Customer Reviews

Alluring Androids, Robot Women, and Electronic Eves

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book as a gift for someone doing their thesis on "fembots" (mechanical women). It was helpful in that it supported his arguments, but it did not add any additional information for his paper. It is simply a book showing a collection of different automatons, dolls, movie characters and androids (among others). She organized it so the left page has the description of the right page (always a picture). It was a very light read. I suggest it for those in need of additional support in theory, or fans of mechanical women, but nothing more.

The images and references produced in this book raise fascinating questions about our relations to each other and to the machines that are made to serve us. What android would you build if you had the power? Would it be a maid, a companion, a sex toy...? Wosk provides us with images of female robots created by men in art and in actuality. Her lucid and beautifully written commentary illuminates the issue of what we want and what we fear from the creation of human-like machines.
I read this with my book club and we had the most interesting and hilarious discussion I can remember in years.