Daniel Wilson

Where's My Jetpack

We've all seen the sort of futuristic life which science fiction promises us. But this is the future, so why don't we have colonies on the moon and Mars, and why aren't we surrounded by robots? In Where's My Jetpack?:A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived , Daniel Wilson looks at a number of futuristic technologies, and tell us if they have actually been implemented.

Jetpacks, it seems, were a popular idea in the 1960's, but never got anywhere. Likewise the fuel consumption and likelyhood of accidents means than flying cars have yet to replace ground based ones. Teleportation looks like the way ahead - but so far only works on single photons.

Robots pets are now becoming available, even if there's some way to go before robot servants will be doing our housework for us. If you're rich enough you can go on a space vacation, and you can even try to defeat death by having you're body frozen when you die, with the hope of being revived when medical technology improves.

The book has many other short articles explaining whether you might be able to get hold of futuristic devices, and would make an ideal gift for any sci-fi addicts that you know. It doesn't go too deeply into why society has rejected such ideas, but is just what you need for a bit of humourous reading to fill odd moments.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 192 pages
ISBN: 1596911360
Salesrank: 426586
Weight:0.7 lbs

Published: 2007 Bloomsbury USA

Amazon price $10.17

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 192 pages
ISBN: 0747582866
Salesrank: 59308
Weight:0.75 lbs

Published: 2007 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Amazon price £5.79

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 192 pages
ISBN: 1596911360
Salesrank: 134464
Weight:0.7 lbs

Published: 2007 Bloomsbury US

Amazon price CDN$ 12.05

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 6.87:Used from CDN$ 2.12

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Product Description
It’s the twenty-first century and let’s be honestthings are a little disappointing. Despite every World’s Fair prediction, every futuristic ride at Disneyland, and the advertisements on the last page of every comic book, we are not living the future we were promised. By now, life was supposed to be a fully automated, atomic-powered, germ-free Utopia, a place where a grown man could wear a velvet spandex unitard and not be laughed at. Where are the ray guns, the flying cars, and the hoverboards that we expected? What happened to our promised moon colonies? Our servant robots? In Where’s My Jetpack?, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson takes a hilarious look at the future we always imagined for ourselves. He exposes technology, spotlights existing prototypes, and reveals drawing-board plans. You will learn which technologies are already available, who made them, and where to find them. If the technology is not public, you will learn how to build, buy, or steal it. And if doesn’t yet exist, you will learn what stands in the way of making it real. With thirty entries spanning everything from teleportation to self-contained skyscraper cities, and superbly illustrated by Richard Horne (101 Things to Do Before You Die), Where’s My Jetpack? is an endlessly entertaining, one-of-a-kind look at the world that we always wanted.

Product Description

It’s the twenty-first century and let’s be honestthings are a little disappointing. Despite every World’s Fair prediction, every futuristic ride at Disneyland, and the advertisements on the last page of every comic book, we are not living the future we were promised. By now, life was supposed to be a fully automated, atomic-powered, germ-free Utopia, a place where a grown man could wear a velvet spandex unitard and not be laughed at. Where are the ray guns, the flying cars, and the hoverboards that we expected? What happened to our promised moon colonies? Our servant robots?

In Where’s My Jetpack?, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson takes a hilarious look at the future we always imagined for ourselves. He exposes technology, spotlights existing prototypes, and reveals drawing-board plans. You will learn which technologies are already available, who made them, and where to find them. If the technology is not public, you will learn how to build, buy, or steal it. And if doesn’t yet exist, you will learn what stands in the way of making it real. With thirty entries spanning everything from teleportation to self-contained skyscraper cities, and superbly illustrated by Richard Horne (101 Things to Do Before You Die), Where’s My Jetpack? is an endlessly entertaining, one-of-a-kind look at the world that we always wanted.

A "light" read ***
This isn't a traditional book, but more of a Reader's Digest style collection of 2-4 page overviews of different technological subjects. It is an interesting look back on ideas that humans expended time and brain power on (in some cases a lot of each) that never really became part of mainstream society. I liked the fact that I could put it down and pick it back up a week later and never get lost, since each review is self contained.

A "light" read ***

This isn't a traditional book, but more of a Reader's Digest style collection of 2-4 page overviews of different technological subjects. It is an interesting look back on ideas that humans expended time and brain power on (in some cases a lot of each) that never really became part of mainstream society. I liked the fact that I could put it down and pick it back up a week later and never get lost, since each review is self contained.

Nice concept, but.... ***
Five stars for the idea. But the actual book just isn't as funny and interesting as the idea behind the book. Yes, people have built jetpacks, flying cars, household robots, etc. But except for a few quips made by the author, these just don't turn out to be especially interesting at the level of detail provided by the book. The telling point is that flipping through the chapter titles is more entertaining than actually reading the text: "Jetpacks! Flying Cars! Personal Submarines! Moon Tourism!" It's rather more interesting to contemplate why people in previous generations were more interested in technological utopias, while technological dystopias have become more the mode since the mid-70s. Is this true in spite of many of the technological predictions coming true? Or is this true because many of the technological predictions came true, and people didn't feel much better about their lives?

Nice concept, but.... ***

Five stars for the idea. But the actual book just isn't as funny and interesting as the idea behind the book.

Yes, people have built jetpacks, flying cars, household robots, etc. But except for a few quips made by the author, these just don't turn out to be especially interesting at the level of detail provided by the book. The telling point is that flipping through the chapter titles is more entertaining than actually reading the text: "Jetpacks! Flying Cars! Personal Submarines! Moon Tourism!"

It's rather more interesting to contemplate why people in previous generations were more interested in technological utopias, while technological dystopias have become more the mode since the mid-70s. Is this true in spite of many of the technological predictions coming true? Or is this true because many of the technological predictions came true, and people didn't feel much better about their lives?

Surprisingly informative and clever too! *****
I was expecting this book to be nothing but humorous fluff, so was pleasantly surprised to find that it contains quite a bit of information about the various technologies that we were promised by scientists back in the 50's!! It is also inspirational to think about how scientists are guided by imagination.

Surprisingly informative and clever too! *****

I was expecting this book to be nothing but humorous fluff, so was pleasantly surprised to find that it contains quite a bit of information about the various technologies that we were promised by scientists back in the 50's!! It is also inspirational to think about how scientists are guided by imagination.

More humor than science, but that's okay. ***
If you're of a certain age such that you remember the various magazines of the late 50's and the 60's that promised great things in the "future", then you'll find yourself saying "Oh yeah...Food Pills...Domed Cities...Aqua Gills. Hmmmmm...what ever happened to all that stuff?" as you flip through the chapters. So naturally, anyone younger than 40 has no frame of reference to the basis for the book and would probably wonder why older people were so silly "back then". Oh well. Anyway, the stories are a mix of history, science updates, and a humorous take on what happens when naive science fiction and real science collide. It's that collision that keeps us from living under the ocean in glass cites or flying through the air in our anti-gravity cars or our jetpacks. But the most interesting aspect of the book is where the author discusses some old flight-of-fancy that has somewhat of come true in our day, even if it's not in the manner that was envisioned by the futurists of 50 years ago. A fun book, easy to read.

More humor than science, but that's okay. ***

If you're of a certain age such that you remember the various magazines of the late 50's and the 60's that promised great things in the "future", then you'll find yourself saying "Oh yeah...Food Pills...Domed Cities...Aqua Gills. Hmmmmm...what ever happened to all that stuff?" as you flip through the chapters. So naturally, anyone younger than 40 has no frame of reference to the basis for the book and would probably wonder why older people were so silly "back then". Oh well.

Anyway, the stories are a mix of history, science updates, and a humorous take on what happens when naive science fiction and real science collide. It's that collision that keeps us from living under the ocean in glass cites or flying through the air in our anti-gravity cars or our jetpacks. But the most interesting aspect of the book is where the author discusses some old flight-of-fancy that has somewhat of come true in our day, even if it's not in the manner that was envisioned by the futurists of 50 years ago.

A fun book, easy to read.

OK but not great ***
This book is ok, but not great. It covers about the same info you can gather when watching a history channel show on this sort of thing. I would be hesitant to admit I had a PhD. and was the author of this book.

OK but not great ***

This book is ok, but not great. It covers about the same info you can gather when watching a history channel show on this sort of thing. I would be hesitant to admit I had a PhD. and was the author of this book.

The future is now... Sort of.. *****
This book goes about finding the truth behind all the greatest science fiction inventions, from jetpacks to underwater cities. It's written in a funny, but informative manner that, at first, makes you wonder if it's just parody. As you read more you realise that this actually is a serious run down of real inventions that either fell by the way side, or have yet to come into to mainstream use. Some of the real life inventions are mundane compared to their SciFi versions, while others are terrifying and will possibly make you wish they weren't real. If you're into scifi and real life science, it's a great book, well worth the money.

The future is now... Sort of.. *****

This book goes about finding the truth behind all the greatest science fiction inventions, from jetpacks to underwater cities.

It's written in a funny, but informative manner that, at first, makes you wonder if it's just parody. As you read more you realise that this actually is a serious run down of real inventions that either fell by the way side, or have yet to come into to mainstream use.

Some of the real life inventions are mundane compared to their SciFi versions, while others are terrifying and will possibly make you wish they weren't real.

If you're into scifi and real life science, it's a great book, well worth the money.

Are the internet and mobile phones the best we can do? ****
Where's My Jetpack perfectly sums up a regular whinge of mine. Why is the 21st century not as exciting as the future that science fiction promised? It also has to be the shiniest book I have read. I read it on the underground during my daily commute and I could see the sparkly pages constantly catching people's eyes. The book covers: Advanced transportation (jetpacks, zeppelins, moving sidewalks, self-steering cars, flying cars, hoverboards, teleportation) Future-tainment (underwater hotel, dolphin guides, space vacations, holograms, smell-o-vision, robot pets) Superhuman abilities (mind-reading, anti-sleeping pills, invisible camouflage, artificial gills, x-ray specs, universal translator) The home of the future (robot servants, unisex jumpsuits, smart houses, food pills, skyscrapper cities) Humans in space (ray gun, space mirror, space elevator, cryogenic freezing, moon colony) The book is fun and occasionally enlightening but the closest Wilson comes to a serious answer to his question is to blame the litigation culture. If we sue over hot coffee then imagine what fun lawyers would have with jetpacks and flying cars.

Are the internet and mobile phones the best we can do? ****

Where's My Jetpack perfectly sums up a regular whinge of mine. Why is the 21st century not as exciting as the future that science fiction promised?

It also has to be the shiniest book I have read. I read it on the underground during my daily commute and I could see the sparkly pages constantly catching people's eyes.

The book covers:

Advanced transportation (jetpacks, zeppelins, moving sidewalks, self-steering cars, flying cars, hoverboards, teleportation)
Future-tainment (underwater hotel, dolphin guides, space vacations, holograms, smell-o-vision, robot pets)
Superhuman abilities (mind-reading, anti-sleeping pills, invisible camouflage, artificial gills, x-ray specs, universal translator)
The home of the future (robot servants, unisex jumpsuits, smart houses, food pills, skyscrapper cities)
Humans in space (ray gun, space mirror, space elevator, cryogenic freezing, moon colony)

The book is fun and occasionally enlightening but the closest Wilson comes to a serious answer to his question is to blame the litigation culture. If we sue over hot coffee then imagine what fun lawyers would have with jetpacks and flying cars.

Build your own hoverboard! *****
Robots, cyborgs, and strange planets with their own languages - it sometimes appears that anything and everything is possible in books. Real life, by comparison, seems so drab. Where, demands Daniel Wilson, is the stuff of wonder, all that cool gear we were guaranteed? Where's My Jetpack? A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived is a nonfiction book for kids and adults that itemizes the sleek chrome Tomorrowland we were meant to inherit. How close have we come to attaining our Jetsons-style destiny? Sadly, not very, concludes the author, who writes about even complex science with an enviable competence and humour. Find out how to build your own hoverboard, learn how close we are to (finally) developing reliable rebreathers, and get the inside scoop on how to book your own berth on a revamped zeppelin. It's none of it as cool as we were promised, but hey, at least we haven't let the robots take over yet.

Build your own hoverboard! *****

Robots, cyborgs, and strange planets with their own languages - it sometimes appears that anything and everything is possible in books. Real life, by comparison, seems so drab. Where, demands Daniel Wilson, is the stuff of wonder, all that cool gear we were guaranteed? Where's My Jetpack? A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived is a nonfiction book for kids and adults that itemizes the sleek chrome Tomorrowland we were meant to inherit. How close have we come to attaining our Jetsons-style destiny? Sadly, not very, concludes the author, who writes about even complex science with an enviable competence and humour. Find out how to build your own hoverboard, learn how close we are to (finally) developing reliable rebreathers, and get the inside scoop on how to book your own berth on a revamped zeppelin. It's none of it as cool as we were promised, but hey, at least we haven't let the robots take over yet.