The Techno-Human Condition

[A] valuable book.

Andrew C. Revkin

Dot Earth-A New York Times blog

The Techno-Human Condition will infuriate some, be dismissed out-of-hand by a few, but will unsettle almost all readers. The reason is, that while Allenby & Sarewitz's analysis of current problem solving is a bitter pill to swallow, there is an underlying understanding that their approach is not only correct but also essential to embrace. The book is a fast-paced, easy read. I couldn't put it down.

Leonardo

An important, provocative, and wide-ranging volume on the role of technology in our rapidly changing Anthropocene-era world. Essential reading for anyone interested in Methods to Shape the Future, World Futures, Security, Sustainability, and science/technology in general... a stimulating and timely book.

Michael Marien

Global Foresight Books

A smart, articulate, and even witty investigation that avoids derailing into either the utopian or the dystopian. If the best is enemy of the good, The Techno-Human Condition is the good at its best.

Richard Rhodes, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Making of the Atomic Bomb

The Techno-Human Condition is first a cogent description of modernity from the perspective of a technological worldview and second a prescription for our problems through a rejuvenation of key Enlightenment precepts. The authors have clearly outlined how and why we are facing a fundamental cultural crisis precipitated by 'wicked complexity,' and this book is a clarion call for radical adjustment. I predict it will become a touchstone for reorienting our thinking about techno-society and the need to reconsider how global problems are faced by industrial societies.

Alfred I. Tauber, Professor of Philosophy and Zoltan Kohn Professor of Medicine, Boston University

I loved this book! I literally couldn't put it down! It made me think about the broad implications of my own research. My program is now to think about the issues the authors raise, and then to re-read the book in light of those musings. I just wish I could have the authors in my living room for a few hours (or days) to probe the issues they raise.

Wm. A. Wulf, University Professor, University of Virginia; President Emeritus, National Academy of Engineering