How to Build a Robot Army: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Alien Invaders, Ninjas, and Zombies (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for How to Survive a Robot Uprising:

“Hilariously deadpan.”—New York Times

“[A] spectacular debut…Wilson’s often laugh-out-loud mix of irony, sarcasm and dry humor is perfectly complemented by almost two dozen illustrations by Richard Horne.”—Boston Herald

“Splits the difference between reality and farce…juxtaposing [advancements in robotics] with droll… lifesaving remedies.”—BookPage

Product Description

Defend yourself—and your planet—against the onslaught of evil at your door.

It goes without saying that robots kill. They hunt, swarm, and fire lasers from their eyes. They even beat humans at chess. So who better to stand with us when the real villains arrive? Movies instruct us that, whether we like it or not, we will one day be under siege by pirates, ninjas, zombies, aliens, and Godzilla. Also great white sharks. And—let’s face it—we’re not prepared. But with the advice contained in this brilliantly illustrated, ingenious book, you can build your own robot army to fend off hordes of bloodthirsty foes. From common-sense injunctions (“never approach an unfamiliar robot in a militarized zone”) to tactical pointers (“low-power radar beats cameras for detecting mummies in a fog-shrouded crypt”) to engineering advice (“passive-dynamic exoskeleton suits will increase sprint speeds but not leg strength”), this book contains all the wisdom you’ll need to fend off the coming apocalypse. Witty, informative, and utterly original, How to Build a Robot Army is the ideal book for readers of any age.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596912812
• ISBN-13: 978-1596912816
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #147,414 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #19 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Science & Scientists
  #27 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Robotics
  #57 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Mechanics

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beware the Kill-bot, April 30, 2008

By	R. Howell "boriskhan" (Medford, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Daniel Wilson, robotics PhD, presents us with his third book regarding technology. He originally taught us how to survive when the robots eventually rise up against us in How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion. Now that we know how to defeat the robots, we can use them to defend us as we must be aware of other dangers such as zombies, ninjas, aliens, Godzilla, pirates, and great white sharks to name a few. Wilson's ideas are scientifically sound and completely viable as he uses his knowledgeable background in robotics for his writing. He mixes in humorous scenarios based on cliched Hollywood movies to give the reader a light spirited trip through a robotics debriefing lesson and where the world stands in robotic advancements. Not quite as funny as the first book but just as informative. The book itself is made of foil-edged glossy pages and filled with silhouetted artwork that stands out on its own. It's entertaining, educational, and amusing to read. Also check out Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived to round out his writing collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as Good as His Other Work, June 1, 2008

By	James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Daniel H Wilson has a very unique style of writing. His first two books How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion and Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived were absolutely brilliant, masterpieces in fact. How to Build a Robot Army although still good, when compared to those other two books doesn't come anywhere near to jumping over the extremely high benchmark already set. The other books have a lot more humour and spend a little less time on the technical side and explain it in a lot more entertaining way than this. If you haven't read Wilson's previous two books I would suggest reading them first.

Richard Horne (the illustrator) has done another magnificent job with this volume though. I can't fault him at all.

How to Build a Robot Army is basically using your everyday robot companions to combat the Hollywood threat scenarios of aliens, vampires, Jaws and other unwanted visitors.

Although Wilson stumbled to maintain his high benchmark with his third effort, Wilson's fourth book Mad Scientist Hall of Fame: Muwahahahaha! will be worth checking out.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, funny, educational robotics primer, April 7, 2008

By	Camille Upshur (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

Wilson reviews the latest robotics technology and creatively tackles how we might best use it to conquer some of our most-feared enemies: Zombies, aliens, etc. While the read is light and hilarious, the advice is good and the science is sound. A someone who doesn't read anything like Popular Mechanics, this was also a neat update on real military robotics progress. I never knew that I might need to trick out my roomba to kill alien home invaders, but now I know how!