Publishers Weekly
08/12/2019
Technological advances will be miraculous but unsettling—but not too unsettling—according to this measured, rather superficial survey of things to come. Browne (Seven Elements That Changed the World), an engineer, former CEO of oil company BP, and Crick Institute chairman, pays homage to past engineering triumphs, from Stone Age hand axes to the Bic ball-point pen, on the way to exploring modern-day innovations including driverless cars, renewable energy, social media, 3-D printing, prosthetic limbs controlled by brain-implanted chips, and surgical robots. Browne registers potential downsides of breakthroughs along with benefits: the internet connects but also balkanizes humanity into ideological bubbles; digital images enable malign surveillance; GPS satellites are making navigational skills atrophy; antibiotics breed antibiotic-resistant germs. Browne is mainly optimistic and welcoming of new technology, but throws sops to alarmism: he judges fracking safe, “when performed carefully,” but allows that “rational explanations and statistics are not enough to resolve such an emotional and polarizing issue,” and asserts that anti-vaxxers’ “concerns must be answered sympathetically.” There’s not much new in this broad, shallow overview, which will leave both technophiles and -phobes wishing that Browne had gone more deeply into the controversies over these powerful innovations. Agent: William Clarke, William Clarke Assoc. (Sept.)
Tony Blair [Praise for Seven Elements That Changed the World]
"The human quest for knowledge has led to extraordinary progress. This book forces us to confront these realities and does so in a unique and fascinating way. It weaves science and humanity together in a way that gives us new insight. This is an expertly crafted book by a unique thinker."
The American Scientist
Browne’s book is...thoughtful, analytical, insightful, comprehensive, wide-ranging, and deeply researched.
Forbes
"Browne views engineering as inherently translational. He describes engineering as ‘a head with two sets of eyes: one looks to the fruits of discovery, while the other looks to the demands of commerce and customers.’ A pivotal moment in Browne's career trajectory, he said, was his realization that ‘no solution was complete unless it resulted in something practical that humanity wanted."
John Hennessy
"An ode to the ways in which engineering has improved human civilization.
Tony Blair
"The human quest for knowledge has led to extraordinary progress. This book forces us to confront these realities and does so in a unique and fascinating way. It weaves science and humanity together in a way that gives us new insight. This is an expertly crafted book by a unique thinker."
Booklist [Praise for Seven Elements That Changed the World]
"In his first foray into popular-science writing, Browne does an admirable job crafting an informative and engrossing chemistry-based view of history."
CHOICE
"Browne takes readers on a fascinating yet practical intellectual journey into both past and future technologies, focusing on the technologies most likely to benefit humankind...The author's interviews and personal experiences make this material come alive. The occasional diagrams and black-and-white images surely enhance understanding, and researchers will definitely appreciate the voluminous notes, chock-full of detailed explanations, as well as the comprehensive index featuring numerous detailed sub-entries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers."
Wall Street Journal [praise for Seven Elements That Changed the World]
"Mr. Browne uses his chosen elements to frame a wide-ranging look at scientific progress. It's also a lot of fun."
Wall Street Journal
"A tribute to engineers like Rousseau, the tribe of pragmatic creators who, Mr. Browne says, are ‘at the heart of all human progress.’ Mr. Browne has created a sturdy and useful product, achieving the engineer’s blend of ‘hopefulness and pragmatism’ that he so deeply admires."
Wall Street Journal
A tribute to engineers like Rousseau, the tribe of pragmatic creators who, Mr. Browne says, are ‘at the heart of all human progress.’ Mr. Browne has created a sturdy and useful product, achieving the engineer’s blend of ‘hopefulness and pragmatism’ that he so deeply admires.
Kirkus Reviews
2019-06-09
The future is almost here, and it won't be that bad, according to this mostly optimistic forecast from an engineer.
Since the primitive stone hand ax from 40,000 years ago, technical innovation—i.e., engineering—has driven progress, writes Browne (The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out Is Good Business, 2014, etc.), the former CEO of BP, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and chairman of the Tate Gallery. Throughout the centuries, he emphasizes, each new innovation has been controversial in some way. Socrates denounced writing as a destroyer of memory. Observers warned that the printing press would overwhelm the world with nonsense, a critique also applied to the internet. Both criticisms have merit, Browne points out, but there are advantages. "The way people choose to use an innovation will determine its impact on society," he writes. "But every engineered product will also generate its own set of consequences, both intentional and unintentional, as well as constructive and destructive….Progress is not delivered with an instruction manual spelling out the safe and responsible use of new inventions." Unlike the usual overview of innovation, the author skims the Egyptians, Romans, Renaissance, and Industrial Revolution, stopping in the mid-20th century when digital technology caught everyone's attention. Few deny that computers are transforming our lives, and critics claim this will produce mass unemployment. However, Browne points out that this has been the doomsayer's mantra since the 1960s, and so far, automation has created many jobs and eliminated far fewer. DNA manipulation, big data, and high-tech imaging will make us smarter, healthier, and longer lived, although not yet. Despite the spread of nuclear weapons, the world is becoming less violent; mutual assured destruction is being replaced by mutual assured disruption through cyberwarfare and terrorism.
A thoughtful analysis of today's unprecedented pace of change and what the future may hold.
