Brian Allen 2008-07-11
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Martin Rees is a professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics and Matter at the University of Cambridge and holds the honorary title of Astronomer Royal. He is the author and co-author of more than 500 research articles and seven books on astrophysics and cosmology. According to [...] he is "arguably the finest all-around theoretical physicist working today".
In "Our Final Century" he provides his projection on the course of human history for this 21st century. Although the title is grim he does not leave one without hope. In the author's own words this book ..."ranges widely". The first half of the book covers likely and less probable threats to civilization and the earth mainly due to inappropriate uses of advanced technology from fissionable materials in the hands of terrorists to escaped genetically engineered bacteria and "nanorobots".
The "gray goo scenario" is particularly chilling and fun to relate in conversation with friends. Rees is able to explain the physics of events like a possible strangelet disaster that could potentially arise from a heavy particle accelerator experiment and cause the earth to transform into "a hyperdense sphere about one hundred metres across".
Unfortunately some of the book is a digression into over familiar themes such as earth-asteroid collisions, and topics seemingly unrelated to the books intent, such as the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. This only detracts slightly from the impact the book has.
I have not read Rees's other book on the related subject titled "Our Final Hour" which seems to have a similar subject matter according to the reviews. Finally I had picked up this book after reading James Lovelock's "The Revenge of Gaia" where he cited this book. See below for 30 other writers that were influenced by this book and cited it in their works.
