Author:Owen Hatherley
'A scathing, lively and timely look at the "European city", from one of our most provocative voices on culture and architecture today' Owen Jones
A searching, timely account of the condition of contemporary Europe, told through the landscapes of its cities
Over the past twenty years European cities have become the envy of the world: a Kraftwerk Utopia of historic centres, supermodernist concert halls, imaginative public spaces and futuristic egalitarian housing estates which, interconnected by high-speed trains traversing open borders, have a combination of order and pleasure which is exceptionally unusual elsewhere.
In Trans-Europe Express, Owen Hatherley sets out to explore the European city across the entire continent, to see what exactly makes it so different to the Anglo-Saxon norm - the unplanned, car-centred, developer-oriented spaces common to the US, Ireland, UK and Australia. Attempting to define the European city, Hatherley finds a continent divided both within the EU and outside it.
'The latest heir to Ruskin.' - Boyd Tonkin, Independent
'Hatherley is the most informed, opinionated and acerbic guide you could wish for.' - Hugh Pearman, Sunday Times
'Can one talk yet of vintage Hatherley? Yes, one can. Here are all the properties that have made him one of the most distinctive writers in England - not just 'architectural writers', but writers full stop: acuity, contrariness, observational rigour, frankness and beautifully wrought prose.' - Jonathan Meades
The latest heir to Ruskin.
—— Boyd Tonkin , IndependentPraise for Landscapes of Communism: 'A revelatory voyage into fantastical domains...It is an epic work'
—— Rowan Moore , ObserverHatherley is the most informed, opinionated and acerbic guide you could wish for.
—— Hugh Pearman , Sunday TimesCan one talk yet of vintage Hatherley? Yes, one can. Here are all the properties that have made him one of the most distinctive writers in England - not just 'architectural writers', but writers full stop: acuity, contrariness, observational rigour, frankness and beautifully wrought prose.
—— Jonathan MeadesRemarkable. Heartbreaking and uplifting
—— Foyles NewsletterIn Ben Platts-Mills's extraordinary book, the characters of people damaged by violence, stroke or accident of birth outshine the medical details. He tells [their stories] wonderfully
—— nature.comThe unprecedented power unleashed by artificial intelligence means the next decade could be humanity's best - or worst. Max has written the most insightful and just plain fun exploration of AI's implications that I've ever read. If you haven't been exposed to Max's joyful mind yet, you're in for a huge treat.
—— Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy and co-author of "The Second Machine Age”Max's new book is a deeply thoughtful guide to the most important conversation of our time, about how to create a benevolent future civilization as we merge our biological thinking with an even greater intelligence of our own creation.
—— Ray Kurzweil, Inventor, Author and Futurist, author of The Singularity is Near and How to Create a MindThis is an exhilarating book that will change the way we think about AI, intelligence, and the future of humanity.
—— Bart Selman, Professor of Computer Science, Cornell UniversityTegmark successfully gives clarity to the many faces of AI, creating a highly readable book [...] Enjoy the ride, and you will come out the other end with a greater appreciation of where people might take technology and themselves in the years ahead.
—— ScienceStands out ... Tegmark explains brilliantly many concepts in fields from computing to cosmology, writes with intellectual modesty and subtlety, does the reader the important service of defining his terms clearly, and rightly pays homage to the creative minds of science-fiction writers who were, of course, addressing these kinds of questions more than half a century ago. It's often very funny, too.
—— Steven Poole , The TelegraphFascinating ... for sheer science fun, it's hard to beat
—— Stuart Russell , NatureLucid and engaging [...] Tegmark's explanation of how electronic circuitry - or a human brain - could produce something as evanescent and immaterial as thought is both elegant and enlightening.
—— Frank Rose , Wall Street JournalIt should be among the most important items on our political agenda. Unfortunately, AI has so far hardly registered on our political radar ... Max Tegmark's Life 3.0 tries to rectify the situation. Written in an accessible and engaging style, and aimed at the general public, the book offers a political and philosophical map of the promises and perils of the AI revolution. Instead of pushing any one agenda or prediction, Tegmark seeks to cover as much ground as possible, reviewing a wide variety of scenarios concerning the impact of AI on the job market, warfare and political systems. Life 3.0 does a good job of clarifying basic terms and key debates, and in dispelling common myths.
—— Yuval Noah Harari , The GuardianTegmark's smart, freewheeling discussion leads to fascinating speculations on AI-based civilizations spanning galaxies and eons-and knotty questions: Will our digital overlords be conscious? Will they coddle us with abudance and virtual-reality idylls or exterminate us with bumblebee-size attack robots? While digerati may be enthralled by the idea of superintelligent civilizations where "beautiful theorems" servce as the main economic resource, Tegmark's future will strike many as a one in which, at best, humans are dependent on AI-powered technology and, at worst, are extinct... Love it or hate it, it's an engrossing forecast.
—— Publishers Weekly'I view this conversation about the future of AI as the most important one of our time,' he writes. Life 3.0 might convince even those who believe that AI is overhyped to join in.
—— Clive Cookson , Financial TimesExplores one of the most intriguing scientific frontiers, artificial general intelligence, and how humans can grow along with it. ... most will find the narrative irresistible.
—— Kirkus Reviews