Author:Michael Braungart,William McDonough
Michael Braungart and William McDonough propose a plan for our planet in this stunning new edition of their radical ecological manifesto.
This book proposes a new vision for modern industry. Instead of our current wasteful and polluting methods of manufacturing, we could be taking nature as a model for making things. With the right redesign, objects that have come to the end of their useful lives should provide the basis for something new. In designing and producing products we need to stop worrying about being ‘less bad’ and start finding ways of actually being good.
PATTERNS OF LIFE: SPECIAL EDITIONS OF GROUNDBREAKING SCIENCE BOOKS
The best argument for good design is that it lasts. The best argument for good science is that it deplores waste. I'm bored with guilty and technologically illiterate environmental Luddites describing a future of guilt and privation led in caves. There's an alternative responsible future persuasively offered by Braungart and McDonough. The survival of the planet can be re-stated in terms of
stimulus, opportunity, challenge and reward. Works for me.
Already embraced by far-thinking manufacturers and governments.
—— Food Ethics MagazineIt's one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read
—— Ellen Macarthur , Daily ExpressEnvironmentalists too rarely apply the ecological wisdom of life to our problems. Asking how a cherry tree would design an energy efficient building is only one of the creative 'practices' that McDonough and Braungart spread, like a field of wild flowers, before their readers. This book will give you renewed hope that, indeed, 'it is darkest before the dawn'
—— Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra ClubAchieving the great economic transition to more equitable, ecologically sustainable societies requires nothing less than a design revolution - beyond today's fossilized industrialism. This enlightened and enlightening book shows us how - and indeed, that 'God is in the details.' A must for every library and every concerned citizen
—— Hazel Henderson, author of "Building a Win-Win World and Beyond Globalization: Shaping a Sustainable Global Economy"[McDonough and Braungart's] ideas are bold, imaginative, and deserving of serious attention
—— Ben EhA deep dive into the decisions and breakthroughs behind the development of the historic smartphone.
—— Business Insider, Best Business Books of 2017Brian Merchant’s The One Device dives deep into the making of Apple’s iPhone on its 10th anniversary, and [analyses] the implications of this worldchanging innovation.
—— Andrew Hill , FT Business Book of the Year 2017Apple's culture of reverence and secrecy is no match for Brian Merchant in The One Device.
—— New York Times Book ReviewIn terms of breath and depth of research, The One Device is impressive.
—— Irish TimesA wild ride
—— San Francisco ChronicleThe One Device is a tour de force. Brian Merchant has dug into the iPhone like no other reporter before him, travelling the world to find the untold stories behind the device’s creation and to uncover the very real human costs that come with making the iPhone. Packed with vivid detail, the book carries the reader from one unexpected revelation to the next with a fast-paced edge and heaps of analytical insight.
—— Ashlee Vance, New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic FutureThis is a stunning book—a comprehensive, fascinating, and compulsively engaging account of how the most revolutionary product of our age was invented. Brian Merchant sets off on a journey around the globe, from design studios in California to mines in South America to factories in China, to tell the human stories—the ruined marriages, the lost lives—behind this iconic device. You will never look at your iPhone the same way again.
—— Dan Lyons, author of Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up BubbleBrian Merchant has written a fascinating biography of the iPhone, the most important single product ever created. If you’ve ever looked at the glowing screen in your hand and wondered where the hell it came from, this book provides rich, unexpected, and unusually sophisticated answers.
—— Alexis Madrigal, author of Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green TechnologyCompressing decades of competitive invention and behind-the-screen intrigue, Brian Merchant looks deep into the black mirror of the iPhone to tell us the prehistory—and cultural future—of Apple’s addictive device. This is the true science fiction of our time: how everyday experience was reinvented by a gadget.
—— Geoff Manaugh, New York Times bestselling author of A Burglar’s Guide to the CityA wild ride.
—— San Francisco ChronicleHello World is an illuminating book on the ethical issues around data. Mathematician and presenter Hannah Fry leads us through the not-too-distant worlds of AI politics, healthcare and culture, probing the complex roles of data and algorithms through a range of eye-opening examples. ‘AI’ is a much-used but oft-misunderstood term, and here Fry lays out its impact with ease - 'Best Books of 2018'
—— WIREDTop science writing
—— Evening StandardShe is doing to maths what Brian Cox has done for physics
—— The TimesHannah Fry is quickly becoming the David Attenborough of maths.
—— Guy Kelly , TelegraphDazzling... There is nothing about Gene that is less than nuanced.
—— Sathnam Sanghera , The TimesA magnificent synthesis of the science of life, and forces all to confront the essence of that science as well as the ethical and philosophical challenges to our conception of what constitutes being human
—— Paul Berg, winner of the Nobel Prize in ChemistryWise and lucid...excellent
—— Andrew Marr , BBC Radio 4 Start the WeekA tourist guide to the new Africa, the human genome… Mukherjee gives an exhaustive account of the development of the modern science of inheritance… Mukherjee does a good job of cutting away the web of ambiguity and complexity’
—— Steve Jones , New StatesmanWritten with the rollicking enthusiasm of sports journalism… Mukherjee has an ear for his subject’s rhetorical brilliance.
—— Andrew Solomon , Guardian WeeklyMeticulous… Carefully constructed, deliberate prose.
—— Sumit Paul-Choudary , Literary ReviewMakes a compelling case that our ability to harness the medical benefits of genomic science while avoiding its hazards promises to be among the defining challenges of the 21st century.
—— Andrew Ward , Financial TimesMukherjee has done readers an admirable service, by turning one of the most important scientific sagas – arguably the most important – in history into a tale that is too good not to know
—— Globe and MailRather wonderful book… All-encompassing and eye-opening and moving and amusing, at times, and endlessly fascinating and truly brilliant… As long as intelligent, empathetic, thoughtful people like himself are to the forefront, it should turn out alright.
—— Darragh McManus , Irish IndependnetAn accessible and beautifully written overview of the complex field of genetics by the Indian-born doctor. It’s compellingly personal and provocative, too.
—— TelegraphMukherjee views his subject panoptically from a great and clarifying height, yet also intimately.
—— James Gleick , Scotland on SundayDr Mukherjee uses personal experience to particularly good effect… He writes tenderly.
—— The Economist[A] Magisterial historical survey.
—— Philip Ball , Chemistry WorldMukherjee has a gift for making gripping, vivid narrative out of the cataclysmic but largely invisible drama of molecular biology.
—— Lev Grossman , Time MagazineCompelling
—— Stuart Ritchie , SpectatorFascinating, complex and accessible.
—— Anna Carey , Irish TimesIntimate, insider’s account of the role that genetics.
—— Nilanjana Roy , Financial TimesA tourist guide to the twenty-first century’s uncharted continent, the human genome... Gives a full and lively account of the development of the subject... He has talked to many of the main players and gives deep insights into their moments of discovery... Mukherjee does a good job of cutting away the web of ambiguity and complexity that scientists have woven.
—— Steve Jones , New StatesmanA daring and highly personal voyage into the future of genetic research
—— VogueThe Gene’s dominant traits are historical breadth, clinical compassion, and Mukherjee’s characteristic graceful style… Mukherjee writes eloquently
—— Nathaniel Comfort , AtlanticA fine read, with many fine stories.
—— David McConnell , Irish Times[It is] accessible and beautifully written… It’s compellingly personal and provocative, too.
—— Daily TelegraphThe Gene is a staggeringly impressive piece of writing… [It] takes us on a fascinating journey through the world of genetics… Written with a clarity that brings the most complex concepts to life… An accessible, gripping and thought-provoking read. In short, this book is a masterpiece and you should read it.
—— Jamie Durrani , Chemistry WorldAn essential read.
—— Mail on SundayInspiring and tremendously evocative
—— San Francisco ChronicleA fascinating read
—— Hugh JackmanYou may think this book is not for you. Thing again… My only caution would be not to recommend it to too many people… So whether you’re a teacher or parent attempting to inspire…or you simply want an erudite anecdote, this book is for you. It’s a dazzling example of scientific story-telling and definitely my book of the year.
—— Cath Murray , School's WeekAn epic 150-year, 500-plus page journey of genetic discovery… [An] excellent and authoritative account.
—— Charalambos Kyriacou , Times Higher EducationThis is a brilliantly readable celebration of the science and scientists who have transformed out understanding of what it means to be human.
—— Nick Rennison , Daily MailThe Gene is a truly impressive achievement… Mukherjee has created a masterwork of the history of the gene and its study. In this popular science book, scientist and non-scientist readers alike will feel they have a true understanding of the history, biology and ethics of genetics.
—— Bio NewsHe deftly lays out a history of the gene… One of the great science books of the decade with an engagingly enthusiastic personality at its heart.
—— Saga Magazine[A]superbly written tale.
—— Stephen Meyler , RTE GuideMukherjee writes with clarity and passion… This should prove a fascinating read for anyone interested in understanding how far the study of the gene has taken us, particularly with respect to medicine, and where the future may lie.
—— Emma McConnell , Pharmaceutical JournalAmbitious and honest, The Gene sheds light on both our past and future.
—— Kitty Knowles , MemoMukherjee’s text brims with potential… Surely The Gene has to be the new bible for a new generation of aspiring biologists, biochemists and, frankly, thinking people? So whether you’re a teacher or parent attempting to inspire a reluctant teen to get excited about science, or you simply want an erudite anecdote, this book is for you. It’s a dazzling example of scientific story-telling, and definitely my book of the year.
—— School's WeekIf you want a good overview of the history of the gene, you can’t go wrong starting here.
—— Paul Cheney , NudgeA provocative and engaging [read].
—— Independent NurseMukherjee’s prose tends to be lavish, but this befits the weighty topic, and his explanatory style is clear yet enveloping… Compelling scientific and medical storytelling… A spectacular effort from an author I hopes has plenty more tales to tell.
—— Euan Ashley , LancetAn essential guide to biology.
—— Gentleman's Journal, Book of the YearA brilliant, chunky, study of genes.
—— William Leith , Evening StandardThis book captures the progression from that intuitive sense of genetics to its birth as a veritable science and, for better or for worse, its evolution into a powerful tool… The book ends not with a conclusion, but with a feeling of anticipation… In many ways, The Gene is a call for caution and for a thoughtful consideration of the possibilities that progress may bring… When genes become tools, what will those tools be used for? As we try to answer that question, Mukherjee’s book asks us to carefully look back before we continue to move forward
—— Claire McDaniel & Daniel Marchalik , British Medical JournalA comprehensive – and gripping – history of the gene
—— Emma Finamore , Memo