Humankind is not doomed, we may be around for millions of years yet. We have already survived one of the most extraordinary planet-wide catastrophes - the Ice Ages.
The subject of the book is very much in the news at the moment - will we be wiped out by climate change, war or pestilence? Hanlon is saying something different, that the species will survive as the planet changes around us. This different point of view is refreshing, and some sections of the book are very controversial, which should get the attention of the media.Not only is humankind not doomed, but that we may be around for millions, if not hundreds of millions of years. We have already survived one of the most extraordinary planet-wide catastrophes - the great Ice Ages. Equipped with the simplest technology, Homo sapiens sailed through the great glaciations, and profited from them.
Introduction; Armageddon Postponed; Life Imitating Art; The Next Hundred Years; A Geek's World?; Nothing Ever Happens; Manifest Destiny and Humanity's Big Bang; From the Left Field; A Damaged World; Singularity; Transcendendance, the Multiverse and the Matrix; The End of Religion?; Towards the Long Road; Back to the Stone Age; Into Eternity; The End.
MICHAEL HANLON is one of Britain's most successful science writers. He has been Science Editor at the Daily Mail for many years; prior to this he was at the Daily Express, the Independent and Irish News. He contributes regularly to magazines such as the Spectator and appears on TV and radio as a science pundit. He has headlined several science festivals and written four critically acclaimed popular science books before this one: The Science Of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (Macmillan, 2005), The Real Mars (Constable, 2004) and The Worlds of Galileo (Constable, 2001), and 10 Questions Science can't Answer (Yet), (Macmillan, 2007).
'...this is a well-researched, engagingly written and thoughtfully constructed book -- one that manages to be imaginative without bursting the constraints imposed by current scientific thinking.' - Dr Paul Parsons, BBC Focus 'an extremely stimulating read.' - GF Willmetts, SF Crowsnest Praise for The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 'Adopting Adams' witty, punchy style, Hanlon's guide is a fun and vivid read. The science twinkles a little more than usual in such a zany setting...he tackles a wide range of cutting-edge topics with depth and authority.' Nature 'Good stuff...It's great the way Hanlon flits from one topic to another, weaving a web of scientific and technological ideas...his light style is ideally fitted to exploring the products of Douglas Adams' mind.' www.popularscience.co.uk