Editorial Review:

Taking us behind the scenes with today's foremost researchers and pioneers, bestselling author Joel Garreau shows that we are at a turning point in history.  At this moment we are engineering the next stage of human evolution.  Through advances in genetic, robotic, information, and nanotechnologies, we are altering our minds, our memories, our metabolisms, our personalities, our progeny-and perhaps our very souls.  Radical Evolution reveals that the powers of our comic-book superheroes already exist, or are in development in hospitals, labs, and research facilities around the country-from the revved-up reflexes and speed of Spider-Man and Superman, to the enhanced mental acuity and memory capabilities of an advanced species. Over the next fifteen years, Garreau makes clear in this New York Times Book Club premiere selection, these enhancements will become part of our everyday lives. Where will they lead us? To heaven-where technology's promise to make us smarter, vanquish illness, and extend our lives is the answer to our prayers? Or, as some argue, to hell-where unrestrained technology brings about the ultimate destruction of our species?

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

"To Be or Not to Be"--That May Be the Question!!!:

Human Nature...will it be the same tomorrow as it is today?
Don't bet on it--especially after reading this book. It's all about how GRIN technologies--Genetics, Robotics, Information and Nano Processes--are fundamentally changing the rules of the game in terms of human change and evolution--how we discover, process and handle new scientific development, and what we do with it to enhance ourselves.
Will the human of today be the human of tomorrow or will our minds and bodies be enhanced to such a... more info

A balanced exploration of the topic:

The author presents a broad selection of other people's opinions on 'human enhancement' in a well-written, entertainng book. He does not perform a critical analysis of those opinions, just presents them for you to use to make up your own mind. Because the author doesn't really show strong opinions of his own, this book will likely not be as controversial or polarizing as the books of the people's opinions contained in the book.
I enjoyed this book and it is a good overview, but I enjoyed more reading... more info

Dense exploration of the technological explosion to come:

This is about the so-called GRIN technologies: Genetic, Robotic, Information, and Nano. Properly speaking the title should be "Extreme Cultural Evolution," or perhaps "Accelerated Technological Evolution." "Radical" is used here in the sense of "extreme." Regardless of what we call it, for better or for worse, we will be enhancing our minds and bodies and changing the life forms around us, especially those we use for food. In fact we have already done so through computers, surgery, artificial limbs,... more info

Good introduction to the field:

I read this book as part of an honors seminar at my university called "Cyborgs, Transhumansim, and the Future of Mankind." This is a very good collection of the different possibilities of how the singularity could play itself out. The author assumes that radical evolution will take place, so it is not completely objective, but he does reference scientists of different viewpoints, in order to gain a balanced picture of how believers in transhumanism envision the future. Very good overview to spur further... more info

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