Another book review

[magenta]

Where's My Jetpack? A guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that never arrived.
by Daniel H. Wilson, Bloomsbury, 2007

The subtitle says it all - why don't we have flying cars, transporters, and ray guns? Just as well we don't have flying cars, considering how badly some people drive on a flat road. Topics covered include moving sidewalks (used in airports but not practical for outside), x-ray glasses (a version of this is now used for airport security), and vacations in space (soon, for millionaires). This book even mentions zeppelins! A few items are mentioned to point out that we do have some version, robot pets for example, but they cost big bucks; expense is never a problem mentioned in Buck Rogers movies. A short book, with only a few pages on each concept, and completely non-technical. A must read for SF fans.

My two problems with the book are, well the future doesn’t look like we thought it would, but some of it is better – look at microwave ovens, iPods, GPS systems. And so many of the ideas weren't developed because of economic realities – what does that say about the future we are living in?

Comments

[theperfumer.livejournal.com]

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