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Future Perfect
Future Perfect
Apr 21, 2025 1:12 AM

Author:Steven Johnson

Future Perfect

What connects the "miracle on the Hudson" to the planning of the French railway system, or the mysterious outbreak of strange smells in downtown Manhattan to the invention of the Internet? With his characteristic flair for multidisciplinary storytelling, Steven Johnson shows in Future Perfect that what lies behind these and many other fascinating human stories is the concept of networked thinking.

Exploring a new vision of progress, Johnson argues that networked thinking holds the key to an incredible range of human achievements, and can transform everything from local government to drug research to arts funding and education. Future Perfect paints a compelling portrait of a new model of political change that is already on the rise, and shows that despite Western political systems hopelessly gridlocked by old ideas, change for the better can happen, and that new solutions are on the horizon.

'If you're a pessimist-and chances are you are-you should read Future Perfect. In fact, read it even if you're an optimist, because Mr. Johnson's book will give you lots of material to brighten the outlook of your gloomy friends...it envisions a new political movement' Wall Street Journal

'An informative, tech-savvy and provocative vision of a new and more democratic public philosophy. A breath of fresh air a breath of fresh air in an age of gridlock, cynicism and disillusionment' San Francisco Chronicle

'A buoyant and hopeful book ... Future Perfect reminds us we already have the treatment. We just need to use it' Boston Globe

Steven Johnson is the US bestselling author of Where Good Ideas Come From, The Invention of Air, The Ghost Map, and Everything Bad Is Good for You, and is the editor of the anthology The Innovator's Cookbook. He is the founder of a variety of influential websites - most recently, outside.in - and writes for Time, Wired, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in Marin County, California, with his wife and three sons.

Reviews

If you're a pessimist-and chances are you are-you should read Future Perfect. In fact, read it even if you're an optimist, because Mr. Johnson's book will give you lots of material to brighten the outlook of your gloomy friends...it envisions a new political movement

—— Wall Street Journal

An informative, tech-savvy and provocative vision of a new and more democratic public philosophy. A breath of fresh air a breath of fresh air in an age of gridlock, cynicism and disillusionment

—— San Francisco Chronicle

A buoyant and hopeful book ... Future Perfect reminds us we already have the treatment. We just need to use it

—— Boston Globe

These jottings establish the man as one of the greatest recorders of English agricultural life

—— Val Hennessey , Daily Mail

A little classic

—— The Oldie

Engagingly conversational... his writings are, in every sense, down to earth. He is compulsively curious about how things work, whether animal or mechanical. Collis finds contentment in good, decent work and simple pleasures. His writings are a comfort, now as then, in difficult political and economic times

—— Iain Finlayson , Saga Magazine

A look at the ways people invent, what fuels creativity, and how those methods have changed in the 21st century.

—— The Week

A brilliant apple bible

—— Financial Times , Financial Times

Richard Godwin knows how to take the nonsense out and put the pleasure back into cocktail-making. Intelligent, humorous, crammed full of recipes and knowledge- my new ‘little black book’ guide to cocktailing at home

—— Rebecca Dunphy , Sainsburys Magazine

Informative recipes blended with whimsy and anecdote are given a dash of fun, and finished with a twist of brilliantly wry humour

—— CGA Magazine

A pleasing account of the art of the cocktail...Life enhancing

—— Melanie MacDonagh , The Tablet

If you’re going to buy one cocktail book, you can’t go far wrong with this one

—— BBC Good Food

Richard Godwin is such a smart, funny and intoxicating drinks writer. And The Spirits - accessible, authoritative and crisply written - is the perfect companion for cocktail-curious drinkers looking to seriously up their game.

—— Jimi Famurewa

'The Spirits is the best all-rounder... this stylish recipe book covers a lot of ground with hilarious anecdotes, essential recipes and easy to follow methods'

—— Georgie Darling , Evening Standard

A fantastic read. After I started it, I read it straight through. For more than spaceflight geeks, this is the story of an astonishing adventure that, despite the outward confidence of NASA, could have and perhaps should have gone horribly wrong.

—— Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys/October Sky

A work of great importance … Highly readable and impossible to put down.

—— Dr David Baker, Editor of Spaceflight

A riveting account of the origins, development, and first flight of the Space Shuttle.

—— Roger D. Launius, former NASA Chief Historian

Into the Black isn’t just spectacularly researched, it’s told like a thriller, unfolding the edge-of-death tale of the Space Shuttle Columbia’s maiden voyage in riveting fashion. Rowland White performs a rare feat here, stitching together comprehensive research—countless interviews, declassified files, flight documents—into a tale of courage and daring as streamlined and elegant as the spacecraft herself. Buckle in and hold on tight—this thing's got rocket propulsion.

—— Gregg Hurwitz, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan X

White's research is thorough, his writing style is superb, and he has a gripping and fresh story to tell. This is a genuine 'must-have' book for anyone fascinated by the sharp end of space flight.

—— Piers Bizony, author of Starman, The Space Shuttle and The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’

With Vulcan 607, Rowland White demonstrated his mastery of gripping aviation history. Now he ventures beyond the atmosphere, not only taking you inside the Space Shuttle Columbia on its challenging maiden flight, but also into the secret hallways of America’s military space establishment, as he uncovers the heretofore untold relationship between NASA and the world of space reconnaissance. Into the Black is an impressive and unique achievement.

—— Michael Cassutt, co-author of Deke! and We Have Capture

I’ve been privileged to read this fizzer of a book. I grew up in the world of experimental test flying which spawned the first astronauts, some of whom actually I served with, and they popped out at me from almost every page of this book. An astonishing amount of research has gone into this splendid work. I found it totally absorbing.

—— Captain Eric Brown, former UK Chief Naval Test Pilot

A tour de force … blends hardcore science and history with colourful characters of the Tom Wolfe Right Stuff mould and a taut countdown to produce a genuine, real-life, edge-of-the-seat thriller … a masterpiece of journalistic investigation and a compelling piece of story-telling that reminds us that - when it comes to the decades-old space programme - there are still secrets waiting to be told.

—— Nick Cook, bestselling author of The Hunt for Zero Point

White’s work is authoritative and reeks of authenticity, but it also rattles along at breakneck speed. Non-fiction is rarely written like this - Into the Black is infectiously page-turning and impossible to put down.

—— Jon Lake

With this superb book, Rowland White has given us not only the true account of an epic aerospace achievement, but in vivid prose he brings to life the human drama behind the Space Shuttle.

—— Robert Gandt, author of Intrepid and The Twilight Warriors

Into the Black is an extraordinary, carefully researched, tale of the evolution of America’s space program … Anyone who has ever dreamed of being an astronaut will find themselves feeling they are indeed in the orbiter Columbia with Bob Crippen and John Young on that first flight.

—— Hugh Harris, former Director of Public Affairs at Kennedy Space Center
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