The Meaning of the 21st Century (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: automated evolution, destitute nations, marine protection areas, First World, Third World, Black Sea (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A freewheeling, sometimes scatterbrained romp through the technological challenges, dangers and opportunities facing the human race in the new century, the newest book by information age guru Martin is in equal measures exhilarating, thought provoking and just plain crazy in its zeal for emerging technologies. Martin, known for his influential The Wired Society (1978), believes that nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering and other advances could not only moderate but eventually reverse the effects of global warming while giving us superhuman strength, superior intelligence and the possibility of living to 1,000 or beyond. On the potentials of supercomputing, Martin writes, "Human intelligence is very broad but relatively shallow, while machine intelligence is very narrow but can be miles deep." The first half of this assertion is well borne out by his book, which skips lightly from sobering discussions of cataclysmic climate change, massive natural disasters and terrorism to breathless riffs on hydroponics, pebble-bed nuclear reactors and "transhumanism." Often reading like a course catalogue for Oxford University's new James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization, the book should arguably have been split into two or three installments, but tech enthusiasts will find much to spur debate. (Aug.)
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From Booklist

Martin, author of The Wired Society (1978), takes a look at the big issues facing us that can be leveraged to make significant changes in the future or that threaten human existence on Earth. Part 1 of the book explores the consequences of actions that are exhausting natural resources, including water, and will require drastic solutions. Part 2 examines technological advances that, while promising to increase efficiency and productivity, also promise to wreck the planet. Part 3 dramatically spells out the risks we face in this century, and part 4 describes the prospects for the future if we can manage to harness our natural resourcefulness to our benefit for generations. Martin examines crucial issues in politics, economics, religion, technology, culture, and the environment to look at a variety of challenges we face: poverty, war, globalism, terrorism, disease, existential risk, and transhumanism (radical changes in human beings themselves, thanks to technology). Martin argues that evolution has shifted from a force largely driven by nature to something that will be determined in the future by humankind. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (August 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573223239
• ISBN-13: 978-1573223232
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #727,127 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring call to action, October 7, 2006

By	Randall Kritkausky (Middlebury Vermont) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In order to fully understand and appreciate James Martin's book, The Meaning of the 21st Century, the reader needs to understand the author. James Martin made his mark as a writer and entrepreneur by understanding and shaping significant trends long before others saw them or acted on them. His book, The Wired Society, published in 1977 anticipated new directions and uses of electronic communications that others could not envision. The world off electronic communications has now reshaped our world in the ways that James Martin anticipated three decades ago.

Martin has now applied his gift for grasping complex systems to the most complex and critical systems that we know: human society, the natural world, and their interdependence. He has interviewed and distilled the knowledge, insights, and wisdom of many of the world's most creative and courageous thinkers looking at these systems. Martin presents us with an image of serious dilemmas, choices and solutions that will allow us to answer the question of the 21st century's meaning. His book does not hesitate to outline potentially devastating environmental, social, and technological problems that we face. It examines the interconnections between these problems and assesses, in an objective and courageous manner unseen in the political realm, the likelihood that we will be able to address global crises requiring us to re-examine how we live and even think about what it means to be human.

Martin's vision is both jolting and hopeful; we are locked into some negative consequences of our actions in the realm of climate change, population growth, water shortages, etc. Even the most heroic and ingenious efforts of human society will not be able to avoid serious interrelated mid-21st century crises that will test human understanding, technology, and decency. Had Martin stopped with this prediction, his work would have been discouraging and disempowering. However he begins and concludes his book with a focus on the "transition generation", those born since 1985, who will be challenged with leading us through the most important time in human history. Mr. Martin is optimistic about the ability of human beings to transcend their limitations. And he is seeking to inspire a new generation of leaders to meet this challenge. Martin is using his personal resources to act on his vision. Having endowed the James Martin 21st Century School at Oxford University, he is also supporting the training of the `transition generation" and dispatching them to the pivotal regions and leverage points in the world, where the meaning of the 21st century hangs in balance.

In fact, Martin's greatest contribution, and the unanticipated consequence of his book, The Meaning of the 21st Century, may well be in inspiring not only the youthful transition generation, but in enlisting the support and collaboration of their open-minded elders who may also awaken to the challenge of the 21 century. For every young future leader who reads and respond to this book, there should be someone of Martin's generation, an active older adult, who has the wisdom, knowledge and resources to join hands with the transition generation.

This book is more than just another reflection on our times; it is a final wake up call starting us thinking in the right directions.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this Book, September 21, 2006

By	Bill Parker (Vermont) - See all my reviews

The book is fast paced and (despite the weight of the topic) a very enjoyable read. James Martin is a genius, technology guru and optimistic futurist. His most recent book lets us see the world's great problems - and solutions - through his eyes. If the "best and brightest" pick up this book we may have a chance in the 21st Century. It should be every parent's responsibility to read it and then give it to their children. If you are going to have the time to read only one book this year about the influences that are shaping and defining your future and the world your kids are going to inherit, this is it. This book is a crash course on the thinking, geopolitics, technology and global economics needed to survive the 21st Century.

A basic theme of the book is that dramatic change is the rule for mankind's future and we can either control it or it will control us. All these changes, often exponential in their nature, are linked, and these linkages are identified and explained by Martin. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle and they are examined just enough to put them in clear perspective. Examples are copious and fascinating. Accelerating depletion of resources, out-of-control population, China's economic bubble, pandemic diseases, nuclear terrorism - there is lot to think about here. It is a scary risk filled place we are going and that we are leaving for our children but throughout this exposé, Dr. Martin is an optimist, even faced with the many (impeccably researched) issues affecting the survival of mankind.

The book does a thorough job of covering all of the big issues - giving the reader enough information to pull the pieces together, get excited, form a question or head off on a path toward a more detailed analysis, and hopefully action. The most important aspect of the book is its compelling arguments for taking advantage of the native intelligence of humans - to think for ourselves and to act in whatever way we can - locally, politically, globally.

If you don't see the issue you can't possibly find a solution. This book helps us to see both the problems and defines the thinking that will bring us to the solutions. Coming from one of the smartest people to ever walk the planet Earth, we should listen and listen well. That thought is worth repeating. This is the guy that described our current state of technology and methods of business long before they were in place, decades ahead of his time on every subject he has looked at. If he doesn't have the answers - who does?

A strong sub-theme is that if we are going to continue as a species, we need to listen to the best we have and not feel compelled to follow of the political ramblings of the lowest common denominator. This book will ask you to think about your future and do something about it. Hopefully you and everyone you know are ready to go there - because you're going to - like it or not. In my estimation this book will help you get intellectually ready, by preparing you to see the issues and ask the right questions all the way into the 22nd Century.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For all those who care about the human future- an extremely important book , October 4, 2007

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Meaning of the 21st Century (Hardcover)

This book aims to survey the present situation of Mankind, and to provide suggestions for saving it from disaster, and helping it move towards a better future. As James Martin sees it the twenty- first century will be a decisive one for Mankind and will decide whether we are going towards a New Dark Ages, or towards a remarkably prosperous and creative human future. As Martin sees it Mankind is now facing major problems a very good share of which are self- inflicted. Among these are the problems caused by our causing damage to the Earth, and to the Biosphere. Another area of possible damage and disaster is from Terrorism and War. Also the possibilities of production of dangerous viruses, of pandemic are also disturbing. On the up side he sees a future coming soon in which the great share of work will be done by robots, the situation where the work of the great mass of mankind will no longer be needed.
Martin lists seventeen challenges facing us now. 1) The healing of the Earth, its climate and environment. 2) The problem of the Poverty and short brutal lives of a good share of mankind. 3) The challenge placed by Over- population and in his judgment the need to reduce human population. 4) The problem of Lifestyles, meaning the need for people to adopt more environmentally harmless lifestyles. 5) The need to prevent a War which could destroy Mankind. 6) The challenge presented by an irreversible Globalism which must be constructed so as to allow local cultures to thrive. 7) The challenge presented by danger to the biosphere, the loss of species. 8)The challenge of Global Terrorism 9) The challenge of Creativity for the younger generation 10) The challenge presented by Disease and possible pandemics. 11) The challenge to increase the degree to which human beings realize their potential 12)The challenge presented by the Singularity the moment computer intelligence begins to feed on itself. The danger that this may get out of control 13) The challenge of Existensial Risk of mankind learning to ban unacceptable risks even if this means limiting certain kinds of scientific activity 14) The challenge presented by Transhumanism or the enhancement of human beings which may alter human nature , or possibly lead to Civilizations beyond anything we can imagine today 15) The challenge presented by an Advanced Civilization in which machines do the work and human beings have opportunities for creation beyond those they had before. 16) The challenge of 'Gaia' the earth's self- control system which we may catastrophically disrupt 17) The challenge of the Skill/ Wisdom Gap.
I was especially affected by Martin 's description of the hopelessness in poverty of that portion of mankind which lives on less than two- dollars a day. His description of the shantytown worlds of the fourth - world, of the hopelessness there suggest how right and urgent he is in pushing for programs to help the poor. In other areas too he is very convincing though I found his discussions of Terrorism and War very general, not really detailed enough. He should have gone more deeply into the threat presented by radical Islamic terrorism, and especially the present Iranian regime. Also while he does speak a great deal about the problems caused ecologically by the rapid economic growth of China and India, he does not touch upon the political problems of an aggressive Chinese foreign policy, and a Russia once again supplying arms to some of the world's most dangerous regimes.
On the whole though I believe this is an extremely informative and important book, and one which should be read by all those who care for the human future.