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A review by keifer_lud
The Future of Humanity: Our Destiny in the Universe by Michio Kaku
3.0
The ending of THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY was so inspirational and intelligent, I feel the impulse to give this book four stars. But that wouldn't be quite true to my reading experience. To start with the good, this book is a wonderful learning opportunity to understand the state of science today. Kaku does a truly terrific job marrying science fiction tropes with historical innovation and an informed view of the science possibilities of the future. If I'm going to read a book by a futurist this is it. I will also say that Kaku is a master of weaving together stories in the first eighty or so pages of this - which gave me the impression I would like it much more than I eventually did - in how he described the history of creating the rocket and many scientists' contributions.
He was less successful, however, in explaining the histories of more theoretical thinkers such as Einstein, Planck, Newton, etc. This would have done a good job giving me something to latch onto when he was describing really heady theories in no simple terms. You can tell he certainly tried to dumb it down for dummies like me, but it just didn't quite work and there were many moments of this book that felt laden with terminology, babbly, and dry. At a certain point of the book, the structure took on the feel of "this thing exists and then this thing and then this thing" without giving me a narrative to latch onto. -
Which ultimately gets me to the point that I just think this book isn't for me. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to learn, but when I commit hours to a book: I want a story. I want characters of importance. And while science-y books are good for some people, I just didn't feel as compelled as I yearn for in a reading experience. So: factoring in me feeling like a smarter person having read this book, Kaku's inability to go a paragraph without mentioning a TV show he hosted, and the way this book dragged - I give it three stars!
He was less successful, however, in explaining the histories of more theoretical thinkers such as Einstein, Planck, Newton, etc. This would have done a good job giving me something to latch onto when he was describing really heady theories in no simple terms. You can tell he certainly tried to dumb it down for dummies like me, but it just didn't quite work and there were many moments of this book that felt laden with terminology, babbly, and dry. At a certain point of the book, the structure took on the feel of "this thing exists and then this thing and then this thing" without giving me a narrative to latch onto. -
Which ultimately gets me to the point that I just think this book isn't for me. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to learn, but when I commit hours to a book: I want a story. I want characters of importance. And while science-y books are good for some people, I just didn't feel as compelled as I yearn for in a reading experience. So: factoring in me feeling like a smarter person having read this book, Kaku's inability to go a paragraph without mentioning a TV show he hosted, and the way this book dragged - I give it three stars!