March 05, 2008

"How to Build a Robot Army" Book Review (5/5) -Thaddeus

We live in a world fraught with incredible dangers. Behind every corner, lurking within every shadow are unspeakable hordes of evil that threaten to tear down all that is good in the world and leave humanity as nothing more than a gored and shredded memory.

I've been saying this, loudly and often, for years now. And despite people decrying me as "unstable," "rambling" and "kind of a downer," I think I've found a kindred spirit in Daniel H. Wilson, Ph.D.

His latest book, "How to Build a Robot Army: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Alien Invaders, Ninjas, and Zombies," delivers a delicious mixture of technical information and entertainment. It's a primer on modern and future robotics, spiced with science fiction and pop-culture.

Aside from those threats mentioned in the title, Wilson also teaches readers how to take on mummies, pirates and the King of All Monsters: Godzilla (just to name a few), armed with nothing more than common, household robots (such as vacuums or toy dinosaurs) and stolen, military prototypes -- hey, if the world is crumbling around you, you can't afford to be burdened by useless and unweildly scruples.

Science is fantastic.

People forget that sometimes, but it's absolutely true... and it's absolutley essential to our progress as a species. That's why I highly recommend this book. It's informative and it's fun. Knowledge doesn't have to be dry -- you can enjoy learning things.

The slick illustrations by Richard Horne tie the perfect bow around the package; sharp, intelligent writing and a cool aesthetic... what's not to like?

Buy this book and read it. The future is here!

...

And, as a post-script, I give the same high recommendation to Wilson's previous books: "How to Survive a Robot Uprising" and "Where's My Jetpack?"

Though, if you're like me, you'll spend the rest of your life obsessing over the fact that we've had functional jetpack technology since the '60s... and whining to your friends about it... over and over.

-Thad out

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