologies misguided - or even dangerously hubristic - but it was also a bit of a jaunty antidote to all that misery and a reminder that people find very inventive ways to pootle away their time.
May 8, 2018
A wonderful collection of stories about most promising technological breakthroughs and their creators. It does indeed help create an optimistic sense about the future, helping one reassert an impatient desire to live in it.
September 18, 2019
If you like interesting research on the future of technology this is for you, but it's not just that it's an argument to have hope in the future and take solace in the knowledge that so many people out there are working to take care of the worlds problems.
May 29, 2017
Need some interesting dinner conversation? This is your new best friend.
A funny and intellectually stimulating book that I keep returning to time and again.
A funny and intellectually stimulating book that I keep returning to time and again.
February 13, 2018
Not bad, and I loved the optimism, which I think is too often missing. However, kinda just read like a glorified magazine series.
September 23, 2018
Good book that looks at how some individuals are pointing us in Society. Well written
September 7, 2019
Especially the final section on Earth was a refreshing change from the depressing news you often read. It is a very uplifting book.
Read
November 10, 2021Another fairly dry read "about the future." I think I'm just going to use one of the kids' books I read about that subject to fulfill that category in this year's "10 to Try" KCLS challenge.
January 17, 2022
An interesting read even though it's over 10 years old. The style is that of a friendly conversation in a pub rather than a formal lecture.
March 28, 2022
Hopeful.
September 2, 2025
Just what I needed
February 25, 2017
An Optimist's Tour of the Future proved completely irresistible and demanded an immediate re-read for several reasons.
First, the number of new scientific ideas and emergent technologies that are described, accessibly and engagingly in this book, is incredible. Did you know there are several different research groups who’ve successfully created genetically engineered bacteria that consume waste CO2 and excrete fuel, such as diesel or ethanol? Or that an AI has learned not only how to derive new scientific laws, given a bunch of raw data, but also how to explain the meaning of the results it found to its creators?
None of the ideas in the book are hypothetical. In the course of writing it, Mark Stevenson visited (a very impressive roster of) research labs and startups that have conducted successful experiments with and built working prototypes of some mind-blowing technologies. From flexible solar film printed quickly and cheaply in big rolls on a former photographic printer, to nano-coating which can protect anything from clothes to monuments from weathering and dirt, the stuff of science fiction is being made manifest today in laboratories around the world.
The second aspect that makes this such an enjoyable read, is how damned optimistic it is. In startling contrast to most books dealing with the subject of the near future, this one maintains an unwaveringly positive outlook about the success of and the possibilities offered by these nascent technologies. Lucidly and rationally, (but often excitedly, because it’s going to be so bloody cool when it ramps up and really gets going), Stevenson explains the potential of each technology to transform the lives of individuals, societies, and the planet for the better.
Nowhere is the pragmatism of this optimistic stance more evident than in the “Mother Earth” section of the book, concerned with research targeted to help the environment. A small number of functional CO2 scrubbers – machines that extract carbon dioxide out of the air – have already been built. All that is required to start bringing atmospheric CO2 down at rates that would offset the impact of any current ongoing emissions and maybe even return it to pre-industrial levels is the funding needed to build more of these. On the other end of the spectrum is a staggeringly simple solution to drought, overgrazing, and depleted soil carbon levels in Australian cattle farming that requires no cutting-edge technologies, but only a change of the traditional farm management practices. Anyway, I’ll let you read about that yourself. Or better yet, if you know someone who owns a large number of grazing animals, get them to read it.
The third thing that makes this book very appealing is a generous helping of humour. In addition to being a writer, Mark Stevenson is also a stand-up comedian. Having ignored the author bio on the back of the book when I first started reading it, I would be both delighted and startled when, at the end of a paragraph full of science, there would come a flawless punch line. And then, a couple of paragraphs later, another. I would laugh, and grow more and more confused, until, about a third into the book, Stevenson mentioned fitting in a stand-up gig on one of his research trips. Then I felt much better about the whole abundance-of-punch-lines thing. He is, after all, a practicing professional.
First, the number of new scientific ideas and emergent technologies that are described, accessibly and engagingly in this book, is incredible. Did you know there are several different research groups who’ve successfully created genetically engineered bacteria that consume waste CO2 and excrete fuel, such as diesel or ethanol? Or that an AI has learned not only how to derive new scientific laws, given a bunch of raw data, but also how to explain the meaning of the results it found to its creators?
None of the ideas in the book are hypothetical. In the course of writing it, Mark Stevenson visited (a very impressive roster of) research labs and startups that have conducted successful experiments with and built working prototypes of some mind-blowing technologies. From flexible solar film printed quickly and cheaply in big rolls on a former photographic printer, to nano-coating which can protect anything from clothes to monuments from weathering and dirt, the stuff of science fiction is being made manifest today in laboratories around the world.
The second aspect that makes this such an enjoyable read, is how damned optimistic it is. In startling contrast to most books dealing with the subject of the near future, this one maintains an unwaveringly positive outlook about the success of and the possibilities offered by these nascent technologies. Lucidly and rationally, (but often excitedly, because it’s going to be so bloody cool when it ramps up and really gets going), Stevenson explains the potential of each technology to transform the lives of individuals, societies, and the planet for the better.
Nowhere is the pragmatism of this optimistic stance more evident than in the “Mother Earth” section of the book, concerned with research targeted to help the environment. A small number of functional CO2 scrubbers – machines that extract carbon dioxide out of the air – have already been built. All that is required to start bringing atmospheric CO2 down at rates that would offset the impact of any current ongoing emissions and maybe even return it to pre-industrial levels is the funding needed to build more of these. On the other end of the spectrum is a staggeringly simple solution to drought, overgrazing, and depleted soil carbon levels in Australian cattle farming that requires no cutting-edge technologies, but only a change of the traditional farm management practices. Anyway, I’ll let you read about that yourself. Or better yet, if you know someone who owns a large number of grazing animals, get them to read it.
The third thing that makes this book very appealing is a generous helping of humour. In addition to being a writer, Mark Stevenson is also a stand-up comedian. Having ignored the author bio on the back of the book when I first started reading it, I would be both delighted and startled when, at the end of a paragraph full of science, there would come a flawless punch line. And then, a couple of paragraphs later, another. I would laugh, and grow more and more confused, until, about a third into the book, Stevenson mentioned fitting in a stand-up gig on one of his research trips. Then I felt much better about the whole abundance-of-punch-lines thing. He is, after all, a practicing professional.
April 10, 2012
What you'd get if you crossed Bill Bryson (which is made explicit on the back cover) with John Horgan - popular science that's lightly readable and as interested in the people as the invention, knowledge, and technology.
Which does lead me to again ponder the issue of whether 'the science' can, or should, be divorced in any way from 'the scientist(s)' when adopting this style of coverage.
There's not much that's really revelatory here for anyone who keeps up with the news, a science-focused show or two (such as Catalyst or The Science Show here in Australia) or reads New Scientist semi-regularly. It is well organised, and better referenced than the total disappointment of The Extreme Future: The Top Trends That Will Reshape the World for the Next 5, 10, and 20 Years, but still a bit light-weight and fluffy for me. I would liked a bit more depth in the actual science. Perhaps that wasn't the intent, but I'm left feeling that that authors like Stevenson believe that too much detail will scare away readers sometimes. Hell, even diagrams would allow more depth, still keep the word count down, and shouldn't prove to be too threatening. Somewhere out there are more books like An Ocean Of Air: A Natural History Of The Atmosphere - a wonderful medium between too light and too heavy.
Despite that personal complaint, it is a fun, easy, and optimistic read. And one not devoid of personal reflection and development either. The optimism is something that this has in common with The Extreme Future, bit this is more thoughtful, less business-orientated, and far less annoying in tone. Much easier to take a little more seriously.
I particularly loved the chapter about farming practices in Aus, and am curious to see the numbers there for myself. When I spoke to family members who grew up on dairy farms about that one, they were skeptical of both the practicality of such small paddocks and of accountants buying (more) farms, but were also mildly curious. it struck me as something very here (rather than in some lab or factory in North America), now, and doable. And potentially offering a big bang for a small buck. That being said, engineered bacteria that directly compress the entire carbon fuel cycle into days and weeks rather than eons are also pretty intriguing if one is just focusing on carbon dioxide, climate change, and ways to mitigate (rather than completely manage or reverse) the issue.
It may not be the greatest science communication example, but it is one of the better futurist ones that I've come across. A welcome anodyne to the usual doom and gloom that the media like to focus on.
Which does lead me to again ponder the issue of whether 'the science' can, or should, be divorced in any way from 'the scientist(s)' when adopting this style of coverage.
There's not much that's really revelatory here for anyone who keeps up with the news, a science-focused show or two (such as Catalyst or The Science Show here in Australia) or reads New Scientist semi-regularly. It is well organised, and better referenced than the total disappointment of The Extreme Future: The Top Trends That Will Reshape the World for the Next 5, 10, and 20 Years, but still a bit light-weight and fluffy for me. I would liked a bit more depth in the actual science. Perhaps that wasn't the intent, but I'm left feeling that that authors like Stevenson believe that too much detail will scare away readers sometimes. Hell, even diagrams would allow more depth, still keep the word count down, and shouldn't prove to be too threatening. Somewhere out there are more books like An Ocean Of Air: A Natural History Of The Atmosphere - a wonderful medium between too light and too heavy.
Despite that personal complaint, it is a fun, easy, and optimistic read. And one not devoid of personal reflection and development either. The optimism is something that this has in common with The Extreme Future, bit this is more thoughtful, less business-orientated, and far less annoying in tone. Much easier to take a little more seriously.
I particularly loved the chapter about farming practices in Aus, and am curious to see the numbers there for myself. When I spoke to family members who grew up on dairy farms about that one, they were skeptical of both the practicality of such small paddocks and of accountants buying (more) farms, but were also mildly curious. it struck me as something very here (rather than in some lab or factory in North America), now, and doable. And potentially offering a big bang for a small buck. That being said, engineered bacteria that directly compress the entire carbon fuel cycle into days and weeks rather than eons are also pretty intriguing if one is just focusing on carbon dioxide, climate change, and ways to mitigate (rather than completely manage or reverse) the issue.
It may not be the greatest science communication example, but it is one of the better futurist ones that I've come across. A welcome anodyne to the usual doom and gloom that the media like to focus on.
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