Robert Bradbury's Reading List
Knowing the reading list of an individual is about as close you can get
to evesdropping on their mind. It gives you a glimpse of what they
are thinking about and allows you to hypothesize about directions in which
they may be going. It provides insight into what the basis is for statements
they make and who they value as sources.
Here I hope to document many of the articles, documents, magazines and
books which I have read or plan to read. It may allow some understanding
of how I assemble knowledge and how others might replicate my thinking.
Of course there is no guarantee that the conclusions they may reach will
be similar to mine (but I can always hope.... :-)).
Contents:
Books
-
June, 2004
-
February, 2003
-
Ageless Quest, Lenny Guarente, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,
Cold Spring Harbor, NY (2003); ISBN: 0-87969-652-4
-
January, 2003
-
When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management,
Roger Lowenstein, Random House Trade Paperbacks, New York, (2000); ISBN:
0-375-75825-9
-
July, 2001
-
June, 2001
-
May, 2001
-
March, 2001
-
February, 2001
-
August, 2000
-
July, 2000
-
June, 2000
-
The Case for Mars, Robert
Zubrin, Richard
Wagner, Free Press; (November 1996); ISBN: 0684827573
-
Snow Crash, Neal
Stephenson, Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub, (May 2000); ISBN: 0553380958;
Bantam Spectra (May 1993); ISBN: 0553562614
-
Walking to Babylon, Kate
Orman, The New Adventures, London (February 1998); ISBN: 0426205219;
[commentary]
An exploration of the problems faced by a super-entity "god" in
the form a Dyson sphere dealing with the actions of maladjusted resident
aliens who engineer time machines in the hope of allowing the sphere citizens
to colonize Earth in Babylonian times.
-
May, 2000
-
Vast, Linda
Nagata, Bantam Books; (September 1998); ISBN: 0553576305
Alien spaceships operated by decorporealized evolved humans in a
quest against humanity destroying nano-viruses. A good perpspective
on nanotechnology capabilities.
-
April, 2000
-
Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe , Peter
Douglas Ward & Donald
Brownlee, Copernicus Books (January 2000); ISBN: 0387987010
-
Distress, Greg
Egan, Harper Prism, 1995; ISBN: 0061057274
The plot revolves around the use of bioengineered viruses used to
eliminate normal humans and efforts by the biotech industry to conquer
a rogue island state created with stolen intellectual property. Includes
nanoengineered human reporters with onboard cameras, advanced robotic infantry,
and humans engineered for enhanced sexuality and asexuality.
-
March, 2000
-
The Diamond Age, Neal
Stephenson, Bantam, 1995; ISBN: 0553573314
One of the earliest books looking at a post-nanotechnology world,
where countries and governments have given way to cultural enclaves governed
by the "Common Economic Protocol". Includes islands that are grown
from the sea, fairy tale books that train children in self defense, matter
compilers and decompilers and a variety of applications of nanotechnology.
-
February, 2000
-
Engineer's Dreams, Willy Ley, 1954
A fascinating look at projects conceived by engineers on Earth.
Includes oceanic icebergs as landing fields to a dam across the Strait
of Gibralter to lower the level of the Mediterannean to a dam across the
Congo River to flood the central part of Africa.
-
Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe, Peter
Douglas Ward & Donald Brownlee, Copernicus Books, January,
2000, ISBN: 0387987010
-
January, 2000
-
December, 1999
-
The Science of Aliens, Clifford
A. Pickover, Harper Collins, November, 1998, ISBN: 046507314X
A tour of aspects of alien life-forms, including their appearence,
senses, environments, origins and communications methods. A brief
mention of SETI and an interesting look at claims for alien abductions.
Provides a good background for the evolution of life with only a cursory
examination of the Fermi Paradox and very little material on the technological
evolution of intelligent species. Xenology by Robert
A. Freitas Jr. goes into more depth.
-
November, 1999(?)
-
Probability 1: Why There Must Be Intelligent Life in the Universe,
Amir
D. Aczel , Harcourt Brace, September, 1998, ISBN: 0151003769
-
July, 1999
-
The Last
Mortal Generation, Damien
Broderick, New Holland, July 1999, ISBN: 1864364408;
1864364416
This book is contains the most accurate projections regarding the
future evolution of technologies related to biotechnology, nanotechnology,
lifespan extension, cryonics, artificial intelligence, etc. that I have
read to date. It begins with the foundation provided by such books
as Robot, Beyond Humanity & Immortality (see below). It then
explores the developments we can realistically expect and presents a tentative
and balanced view of those ideas (e.g. multiverses & quantum computing)
whose merit and significance cannot be effectively evaluated from where
we are now. Highly recomended.
-
June, 1999
-
Permutation City, Greg
Egan, Harper, October, 1995; ISBN: 006105481X
A stimulating and provocative look at what will happen when people
are able to be uploaded into computers. The premise of simultaneous
or distributed computation of sequential computational states seems a bit
unreasonable, but the aspects of being able to edit ones mind seem correct.
The possibility of reality being determined by the "self-organization"
of the most self-consistent (or believable) collection of ideas (reference
frame) is leaves one stunned.
-
May, 1999
-
Beyond Humanity: Cyberevolution and Future Minds, Gregory
S. Paul & Earl
Cox, Charles River Media, October 1996; ISBN: 1886801215
The best book available for the merging of artificial intelligence,
artificial
consciousness, trends in biotechnology, nanotechnology and robotics.
A defininate "must read" after Robot: Mere Machine
to Trancendent Mind (or Mind Children). My only two criticisms
relate to their discussion of aging and lifespan extension (which is oversimplified
and excessively emphasizes telomeres [like other authors]); and their discussion
about the limits on the size of minds and their conclusion that "we are
alone", which are extremely short-sighted (and wrong IMHO) compared with
the rest of the book.
-
February, 1999
Immortality: How Science Is Extending Your Lifespan, and Changing
the World, Ben
Bova, Avon (September 1998); ISBN: 0380975181;
rereleased as: ISBN: 0380793180
(January 2000) -- (note that my review is only present on the initial publication)
Part I of the book provides a simplistic view of the biology of
aging and medical technologies which may be used to address some of these
problems. Part II looks at how society will deal with immortality and is
by far more interesting.
-
January, 1999
-
Robot: Mere Machine to Trancendent Mind, Hans
Moravec, Oxford University Press, January 1999, ISBN: 0195116305
Clearly one of the best books detailing the path humanity is on.
The only thing missed by Moravec is an understanding of the growth rates
that nanotechnology will enable.
-
Neverness, David
Zindel, Acacia Press, Inc., May 1988, ISBN: 0586205365
Of interest for the concept of the "Solid State Entitity", "a nebula-size
brain composed of moon-size biocomputers". The "Solid State Entity"
is discussed in Chapter 5 and 26. Includes interesting uses of biotechnology
and nanotechnology, especially the poorly managed application of nanotechnology
in the uncontrolled growth of mankind.
-
November, 1998
-
Materials
in Today's World, 2nd Ed., Peter
A. Thrower, McGraw-Hill, 1996
-
Slant, Greg
Bear, Tor Books, 1998, ISBN: 0812524829,
505 pp.
A world based on nanotechnology where people and superintelligent
machines are always balanced on the edge.
-
The Wanderer,
Fritz
Leiber, 1964, 318 pp.
An story involving a wandering superplanet, populated by galactic
libertarians, popping out of hyperspace and disrupting life on earth where
they decide to consume the moon for fuel. The tragedies which befall
Earth are cast in a different light when it becomes clear this independence
minded community is fleeing from the galactic security forces.
-
October, 1998
-
Planet Quest,
Ken
Croswell, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997, ISBN: 0684832526;
015600612-X,
312 pp.
-
The Next
Ten Thousand Years: A Vision of Man's Future in the Universe, Adrian
Berry, Saturday Review Press, 1974, 217 pp.
-
The Dark
Side of the Sun, Terry
Pratchett, Colin Smythe, 1976, 159 pp.
-
Imaginary
Magnitude, Stanislaw
Lem, Czytelnik, Warsaw, 1973 (translation 1984), 122 pp.
A collection of book introductions. The most interesting part
of the book is the Golem XIV chapter (pp 97-248) which discusses the relationship
between superintelligent computers (AIs) and humans. This is done
from the perspective of the AI lecturing humans as to the history and limits
of the human species and the compromises and risks superintelligences must
make in order to evolve.
-
A Fire Upon
the Deep, Vernor
Vinge, Tom Doherty Associates, 1992, 612 pp.
-
Angel Station,
Walter
Jon Williams, Tom Doherty Associates, 1989, 393 pp.
-
September, 1998
-
Secret Mesa:
Inside Los Alamos National Laboratory, Jo
Ann Shroyer, John Wiley & Sons, 1998, ISBN: 0471040630, 230 pp.
-
Aristoi,
Walter
Jon Williams, Tor Books, (September 1993); ISBN: 0812514092
An elite cadre of benevolent 'nobles' manages a diverse collection
of worlds. A few of them discover and must deal with a fringe group
who violates the rules which allows the system to function. A fascinating
look at what type of society might evolve if nanotechnology is controlled
by a few selected individuals.
-
Solaris,
Stanislaw
Lem, Harcourt Brace, 1961, reissue (June 1987), ISBN: 0156837501
-
The Killing
Star, Charles
Pelegrino & George
Zebrowski, Avon Books, 1995, 340 pp.
-
August, 1998
-
April, 1998
-
The First
Immortal, James
L. Halperin, Del Rey, January 1998, ISBN: 0345420926, 342 pp.
An excellent story about the first physician to undergo cryonic
suspension and be revived along with the rest of his family. An accurate
presentation of cryonics and nano-technologies. An interesting examination
of some of the issues of genetic and mental identity. The
First Immortal Web Site.
-
Becoming
Immortal: Nanotechnology, You, and the Demise of Death, Wesley
M. Du Charme, Blue Creek Ventures, September 1995, ISBN: 0964628201
A pragmatic detailed analysis of the legitimacy of cryonic suspension,
nanotechnology and life span extension.
-
March, 1998
-
February, 1998
-
Inside Intel:
Andy Grove and the Rise of the World's Most Powerful Chip Company,
Tim
Jackson, E P Dutton, October, 1997, ISBN: 052594141X
A real-life look at the business practices which produced Intel.
Revealing!
-
Great Mambo
Chicken and the Transhuman Condition: Science Slightly over the Edge,
Ed
Regis, Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., September 1991, ISBN: 0201092581, 0201567512
An interesting discussion of cryonics, nanotechnology, astroengineering
and other "far-out" technologies.
-
January, 1998
-
December, 1997
-
Disturbing
the Universe, Freeman
J. Dyson, Harper & Row, 1981
-
Visions:
How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century, Michio
Kaku, Doubleday, October 1, 1997, 432 pp.
This may be the most accurate and detailed examination of future
trends currently available. Dr. Kaku gets most of it right in my
opinion with the exception of his descriptions of DNA sequencing technology
and a failure to properly understand the true impact of increased computer
intelligence and biotechnology control of genome structure.
-
Nanodreams,
Elton & Elliott (ed.), Baen Publishing, 1995, ISBN: 0671876805, 285
pp.>
A collection of short stories related to nanotechnology. Particularly
thought provoking is The
Gentle Seduction by Marc
Stiegler which discusses the gradual evolution of an individual intelligence
based on biology to one based on nanotechnology.
-
November, 1997
-
October, 1997
-
Selected
Papers of Freeman Dyson: With Commentary, Freeman
Dyson, American Mathematical Society, May 1996
I've only read the ~5 papers in this related to searching for extraterrestrial
life and evolution. The rest of the book contains papers which are
very complex from a math and physics standpoint. The book is a testimony
to Dr. Dyson's brilliance.
-
September, 1997
-
August, 1997
-
How Brains Think,
William
H. Calvin, HarperCollins/BasicBooks,
Aug. 1996
-
From Eros
to Gaia, Freeman
Dyson, Penguin, 1995, 371 pp.
-
Infinite
in All Directions, Freeman
Dyson, Harper & Row, 1988, 319 pp.
-
Rain of
Iron and Ice: The Very Real Threat of Comet and Asteroid Bombardment,
John
S. Lewis (home
page), January, 1996, 256 pp., ISBN: 0201489503.
-
Mining the
Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets (Helix Books),
John
S. Lewis (home
page), October, 1996, Addison-Wesley, 274 pp., ISBN: 0201478591.
-
Ringwold,
Larry
Niven, Ballantine, 1970, 342 pp.
-
Extraterrestrial
Intelligence, Jean Heidmann, Cambridge University Press, 1995,
233 pp.July, 1997
-
Ringworld
Throne, Larry
Niven, Ballantine Books, June 1, 1996
-
The Millennial
Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps, Marshal T.
Savage, Little Brown & Co, August, 1994, ISBN: 0316771635 [read most
chapters, perhaps over several months]
-
June, 1997
-
Sometime in 1995-1996
-
The Astonishing
Hypothesis : The Scientific Search for the Soul, Francis
Crick, Touchstone Books, July 1995
-
The Engine
of Reason, the Seat of the Soul: A Philosophical Journey into the Brain,
Paul
M. Churchland, MIT Press, June 1995, 329 pp.
-
The Red
Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature, Matt
Ridley, Penguin, June 1995, ISBN: 0140245480
-
How and
Why We Age, Leonard
Hayflick, Robert N. Butler (Introduction), Ballantine Books, January,
1996, ISBN: 0345401557
-
Reversing
Human Aging, Michael Fossel, Ph.D., M.D., William Morrow &
Co., April, 1996, ISBN: 0688143245
-
The Clock
of Ages: Why We Age -- How We Age -- Winding Back the Clock, John
J. Medina, Cambridge University Press, April, 1996, 332 pp, ISBN: 0521462444
[130 pages read]
-
The Society
of Mind, Marvin
Minsky, March, 1988, ISBN: 0671657135, partially read
-
Nano: The
Emerging Science of Nanotechnology, Ed
Regis, Little Brown & Co., 1995, ISBN: 0316738581
-
Being Digital,
Nicholas Negroponte, Knopf. January, 1995, ISBN: 0679439196
-
Showstoper: The Breakneak Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation
at Microsoft, G. Pascal Zachary, Maxwell Macmillian, 1994, ISBN: 002935671-7,
312 pp.
-
Sometime in 1992-1994
-
Aging, Sex,
and DNA Repair, Carol
Bernstein and Harris
Bernstein, Academic Press, May 1991
-
The
Biology of Life Span: A Quantitative Approach, Leonid A. Gavrilov,
Natalia S. Gavrilova, Harwood Academic Publishers, February, 1991,
ISBN: 3718649837
-
Evolutionary
Biology of Aging, Michael
R. Rose. Oxford University Press, December 1994 (pbk)
-
Longevity,
Senescence, and the Genome, Caleb
E. Finch, University of Chicago Press, March, 1994 (pbk)
-
Mind Children:
The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence, Hans
Moravec, Harvard University Press, March 1990, 214 pp, ISBN: 0674576187
-
Nanosystems:
Molecular Machinery, Manufacuturing and Computation, K.
Eric Drexler, John Wiley & Sons, 1992, ISBN: 0471575186, partially
read
This book is the bible of nanotechnology.
It is the basis of the future of humanity. It is very technical,
but there are parts in it for computer scientists, chemists, physicists,
engineers, etc.
-
Pre-1992
-
Silicon
Dreams, Robert
W. Lucky, St. Martins Pr., July 1989, ISBN: 0312029608, 031205517X,
partially read
-
Soul of
a New Machine, Tracy
Kidder, Avon Books, July, 1995 (reissue), ISBN: 038071115X
-
Engines of Creation,
K.
Eric Drexler, Anchor Books (1986), ISBN 0-385-19973-2
Books To Read
The Top of the List
-
Chance, Development, and Aging, Caleb
E. Finch, T.
B. L. Kirkwood (December 1999) Oxford Univ Press; ISBN: 0195133617
-
Genetics and Evolution of Aging (Contemporary Issues in Genetics
and Evolution, Vol. 3), Michael R. Rose, Caleb E. Finch (Eds.) (August
1994) Kluwer Academic Pub; ISBN: 0792329023
-
The Mitochondrial
Free Radical Theory of Aging, Aubrey
D.N.J. de Grey, Dept. of Genetics, University of Cambridge. R. G. Landes,
Austin TX; (@ Amazon: ASIN: 157059564X).
-
The Age
of Spiritual Machines : When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence; Ray
Kurzweil
-
The Spike: Accelerating Into The Unimaginable Future, Damian Broderick,
New Holland, 1997
-
The Earth-Web, Marc
Stiegler, Baen Books, May 1999, ISBN: 067157809X
-
Orbitsville,
Bob
Shaw; includes a Dyson Shell
A quick scan indicates that Chris Wooldridge, myself, and a few
other early players aren't mentioned in the book, but a more detailed read
is required.
-
Sperm
Wars, Robin Baker, Basic Books, 1996
-
Nanotechnology
: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance, B.
C. Randall (Editor), August 1996, ISBN: 0262531372, 214 pages
-
To Seek
Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek, Athena
Andreadis, Ph. D., Crown Publishers, 1998
-
Flying
to Valhalla, Charles
Pelegrino, William Morrow & Company; ISBN: 0688125069
-
Cave Minerals
of the World, Carol Hill, 2nd edition, National Speleological Society
(1997) ISBN: 1879961075
-
Islands
in the Net, Bruce Sterling, Ace Books; ASIN: 0441374239; Reprint edition
(March 1989).
-
Moscow Madness, Tim
Harper, McGraw-Hill (1999); ASIN: 0070267006
Partially Read:
-
Beyond Calculation:
The Next Fifty Years of Computing, Peter
J. Denning & Robert
M. Metcalfe (eds), Springer-Verlag, 1997, 313pp.
-
Hunting
Down the Universe : The Missing Mass, Primordial Black Holes, and Other
Dark Matters, Michael
Hawkins, Helix Books, October 1, 1997, 256 pp.
-
After Thought:
The computer challenge to human intelligence, James
Bailey, HarperCollins Publishers (1996); ISBN: 0465007821.
Currently Unpublished:
Newspapers or Newsletters I regularly browse:
Journals I regularly read selected articles from:
Magazines which I read selected articles from:
Historical Reading Interests
It is difficult to know exactly when I read these books. The print
date gives some lower bound. Many of the science fiction books
were read when I was a teenager. The fantasy and philosophy books
were read during my late teens and 20's. The Tom Swift series clearly
is responsible for my desire to have a laboratory. The science fiction
and fantasy books contributed to my imagination. Certainly Asimov,
Clarke and especially Heinlein were responsible for my interest in longevity
and immortality. The first significant book I can recall reading
about methods for life extension was Pearson and Shaw's book. I can
recall reading about cryonics, virtual sensory experiences (brain/body
separation) and longevity in other books which are not on this list because
I forget the authors & titles. I watched Lost
in Space as a child and have followed Star Trek through its various
generations, though never read any of the stories and am not a true "trekkie".
Books read:
-
Fantasy:
-
Science Fiction:
-
Tom Swift®
Series; see also the page on Edward
Stratemeyer
-
Isaac
Asimov's Foundation
books
-
Arthur
C. Clarke's books, especially Beyond
the Fall of Night (including Against
the Fall of Night)
-
Robert
Heinlein's books, esp. Methuselahs
Children, Time
Enough for Love, The
Cat Who Walks through Walls, To
Sail Beyond the Sunset, The
Number of the Beast, i.e. (those related to Lazarus Long and extended
longevity)
-
Douglas
Adam's Hitchhiker
series (just the first 2 or 3 volumes)
-
The Eden Cycle, Raymond Z. Gallun, Ballantime, New York (1974);
ISBN: 345-24255-6-125.
From the cover: "A superior alien intelligence rules over Earth with
absolute benevolence and total control. It offers man a future with
no seeming limit to time or space--or reality. Any man can have anything
he is capable of wanting, forever."
This book strongly influenced me with regard to possible futures,
particularly living forever in virtual reality. In retrospect, this
book has many aspects of the reality portrayed by the movie "The
Matrix".
-
Some F. Pohl and L. Niven books.
-
Philosophy and Lifestyle:
-
Lifestyle or other educational books
To be finished someday when I have time.
Creation date: November 26, 1997
Last Modified: June 9, 2004
Goto: Robert
Bradbury Home Page