Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning: How terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future in This Century - Earth and Beyond »

Matrin Rees is a leading researcher on cosmic evolution, black holes, and galaxies. He has himself originated many key ideas, and brings a unique perspective to themes discussed in this book. He is currently a Royal Society Research Professor, and Great Britain’s Astronomer Royal. Through based in Cambridge University for most of his career, he travels extensively, and collaborates wit many colleagues in the U.S. and elsewhere. He is an enthusiast for international collaboration in research, and is a member of several foreign academies.

From world-renowned astrophysicist Sir Martin Rees, a timely, brisk, and alarming look at the way today's technology could spell the end of tomorrow.

Nola Theiss - KLIATT

Reading like a list of inevitable disasters, this book outlines all the possible ways the world might end—with a bang or a whimper. Every possible disaster—from lack of water to genetically engineered plants that destroy natural plants, to nuclear destruction, to chemical warfare, to asteroids hitting the Earth—is discussed and its likelihood evaluated. Rees, a noted scientist, believes that humanity is more at risk now than it has ever been and while he sees some hope, he gives grave warnings about what we must do to protect ourselves and our world. A complete index and list of notes follow his observations, giving credence to his beliefs. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2003, Perseus, Basic Books, 228p. notes. index., Ages 15 to adult.