| Engines of Creation Online!! | Eric Drexler | Ideal introduction to molecular nanotechnology. The book which introduced the nanotechnology concept. READ THIS !!!! Available on the web at : Engines of Creation |
Pop. |
| Nanosystems | Eric Drexler | Technical en scientific background for designing molecular machines. | Tech |
| Unbounding the future |
Chris Peterson (& Eric Drexler) |
Very non-technical description of the Molecular Nanotechnology concept and how it wil change our world. Available on the web at : Unbounding the Future |
Pop. |
| The prospect of Immortality | Robert C.W. Ettinger |
This book started the cryonics movement in the 60's. It displays a very modern
transhuman oriented vision, a little bit ahead of it's time. Online ! |
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| Mind Children | Hans Moravec | Future of robotics and machine intelligence. | |
| Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World. | Kevin Kelly |
This book describes how technology is becoming biological, decentralized
and distributed. Available on the web at : Out of Control . |
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| Society of the mind. | Marvin Minsky | Description of the mind as a society of separate agents. Artificial intelligence. | |
| The High Frontier | Gerard K. O' Neill | Description of the concept of space settlements. Industry in space. Solar energy stations in orbit exporting energy to Earth. Space settlements as living habitats for the people working in space. Electromagnetic accellerators for shooting materials from the moon to space and for transportation (mass driver) . | Pop. |
| Ringworld | Larry Niven |
This book astounded me. I was already familiar with the concepts of habitats in space as described by Gerard K O'Neil. I even imagened artificial worlds with dimensions of 10000 miles. However this story pictures an artifcial world build as a ring around a star. Imagine a world with a size of a 200 million miles and a surface area equal to a million Earths !!! An investigation is send out to this habitat. However their ship crashes and they have to travel using lesser means. The story goes about their lengthy travel over (a tiny tiny bit of) the surface of this enormous world and their contacts with the indigenous people. Ofcourse, lots of advendture. There are two sequals : Ringworld Engineers and The Ringworld Throne. |
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| Barsoom (Online!) | Edgar Rice Burroughs | An earthman gets transported to a strange planet named Barsoom. (Actually this happens to be Mars.)
He gets involved in a lot of fights which are all done with oldfashioned weapenry (like swords and daggers) and the fights are mostly done very honourably. Because of his extreem swiftness and strength (due to his origin from Earth with it's greater gravity, sometimes a bit too extreem if you ask me) he soon gets to be a famous unconcerable fighter and very important lord on this barbaric planet. Very advendturous and lots of action. Consists of (at least) four books: Princess of Mars, , Maid of Mars, Warlord of Mars. If you like adventure, you must read this. Especially because it's on the web, for free! On the web at : Literary Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs |
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| Tschai | Jack Vance | About the adventures of a man who shipwrecks on a strange planet where humans live as second rate beings with a couple of types of alien life forms as their superior masters on this planet. The story goes about his struggle to get off this planet and the encounters he makes with the different types of human tribes and cultures and their bizarre habbits and rules. Very exotic and advendturous. One of the best I've ever read ! (Actually the story is split in four parts, which are also available as separate books. | |