by Chris Forman & Claire Asher ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 30, 2021
An ingenious, if highly speculative, save-the-planet proposal that emphasizes science over politics.
How future technology can clean up the environment.
Physicist Forman and science writer and biologist Asher note the interesting datum that each day, a human “expends eight times the amount of energy released when a single stick of dynamite explodes”—but at a much slower rate. Slowness allows living organisms to metabolize with superb efficiency and produce waste products—mostly water, carbon dioxide, heat, and organic matter—that are not discarded but become energy sources for other organisms. In stark contrast, human creation and consumption dump waste into landfills or the atmosphere. The authors propose an alternative that replenishes resources and passes waste on to other industries for further use—a “circular economy” instead of our ruinous linear one. They emphasize that we must learn to grow material organically, just as wood, bone, silk, and others are grown in the real world: “How incredible would it be if a smartphone could be grown like an apple on a tree?” Using many dazzling illustrations, they deliver a capsule but definitely not dumbed-down education on the biology and thermodynamics that engineers must understand as they change the world. Skeptical readers will discover that two technologies that support the circular economy are already well along in development: additive manufacturing (3-D printing) and synthetic biology, which reprograms DNA “to give us complete control over the chemical tasks that biological cells can perform on our behalf.” The end result of these advancements, write the authors, will be a transformative, interconnected global system. Whereas the internet connects us to information, this “synthernet” would connect to the materials around us; allow us to recycle nearly everything, including our out-of-date smartphone; and then build the latest “biosmartphone” to order. Humans are superb problem-solvers, and the authors make a convincing case that technology will mitigate at least some of the devastation we are inflicting on the Earth. Readers unfamiliar with heterotic computing, photolithography, and other technical terms will appreciate the glossary.
An ingenious, if highly speculative, save-the-planet proposal that emphasizes science over politics.Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-262-04446-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: MIT Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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by Walter Isaacson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 2023
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.
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A warts-and-all portrait of the famed techno-entrepreneur—and the warts are nearly beyond counting.
To call Elon Musk (b. 1971) “mercurial” is to undervalue the term; to call him a genius is incorrect. Instead, Musk has a gift for leveraging the genius of others in order to make things work. When they don’t, writes eminent biographer Isaacson, it’s because the notoriously headstrong Musk is so sure of himself that he charges ahead against the advice of others: “He does not like to share power.” In this sharp-edged biography, the author likens Musk to an earlier biographical subject, Steve Jobs. Given Musk’s recent political turn, born of the me-first libertarianism of the very rich, however, Henry Ford also comes to mind. What emerges clearly is that Musk, who may or may not have Asperger’s syndrome (“Empathy did not come naturally”), has nurtured several obsessions for years, apart from a passion for the letter X as both a brand and personal name. He firmly believes that “all requirements should be treated as recommendations”; that it is his destiny to make humankind a multi-planetary civilization through innovations in space travel; that government is generally an impediment and that “the thought police are gaining power”; and that “a maniacal sense of urgency” should guide his businesses. That need for speed has led to undeniable successes in beating schedules and competitors, but it has also wrought disaster: One of the most telling anecdotes in the book concerns Musk’s “demon mode” order to relocate thousands of Twitter servers from Sacramento to Portland at breakneck speed, which trashed big parts of the system for months. To judge by Isaacson’s account, that may have been by design, for Musk’s idea of creative destruction seems to mean mostly chaos.
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781982181284
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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by Walter Isaacson with adapted by Sarah Durand
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BOOK TO SCREEN
by Françoise Malby-Anthony with Kate Sidley ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2023
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.
The third volume in the Elephant Whisperer series.
In this follow-up to An Elephant in My Kitchen, Malby-Anthony continues her loving portrait of the Thula Thula wildlife reserve, which she co-founded in 1998 with her late husband, South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who published the first book in the series, The Elephant Whisperer, in 2009. Following his death in 2012, Malby-Anthony sought to honor his legacy by continuing his vision “to create a massive conservancy in Zululand, incorporating our land and other small farms and community land into one great big game park.” At the same time, the elephants gave her “a sense of purpose and direction.” In the Zulu language, thula means quiet, and though the author consistently seeks to provide that calm to her charges, peace and tranquility are not always easy to come by at Thula Thula. In this installment, Malby-Anthony discusses many of the challenges faced by her and her staff, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. These included an aggressive, 2-ton rhino named Thabo; the profound loss felt by all upon the death of their elephant matriarch, Frankie; difficulty obtaining permits and the related risk of having to relocate or cull some of their animals; the fear of looting and fire due to civil unrest in the region; and the ongoing and potentially deadly struggles with poachers. Throughout, the author also shares many warm, lighthearted moments, demonstrating the deep bond felt among the humans and animals at the reserve and the powerful effects of the kindness of strangers. “We are all working in unity for the greater good, for the betterment of Thula Thula and all our wildlife….We are humbled by the generosity and love, both from our guests and friends, and from strangers all around the world,” writes the author. “People’s open-hearted support kept us alive in the darkest times.”
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284259
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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