I have been obsessed with the possibility of nuclear war since childhood. In conjunction with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer (2023) brought this obsession to the fore again, which led me to The Oppenheimer Alternative.
The novel starts out as an only slightly fictionalised biography, but then takes a fantastic turn: soon after their creation of the first atomic bomb scientists make a shocking discovery about our sun. In a race against time and in total secrecy, they have to find a way to prevent the extinction of all life on our planet. This race is not only thrilling but also deeply moving because its outcome ultimately hinges on Oppenheimer’s undying love for Jean Tatlock (so compellingly portrayed by Florence Pugh in Nolan’s movie).
"Science fiction fans will devour this smart speculative tale."―Publishers Weekly
A nail-biting new science fiction thriller from Robert J. Sawyer; the all-time worldwide leader in award-wins as a science fiction or fantasy novelist.
"Well worth reading.―Analog Science Fiction and Fact
“Really great, a page turner. I was hooked from the beginning to the end.”―Andre Bormanis, co-executive producer, The Orville and Cosmos
On the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb, Hugo and Nebula-winning author Robert J. Sawyer takes us back in time to revisit history…with a twist.
While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to…
As a scholar and a concerned citizen (and an often rather gloomy private individual), the end of the world has long been a major preoccupation of mine, and wherever I look, it seems the news is not good.
Hannah Ritchie’s Not the End of the World offers a different perspective. The book does not downplay how terrible the state of the world is and how great the dangers for its future are. But it provides plenty of evidence that, by and large, the world has been getting better across history. Acknowledging this can help us to overcome paralysing pessimism and work ever harder for a better future.
Ritchie is the deputy editor of the essential online resource Our World in Data, which allows everyone to check up on global trends.
This "eye-opening and essential" book (Bill Gates) will transform how you see our biggest environmental problems—and explains how we can solve them.
It’s become common to tell kids that they’re going to die from climate change. We are constantly bombarded by doomsday headlines that tell us the soil won’t be able to support crops, fish will vanish from our oceans, and that we should reconsider having children.
But in this bold, radically hopeful book, data scientist Hannah Ritchie argues that if we zoom out, a very different picture emerges. In fact, the data shows we’ve made so much progress on…
I am a worrier, and as such I am concerned not only about the present state and future of humanity but also about all other sentient beings.
But what does ‘sentience’ actually mean? (At heart perhaps the ability to have experiences, good and bad.) What are our ethical responsibilities towards sentient beings? (Minimally perhaps not to cause them unnecessary suffering.) How can we know whether non-human animals, perhaps even plants and fungi or indeed digital entities, are sentient? (It seems we often can’t be sure.) How can we act in the face of radical uncertainty about the sentience of other beings? (Ideally in a precautionary way.)
These are some of the questions (and answers) this book presents. It is not an easy read, but I have found it extremely rewarding.
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.
Can octopuses feel pain and pleasure? What about crabs, shrimps, insects or spiders? How do we tell whether a person unresponsive after severe brain injury might be suffering? When does a fetus in the womb start to have conscious experiences? Could there even be rudimentary feelings in miniature models of the human brain, grown from human stem cells? And…
Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) has long been recognised as one of the key artistic expressions of the nuclear age. Based on a deadly serious 1958 novel, the film is both a hilarious comedy and a gripping thriller.
Through a scene-by-scene analysis, illustrated with numerous screen shots, my book aims to recreate, and explain, the deeply unsettling experience of watching this movie.
On the basis of extensive archival research I also sketch its production history and its connection to Cold War realities as well as the surprising parallels it draws between the American present and the Nazi past. Delving deep into the film’s pessimism, I do find a glimmer of hope at its very end.
