Subtitled "How science will revolutionise the 21st century and beyond" Visionsassumes that by and large scientists get to do whatever they like, that all technologies are consumer technologies and that consumers welcome anything and everything science throws at them. Kaku gets away with this frankly dodgy strategy by dint of sheer hard work. He has based his predictions on interviews with more than 150 renowned working scientists, he integrates these interviews with a huge body of original journalistic material and above all he roots that mass of information on an entirely reasonable model of what the purpose of science will be in the third millennium. Up until now, science has expended its efforts on decoding most of the fundamental natural processes--"the dance," as Kaku puts it, of elementary particles deep inside stars and the rhythms of DNA molecules coiling and uncoiling within our bodies". Science's task now, Kaku believes, is to cross- pollinate advances thrown up by the study of matter, biology and mind--modern science's three main theatres of endeavour. "We are now making the transition from amateur chess players to grand masters," he writes, "from observers to choreographers of nature." Then again, he also believes that "the Internet...will eventually become a "Magic Mirror" that appears in fairy tales, able to speak with the wisdom of the human race." Kaku, in short, deserves a good slapping--but he also deserves to be read. --Simon Ings

Its so easy on the eye and a beautiful brain installation of all the futuristic possibilities and conceptions straight off the cuff, or so its seems, this book is a joy to read and I highly recommend it to absolutely anyone who has an interest in future theoretical thoughts in Science.


Good but dated   January 20, 2004
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

A fascinating book, which gets better the futher away from the present it goes. Unfortunately being writen around 5 years ago some of the modern predictions seem dated. Still worth a read.


A Window to the future   January 3, 2002
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

If you want to have a feel of what the future will be... try this book. Apart from a few scientific terms, Kaku provides some good examples and relates very well to real world--our everyday life.


You simply must read this book...   June 7, 2000
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Rarely have I found a book where the subject matter is so intriguing that I simply couldn't put it down. Kaku presents such a well thought out and expertly written vision of the next century that is hard not to believe. Obviously much is extrapolated from current trends in science and technology, but the book is well worth reading merely to get an insight into the developments currently underway. Read this book - you won't be disappointed.


Jungle village better than Kaku's global village   November 18, 1999
 3 out of 12 found this review helpful

The give-away in Kaku's book is the "Week In The Life" he sketches of an American in 2020. War has vanished. Want is no more. The technological surround is complete. Luxury and comfort have won. So have US-dominated multinational corporations, who have presumably copyrighted every life form in sight. There is no sign of democracy, pesky old human nature or other species. This core vision of Kaku's is, frankly, dismal, reminding me of e.e.cummings's "spiritually impotent pseudo-community". Compared to Kaku's dream future, life in a little village in the jungle, wearing few clothes, catching the odd peccary that runs through the grass huts, frolicking down at the waterfall, unencumbered by money, waste or techno-gadgetry seems like the wildest dream of paradise. And indeed, it was the kind of life we led for 300,000 years. If each individual scientist that Kaku interviewed for his childish book lost their grant tomorrow, it would be a better world.