Nano tells the gripping story of how K. Eric Drexler and other scientists pioneered this emerging science and explores what it could mean for our future.
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K. Eric Drexler envisions a world in which poverty and hunger no longer exist, because food can be made out of thin air, and we never grow old, because cells can be regenerated as swiftly as they "age." Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the molecular level, is what he's betting will make it happen. Ed Regis tells the story of Drexler's forays into this new science, showing the scientist's attempts to convince his colleagues that he hasn't descended into pulp fiction. He also fills in a lot of the historical and technical background, from the 19th-century arguments over whether atoms exist to modern experiments that have isolated and manipulated single atoms. Regis's prose is clear and straightforward, but not without a sly sense of humor. Apart from Drexler's own Engines of Creation, this is the book on nanotechnology to read.
From Publishers Weekly
Science writer Regis offers an accessible introduction to the mind-bending world of molecular engineering.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found Nano an interesting read. As a book, it lacked a lot of the technical guts, and more importantly, a broad overview of the potential social issues involved. But although I found this a little dissapointing, I stand in defence of the author for the simple reason that the average person usually doesn't have the skill to read deep technical texts (a skill which is developed by a long interest and/or study in the area). As a primer to the extremely important concepts and issues concerning nanotechnology, I give it a thumbs up. He generally sticks to the realities of the technology, avoiding the inevitable sci-fi fan rubbish which can congeal around such concepts (look a space travel, after all). I can understand not going into the more social and political issues of such an emerging technology as it can scare people, but I still think he should have elaborated more in this area. People have enough trouble dealing with the technology of today, having them (even more) unprepared for future technologies can be extremely dangerous. The best read on Molecular Nanotechnology for the average reader would still remain 'Engines of Creation', by Dr. K Eric Drexler. The book is still value for money, regardless. I give it four stars.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Hatala
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this book a great deal. Regis is a good writer and the subject matter is compelling. It doesn't get 5 stars for two reasons: the lack of counterpoint about the development of nanotechnology (IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN DAMMIT! WE CAN'T STOP IT): please. Also, the author shows almost no creativity on the effects of nanotechnology on future society. The deepest thoughts are about free steak and getting to sit around without working 9-5 jobs?
This book is a very good history primer. If you're REALLY into nanotechnology though, read Drexler's works.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This book provided me with my first FACTUAL survey of this science-fiction-ish area of scientific research. Nanotechnology, as the blurb up above says, is the emerging science of creating self-replicating robots the size of molecules. These tiny robots, if developed, should be able to have an almost unimaginable impact on human civilization. For example, they could be swallowed in the form of a tablet, which might release millions of tiny robots into the body with the aim of attacking cancer cells. They could be set to work transforming, for example, grass clippings into rice by monkeying around with the composition of grass at the atomic level. People are seriously researching scary stuff like this. There is a lot of science fiction out there about this kind of thing, especially dealing with the infamous (and not impossible) "gray goo" scenario, in which nanorobots run amok and accidentally rip the whole planet into undifferentiated submolecular slime.
Ed Regis is careful here to present the actual state of the field, and also to give some interesting insights into the curiously cultlike following that has grown up around Eric Drexler.
I recommend this book as a dispassionate assessment of what really COULD be one of the biggest technological revolutions since... oh, I don't know... the wheel comes to mind. Or fire. Or the printed word. My only problem with this book is that it's slightly behind the times nowadays. Nanotechnology is even less science fiction today, in 2001, than it was when this book came out. People should understand, while reading this, that IBM, Hewlett Packard, and other corporate behemoths are spending tens of millions of dollars RIGHT NOW to develop nanotechnology. Some of America's top business schools have Nanotechnology Clubs to monitor potentially lucrative developments in this field -- I'm thinking specifically of Wharton, which I know for a fact has such a club, and I've been told that Stanford and Harvard do as well.
I don't think it's possible to be too highly aware of this field of study. I recommend buying this book, and talking about it with family and friends. Pass it around, encourage your friends to pick up a copy for themselves. If you are in school, or have children in school, ask your science teacher to try to do a unit on it. Heck, why not form a club. Try anything, it doesn't matter what you do specifically, just try to become informed. Also -- it is easy to find newsgroups and listservs online about nanotechnology. Just go to any search engine and type in "nanotechnology" and "listserv," and you'll find a source of valuable information for yourself.
This book is very worth owning. Two thumbs up.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
This was my first Nanotechnology book.
I read this book as a hardcover about 9 years ago when I was still in highschool, it was a fast and very interesting read then, and it still is today. Read more
Published on December 1, 2009 by M. A. Hancock
3.0 out of 5 stars
Eric Drexler -- where did you go?
I'm not sure how this book turned up in my reading list -- I believe I found it on the back shelf of a bookstore. Read more
Published on September 12, 2006 by James Davison
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written and fun, but there are better options. 3.6 stars
NANO was well-received when published, and I'd been half-
meaning to read it for awhile. Your reaction to this book may vary
depending on your previous exposure to the... Read more
meaning to read it for awhile. Your reaction to this book may vary
depending on your previous exposure to the... Read more
Published on May 18, 2006 by Peter D. Tillman
3.0 out of 5 stars
More biography than scientific review
This book is a pretty good account of K. Eric Drexler and his quest to bring "nanotechnology" into the popular and the scientific world. Read more
Published on March 30, 2005 by Curran Filer
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Pretty Good Introduction For Knuckleheads
I liked this book because it introduced me to the who, what, where, when, how and why of Nanotechnology. Read more
Published on January 16, 2005 by M. Hori
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great companion to Diamond Age
I bought this right after I read Neal Stephenson's _Diamond Age_. These two books kept me awake at night for weeks, dreaming up possibilities for what nanotechnology might be able... Read more
Published on July 29, 2001
1.0 out of 5 stars
based on nothing but florid rhetoric
As a professional reviewer, once in a while you come across a book that is so ridiculousy bad, that so appalingly falls short of what the author claims, that you wish you had never... Read more
Published on April 9, 2001 by Robert J. Crawford
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must to who ever intrested in Nanotechnology
The Book is very interesting. it gives a full overview of Nano's past, present anf future. The subject it self is fascinating; it's like reading a science fiction novel' only it's... Read more
Published on June 16, 2000 by Dan Kotliar
2.0 out of 5 stars
.
The book on this topic from MIT Press is BC Crandall's "Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance". Read more
Published on April 4, 2000
2.0 out of 5 stars
There are much better books on nanotechnology !
Ed Regis's book disturbed me since it tends to over-dramatize. If you're interested in getting good scientific stuff then get some other books. Read more
Published on July 14, 1999
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