Provocative, exuberant perspectives on the “disrupting technologies” primed to enhance the human experience.
Intriguing updates from the protean worlds of food, companionship, death, and beyond.
Chronicling a far-flung, five-year research project, journalist and documentary filmmaker Kleeman provides a vigorous introduction to several inventions poised to alter essential industries. In Southern California, the author visited Abyss Creations, “the home of RealDoll, the world’s most famous hyperrealistic silicone sex doll.” One model, “Harmony” (cost: $15,000), was embroiled in a competitive frenzy to perfect a “synthetic companion convincing enough that you could actually have a relationship with it.” Kleeman also relates her interview with a man who lives with three synthetic playmates, one of whom is his “wife.” In other sections, she creatively spotlights pioneering advancements in the production of sustainable, plant-based food systems and vegan “clean meat” and fish. An unrepentant carnivore, the author addresses six key reasons why an increasing proportion of the populace considers meat and fish production indefensible industries. The author is a focused and charming tour guide, with the kind of breezy writing skills that make each section immensely intriguing. Even readers with no interest in reproduction or childbirth will be intrigued by the section on fertility specialists who offer unique “social surrogacy” options and fetuses incubated in an ectogenetic “biobag.” Besides clinical risks, this particular subject encompasses complex ethical dilemmas, which Kleeman explores. In the morbid yet fascinating concluding section, the author looks at rational euthanasia options like Sarco, described by its developer as a “world-first 3D Printed Euthanasia Machine.” Though most of these initiatives are male-driven, women do appear throughout the narrative, most notably as neonatologists and/or fierce advocates for voluntary euthanasia. Behind Kleeman’s profiles and research lies the belief that life can be vastly enriched with the aid of technology and without discomfort, inconvenience, or sacrifice even as these modernizations remain in development. Fans of Mary Roach will be pleased.
Provocative, exuberant perspectives on the “disrupting technologies” primed to enhance the human experience.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64313-572-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Pegasus
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
A remarkably thorough and thoughtful case for the reconciliation between science and faith.
A duo of French mathematicians makes the scientific case for God in this nonfiction book.
Since its 2021 French-language publication in Paris, this work by Bolloré and Bonnassies has sold more than 400,000 copies. Now translated into English for the first time by West and Jones, the book offers a new introduction featuring endorsements from a range of scientists and religious leaders, including Nobel Prize-winning astronomers and Roman Catholic cardinals. This appeal to authority, both religious and scientific, distinguishes this volume from a genre of Christian apologetics that tends to reject, rather than embrace, scientific consensus. Central to the book’s argument is that contemporary scientific advancements have undone past emphases on materialist interpretations of the universe (and their parallel doubts of spirituality). According to the authors’ reasoned arguments, what now forms people’s present understanding of the universe—including quantum mechanics, relativity, and the Big Bang—puts “the question of the existence of a creator God back on the table,” given the underlying implications. Einstein’s theory of relativity, for instance, presupposes that if a cause exists behind the origin of the universe, then it must be atemporal, non-spatial, and immaterial. While the book’s contentions related to Christianity specifically, such as its belief in the “indisputable truths contained in the Bible,” may not be as convincing as its broader argument on how the idea of a creator God fits into contemporary scientific understanding, the volume nevertheless offers a refreshingly nuanced approach to the topic. From the work’s outset, the authors (academically trained in math and engineering) reject fundamentalist interpretations of creationism (such as claims that Earth is only 6,000 years old) as “fanciful beliefs” while challenging the philosophical underpinnings of a purely materialist understanding of the universe that may not fit into recent scientific paradigm shifts. Featuring over 500 pages and more than 600 research notes, this book strikes a balance between its academic foundations and an accessible writing style, complemented by dozens of photographs from various sources, diagrams, and charts.
A remarkably thorough and thoughtful case for the reconciliation between science and faith.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9789998782402
Page Count: 562
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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