In the best science fiction stories, the author takes real science of today and extrapolates it in realistic ways so that the reader can believe that the world the author describes could be an actual future. Michio Kaku is a fan of sci-fi. In The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Future Beyond Earth Kaku writes realistic scientific projections and about actual research and development in a variety of fields. He fires readers' imaginations with possibilities and potential.



Kaku, a theoretical physicist, college professor, and all around interesting guy, starts with a challenge. He writes, "If we scan all the life-forms that have ever existed on the Earth . . . we find that more than 99.9 percent of them eventually become extinct. This means that extinction is the norm, that the odds are already stacked heavily against us." In other words, the odds are that humans will become extinct. But we have options: "Either me must leave the Earth or we will perish. There is no other way."



The first chapters are most immediate and easiest to grasp. What will it take to establish colonies on the Moon and on Mars? How close are we to mining resources on asteroids? How about the moons of the outer planets? These are a relatively short step from current technology. Given sufficient funding and national and international commitment, a more permanent human presence away from Earth could be a reality.



Kaku raises many of the questions that sci-fi writers conveniently avoid. Is there a practical means of travel to other planetary systems? Are multi-generation space journeys realistic? Is it possible to put astronauts in suspended animation? What about the time frames of terraforming, the physiological effects on humans of life in space or on other planets, or the prospects for downloading our consciousness to electronic storage?



As the book progresses and Kaku stretches his ideas further and further beyond current reality. But even the wildly speculative portions have a basis in believable premises. The Future of Humanity has lots of ideas familiar to sci-fi fans. He includes copious references from movies and novels to illustrate his ideas. Kaku makes science and the future very exciting and builds anticipation for what may be around the corner for us. Hopefully The Future of Humanity will inspire a new generation of scientists to take humanity into a more hopeful future.





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

A copy of this title has been provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kaku’s ‘The Future of Humanity’ is an ambitious, extensive look at space exploration...from the immediate plans to return to the Moon and send astronauts to Mars...to how humanity may be able to avoid the universe’s ultimate [distant] demise. Bizarre, fascinating, and accessible...although I’m pretty sure I accidentally opened a wormhole in my brain trying to make heads or tails of string theory in the final chapters. An inspiring read!

‘The Future of Humanity’ is available now through libraries and booksellers large and small.

I’ve read most of Michio Kaku’s books. I always enjoy them. His newest, The Future of Humanity, is his best. Still, there are parts that I disagree with.

He covers the topics that every futuristic geek loves to devour. It’s divided into 3 parts:

1) Leaving Earth
2) Voyage to the Stars
3) Life in the Universe

Each part has several chapters, covering topics like:
• Mining the heavens
• The challenges of terraforming Mars
• How the moons of gas giants and even comets can become gas stations of the future
• How robots can colonize the universe
• The pros and cons of various starships
• Transhumanism
• Advanced civilizations
• Time travel

Although I’ve read many books that cover these topics (including some of Kaku’s), I still managed to learn many things.

For instance, did you know that one lunar day is equal to one Earth month?

As a result, solar panels on the moon will have 2 weeks of nonstop sun and then 2 weeks on nonstop darkness. They’re going to need some big batteries to get them through the dark periods.

The only exception is the mountain peaks on the lunar poles. They would get nonstop sun. In addition, there are big ice deposits in the shady lunar depressions in the poles.

After reading [[ASIN:B06Y55SB48 Artemis: A Novel]], I thought the best place to start a lunar colony was at the Apollo 11 landing site—mainly for touristic reasons.

However, The Future of Humanity makes it clear that the lunar poles are the moon’s most valuable real estate.

In Artemis, I learned what Kaku also states: lunar soil has lots of oxygen that can be easily extracted.

So expect to see a lunar colony, extracting oxygen from the soil, and using solar panels to melt the ice into water by the poles.

Kaku theorizes “that humans are different from animals because we understand time.”

Kaku believes that “alongside the light sail, the fusion rocket holds the most promise.”

Did you know that the Greenland shark has an average lifespan of 272 years? It’s the longest-lived vertebrate. Scientists found one that was 392 years old and another that might be 512 years old!


Where I disagree with Kaku

Kaku said only a couple of things that were unconvincing. He wrote, “I believe we will make contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, perhaps sometime in this century.”
If you think that’s optimistic, consider Dr. Seth Shostak of the SETI Institute who “believes that we will make contact with an alien civilization before 2025.”

I’m unconvinced that there are any technologically advanced alien civilizations in our galaxy. It’s unlikely that they’re even in our galactic cluster. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re the only such civilization in our universe.

I know. Crazy.

Kaku unintentionally explains why I may be right. As a civilization progresses to a Type II civilization, it harnesses all the power in its solar system. A Type III civilization harnesses all the power in its galaxy.

If such civilizations existed, we ought to see evidence of them when we look into the heavens just like we can see evidence of intelligent life on Earth from space. When you look down on Earth from space, you can see straight features (farmlands and roads), for example. On Mars, we see no such features.

If Star Trek civilizations existed, you’d expect to see odd things in space that could only be explained by a powerful species messing around with nature. For example, imagine if we saw a black hole or star suddenly changing direction against the natural tug of gravity. Or a cluster of stars moving in an unnatural way (because the aliens are harvesting them). We ought to see Dyson spheres everywhere.

But we don’t. The universe appears 100% natural.

Yes, it’s possible that exotic pulsars, neutron stars, and even black holes are artificial creations but we have perfectly good natural explanations for their existence.

Kaku explains one reason why Dyson spheres may be rare. Our sun is 109 times bigger than the Earth in diameter. Therefore, “there might not be enough building material on the rocky plants to construct [a Dyson sphere].”

Similarly, Kaku writes, that “to communicate across the galaxy . . . advanced civilizations may use gravity waves.”

Why?

“Unlike laser beams, which might be absorbed, scattered, and diffused as they travel, gravity waves would be able to spread across the stars and galaxy and therefore may be more reliable over great distances.”

Brilliant. Therefore, if you believe that there are little green men everywhere, you should expect that we would be intercepting all sorts of gravity wave transmissions.

But we haven’t. After much effort, we finally detected gravity waves in 2016, when two black holes collided.

Once again, if techy aliens were around, their signatures would parade across the skies. But there’s no evidence.

Another reason I’m unconvinced that ET is out there is that with nanobots an advanced civilization can explore our galaxy in just a few million years. Obviously, such probes would be hard to spot.

However, with exponential growth and self-replicating bots, aliens should have been here millions (or billions) of years ago. But they haven’t left any obvious traces.


Information consumption

Another argument Kaku puts forth in The Future of Humanity that is unconvincing is when he tries to explain why we don’t see evidence of Type II or III civilizations. He admits that there are no infrared signatures in the sky showing evidence that such powerful civilizations exist. So how does he explain it?

Kaku suggests that maybe we shouldn’t measure a civilization based on energy consumption but rather on information consumption. He uses humans as an example. Our smartphones process far more information than the 1950s supercomputers ever could and yet they do it using just a tiny fraction of the energy used in the 1950s.

Therefore, Kaku says, maybe aliens have figured out a way to consume vast amounts of information but hardly use any energy.

The problem is: look at us. Sure, we have relatively low consuming smartphones and smartwatches but we have so many more of them. Our energy consumption has only increased throughout history.

Yes, we are several orders of magnitude more efficient at processing information now than 50 years ago, but we’ve also upped our desire to consume that information to an even greater degree. That results in a net energy consumption increase. Kaku doesn’t explain how or when that
pattern will ever change.


Life and intelligent life is probably out there but that’s not enough

Although I don’t believe that advanced civilizations are out there, I’m sure that life is abundant in the universe and it probably exists in at four places in our solar system (Europa, Mars, Enceladus, and Titan).

Moreover, I bet that intelligent life is pretty common too, especially on planets similar to ours (in the Goldilocks range and far from the galaxy’s harmful core). Dinosaurs were intelligent. Dogs, dolphins, and octopuses are intelligent. You could even argue that ants and insects are intelligent. Chimps are certainly very intelligent. Some US Presidents . . . not so much.

When people talk about intelligent life, they usually mean a technological society. To clear that hurdle is much harder.

Moreover, once you clear it, there’s an excellent chance that exponential growth will take over. Within a few million years, you’ll conquer the galaxy and probably beyond.

Given that we don’t see any evidence of anyone having transformed the cosmos, there’s a good chance that we’re the only ones with that potential.

The book Rare Earth takes a far more radical position than what I propose. It argues that we’re probably the only place in the galaxy that has evolved vertebrate life!

Before you laugh such an argument off, read the book. It’s a compelling read.

Still, I disagree with that book’s conclusion. I believe life is common, vertebrate life is uncommon but not hyper-rare, and that even intelligent life (broadly defined) appears occasionally.

However, we’re probably the only technologically advanced species in our galaxy (and perhaps in the universe).

As Arthur C. Clarke said, “Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”


The unbelievable idea

The most unbelievable argument in The Future of Humanity that is when Kaku considers how we will evolve. For the sake of argument, he asks us to assume that “we remain a Type II civilization with only sub-light-speed rockets for 100,000 years.”

After substantial discussion, he writes, “In conclusion, even if we spread out throughout the galaxy, our core personality and basic shape will diverge not much farther than what has already occurred since the Great Diaspora [out of Africa].”

For a smart guy who understands Darwinism, I can’t believe Kaku argues this. Darwin 101 states that species evolve when they have environmental pressures.

What greater environmental pressure can there be than humans evolving separately on the moon or Mars?

The differing gravity, cosmic rays, and weather alone ought to make measurable impacts in just a generation. The expression of Scott Kelly’s DNA was altered after just spending one year in space! Imagine if he had spent a lifetime on Mars? And his kids? And so on?

More importantly, earlier in the book, Kaku explains how we will use genetics and cybernetics to alter ourselves in this century. And we’re not even a Type I civilization!

Can you imagine what a Type II civilization can do to their bodies and minds? As Kaku suggests, a Type I civilization might be immortal.

Therefore, with so much power to alter our own genes and with such vastly different environments outside of our planet, how the hell can Kaku conclude that “our core personality and basic shape” won’t change in the next 100,000 years any more than they’ve changed in the last 100,000 years?!

I suppose an extremely broad reading of that prediction doesn’t make it so laughable.

However, to me, it shows a supreme underestimation of how humanity will evolve in the next 100,000 years and contradicts much of what Kaku argues in the rest of the excellent book.

Of course, Kaku is 100,000 times smarter than I am so it’s unwise that I question his arguments. He’s probably right and I’m probably wrong. Or maybe I misunderstood him.

Regardless, I highly recommend this book because it neatly summarizes all the futuristic topics without being too superficial. I learned a lot and I consider myself a geek who knows a lot about this future stuff. So buy a copy!

Disclosure: the publisher gave me a free copy to do an honest review on my website.

This is utterly fascinating and written in a way that was easy to understand. Kaku mixes science with fiction (pulled from pop culture, books, etc) in order to explain what could or couldn’t happen in the future.

I was surprised how easy it was to grasp the ideas and loved the examples he gives. His love of science is evident in his writing and very contagious.

I have another book of his that I’ve been hesitant to start (I was afraid it’d be over my head), but after reading this I’m eager to dive into it.

Highly highly recommend!

Our planet is going to become uninhabitable over the course of coming years (human-induced climate change) or a major event will cause extinction, writes Michio Kaku in The Future of Humanity. Disasters have happened already over the long lifespan of the planet, so “there will be more to come.”

Our best bet to ensure the continuation of our species is to find more places to live among the stars. So Kaku explores the possibilities open to us in the next century and more.

First, he takes readers through how we can leave the earth: space travel. He touches on the brief history of what we’ve been able to do so far and then where we’re headed in the immediate future. Mars is one of the primary goals for government and private entrepreneurs to reach and try to settle. But past that, there are even possibilities in the moons of some more distant planets in the solar system, as well as star systems beyond. Kaku addresses the limitations of our bodies and what kinds of adjustments will need to be made both in where we will live and in our bodies themselves to be able to live away from our home planet.

Once we’ve found viable places to travel to, then there’s the question of how to travel: what kinds of ships we will use and how fast they can get where we need them to go. What kind of power do we already have available and what will we need to develop? Then, how can it be made cost-effective?

Next, Kaku writes about the need for robots that can get the work done in space, and what advances are being made and likely will happen in the near future to enable much of what the plans for space travel will require.

Last, Kaku addresses what kinds of changes may happen in the more distant future to really allow humans to go to distant planets. Our species may need to achieve the long-sought dream of immortality so we can really travel as far as we may need to go. Or we may become more than human by incorporating technology into our bodies (or even abandoning them altogether as we explore by sending out our consciousness — and that’s not just a sci-fi notion; the basics of how we would do that are being worked on now, Kaku tells us). The author also looks at the possibilities of what other kinds of life may be out there, if we run into other civilizations, or if they find us.

This book really goes into all kinds of options, all kinds of fascinating science. It addresses quantum physics in a number of contexts, as it applies to various topics in the course of the book. String theory makes an appearance near the end, and what the multiverse may mean to our species millennia and even millions of years in the future.

If you’re a science junkie, whether it’s astronomy, space travel, robotics, quantum physics or technology, this book is an absolute treat. I was fascinated by so much of what Kaku discussed. The big picture of what he and other scientists envision for the future of humanity is thought-provoking, and each facet of what it will take to keep our species living on past extinction events and venturing out into new realms had me riveted. Kaku’s writing is accessible and understandable for the lay reader and opens up new worlds of thought. As I read, my mind was just exploding with the information and excitement, and I ended up reading so many passages aloud to my husband that he probably is happy I’m finished with the book.

So cool.

Michio Kaku is one of the most optimistic scientists of our time. This book gives hope that our future isn't the bleak worlds depicted in dystopian novels, but it is possibly bright and shining. We not only learn about how we came to where we are, but we get to see where we might be going. I absolutely loved this book.

Michio Kaku is always a delight to read. He's so excited about everything! His personality jumps off the page.

Ever since man has understood that there was something beyond the skies, there has been a draw to the beyond. We seek to see what lies past the boundaries above us. It has been the subject of dreams and nightmares, the inspiration to artists and scientists alike.

But now, as our technology continues to advance at an exponential pace, what was once the sole purview of science fiction has instead reached the cusp of scientific fact.

That’s Michio Kaku’s take, anyway. The theoretical physicist and noted author has released a new book – “The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth.” In it, Kaku looks ahead to the years to come and what they might mean for humanity’s journey onward … and upward.

We start with a primer on the history of space-related science, beginning with early physical models and the formation of planets before moving on to the pioneers of rocketry through the space race and up to the current state of affairs, including the private efforts of folks like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

From there, Kaku walks us through some of the currently extant plans for returning to the moon and eventually making our way toward Mars; many of these plans are interconnected, with established presences on and near the moon greatly increasing the ease with which we might extend our reach to the Red Planet.

From there, he proposes looking deeper into the solar system, with talk about industrializing space by way of asteroid mining. Jupiter’s moon Europa has long been viewed as a place with potential for human habituation, while the gas giants offer their own possible benefits for a spacefaring civilization.

(While some might already be aware, I’ll confess to being a little stunned by how many of the pieces are in place for some of these ideas to become reality. In a lot of cases, the foundational technology has already been developed. It’s just a question of assembling the puzzle. Well, that and paying for it.)

It’s at this point that Kaku makes the leap from the currently plausible to the theoretical. It’s the next logical step – Part II invites us to “Voyage to the Stars.” Interstellar travel remains far beyond our means, of course, but that doesn’t stop Kaku from offering up some thoughts with regards to what it might take to get us there. And he has plenty – he IS a theoretical physicist, after all. That ability to reach the stars would allow for a truly galactic civilization, one that would allow mankind to make its way out across the cosmos.

In Part III – “Life in the Universe” – Kaku explores some of the fundamental alterations humanity might undergo as it spreads itself across the eons. The extension of the human lifespan is addressed, whether through physical methods such as suspended animation or clones or technological means like the electronic duplication of consciousness, as well as the moral and ethical ramifications of such extensions. Concepts of transhumanism and the idea of what it might mean to become posthuman are also discussed.

And lest we forget, we still have to talk about the aliens. Specifically, what an encounter with an advanced alien civilization might look like – and whether humanity could even survive it – and thoughts on how they may have developed. The Fermi paradox pops up as well, as it so often does in these sorts of conversations.

All that, plus the evolution of our civilization – in terms of how it exists in the universe and how it might splinter in the face of a wide diaspora – and some quick hits regarding wormholes, Planck energy, quantum fuzziness and string theory.

All this might sound intimidating, but it needn’t be. Kaku has a real gift for this kind of popular science; he is able to render complex ideas in a manner that is sophisticated while still feeling accessible. The concepts at work here are big ones, and there’s no denying that some basic scientific knowledge is helpful, but the book as a whole is both entertaining and easily understandable.

It’s worth noting that this book covers a LOT of ground, so not all of these ideas get explored with great depth. It’s more of a primer, touching numerous bases and serving as a sort of high-end introduction to the concepts within. That sense is enhanced by the sense of genuine enthusiasm that permeates the book; Kaku is legitimately passionate about his subject and does an admirable job of conveying that passion to the reader.

“The Future of Humanity” is an entertaining work of pop science, one that blends real ideas with readability in a compelling manner. At the end of the day, when you’re looking through Michio Kaku’s eyes, the future looks bright indeed.

There are not enough synonyms for fantastic to adequately describe this book. I’ll just stick with awesome and awe-inspiring!

Written in layman’s terms, the Future of Humanity goes from mankind’s move to Mars to its eventual move to a new universe. It discusses what famous science fiction books, television shows and movies got right (surprisingly a lot) and what they got wrong (no fast trips through wormholes or suspended animation in the foreseeable future). The Future of Humanity also contains a brief history of science in tiny easily digestible bites.

The first third of the book talks about what will probably occur by the end of this century. The second part discusses the nut and bolts of how mindless robots, smart artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology will assist the colonization of our universe. It also tells how building a starship could be accomplished (once science solves some mysteries and reduces the price of creating antimatter). The final section discusses long-term travel issues and the changes to Earth and humanity required by the acceleration of the expansion of the universe initially caused by the Big Bang. The pesky problem of extending human life to live long enough to reach a distant planet is described. How humanity may be able to move apart from their physical bodies is investigated. An exploration of the possibilities of extraterrestrials and the string theory of the bubble universe concludes the book.

A enthralling and timely book merging science, pop culture, and intelligent guessing. The Future of Humanity is an intriguing, well-researched look into the future by a beloved scientist. Obviously, the first third is much more likely to occur. As the timeframe lengthens, the odds of prophecy being correct always goes down. However, this is a great peek into mankind’s possible future.

Highly recommended for science-fiction readers and writers. This book contains some great science-based plot ideas. It is also recommended for regular readers who enjoy a great and fact-based story.

Thanks to the publisher, Doubleday, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I received a free Kindle copy of The Future of Humanity by Michio Kaku courtesy of Net Galley and Doubleday Books, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have always had an interest in space and science and where we may go in the future.  This is the first book by Michio Kaku that I have read.

The subtitle of this book "Terraforming, Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality and Our Destiny Beyond Earth" is a good description of the contents of the book. The author starts out describing what will eventually happen to the Earth using other solar systems as examples. He then launches into a number of topics dealing with the subject. 

The author's writing style is engaging making this an enjoyable read. While the author does project his thoughts on the subject, he also uses the thoughts and theories of several others. Some of his time frames for events are well documented while others are somewhat more nebulous.

I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in ways that humanity can survive in the long-term (millions and billions of years). You will not be disappointed.

Michio Kaku fills you with hope for our future, while at the same time making sure that you understand the blunt reality of our future, the future of space travel, how we must become a multi-planet species. We’re not only shown the future of space travel, but the technology we’ll need to get to Mars and asteroids, and the people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and many others. He takes us through the complexities of nano technology, asteroid mining, terraforming Mars, and so on. He introduces us to pioneers past and present in this bold, breathtaking book that’s incredibly informative, and not to mention, incredibly fun.

Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku is at his best (at least for layman) when his enthusiasm for creative science, science fiction, and the edges of our knowledge blend into a surprisingly accessible read. That approach comes through much of The Future of Humanity, where his speculative science is sometimes quite compatible with speculative fiction.

This one's a little different from Hyperspace; there's less of Kaku's own work and more of his reporting on the work of others, whether as historical overviews or updates on contemporaries. When the book drags, which isn't often, it's because it bogs down in reportage.

The ideas here are fun, even if the premise (we have to leave earth or face extinction) is bleak. Some of the science never quite gets there, and some of the timeline estimates feel unfounded (maybe they aren't, but some of them are more clearly explained). Figuring out how to travel the stars feels like an exercise in fiction with Kaku's easy approach to physics, but understanding that these ideas are (mostly) actual considerations adds an odd feeling to it.

I imagine this one's as good a read for fans of Arrival or Asimov as it is for fans of Brian Greene. Those looking for harder, more detailed science won't find it here, but will likely still find Kaku's musings engaging.

Kaku is one of the few authors that will make me drop all other literary engagements and focus just on their current work.

I highly recommend this book and all of his other works.

Kaku is a great tour guide to the possibilities of the distant future. He imagines what may be possible, or at least what is not ruled out by the laws of physics as we know them. He has the tendency in this book, as he does in his others, to introduce topics with words like "perhaps" and "might", and then to drop them altogether, so that it sounds like he is telling us what will happen, casting aside minor difficulties like cost and human will. He threads science fiction references throughout his narrative, almost organizing his argument by what he's seen/read in science fiction. That's not a terrible way to go, but he also blurs the line of reality there, asking himself how we reconcile two different views of the future, as if they are not fictional and must be reconciled. The whole thing is very entertaining. But he has a theorist's tendency to discount reality, which is always my criticism of his work. But I did come back for more, and his work is always worth reading. A little inspiration is called for right about now.

There seem to be a number of science futures becoming available in the near future, and I've recently read [book:Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything|34490192], which is very different from this one. I recommend them both as a study in contrasts: Kaku's extends to the limits of what might be possible one day maybe, and Soonish tries to keep it, well, soonish, in the realm of the reasonably possible. They have some topics in common, but they diverge rather dramatically.

I got a copy to review from Net Galley.

Science fiction often sends humanity off planet and out into the universe. Have you ever wondered how as a species humans accomplish this? If the answer is yes, then physicist Michio Kaku has written the book for you. The Future of Humanity surveys various fields of science to show the many steps needed to become a space faring civilization. From robotics to biological engineering to posthumanity to the physics of string theory, Dr. Kaku builds the road from Earth to leaving the universe. This is a book of hope and vision. One that is especially needed as science continues to come under attack in America.

TL;DR: By the end of Chapter 5, I was optimistic about humanity’s chances to make it to mars. Highly Recommended.

As a child, I dreamed of flying through the universe like my favorite science fiction stories, but growing up and learning what that really takes, I lost hope that humans would ever leave the planet. Space travel is expensive and dangerous to humans. Without the Soviet Union to race against, the U.S. lost interest in expanding its space presence. Add to that the revolution in personal computing, and space wasn’t as interesting. The Future of Humanity shows that even with our current understanding of science, leaving the planet is an attainable goal.

No prior knowledge of physics is necessary to enjoy this book. Dr. Kaku surveys a number of interesting topics that he believes may allow us to become citizens of the universe. With a style that’s easy to read, Dr. Kaku takes complex subjects and makes them understandable. I was never in over my head or bored by any section. Often, I had to pause my reading to think more about what possibilities The Future of Humanity opened up for fiction. I’d recommend this book to anyone who reads at a high school or high level; no background in science is required.

I really liked the structure of this book. It effortlessly bridges the gap between today and the far future by starting with a cosmologically small step. Dr. Kaku’s first trip is to the moon, and he uses this goal to explain about our short history into rocket science. Each chapter takes a farther step away from Earth and the present. Next is Mars and the near future of colonizing the red planet. Then we’re off into the solar system, galaxy, universe, and, finally, multi-verse. At the same time, we move from the near to the distant future to when galaxies are moving away from each other at the speed of light to the death of the universe. This approach eases the reader into the more speculative parts of the book and conveys the truly epic distances and time frames involved.

Throughout, Dr. Kaku references classic science fiction, and it’s clear to see that his love of the genre has influenced how he looks at the universe. I imagine this love helped him develop the easy style of explaining complex and very speculative guesses in believable and understandable prose. Far future science fiction has always had the problem of trying to guess at technological advances that we don’t even suspect yet and then science proving those guesses wrong. But Dr. Kaku’s grounding in our current understanding of physics makes his guesses very good ones. Since our current understanding is imperfect, there is a lot we don’t know or are incapable of learning without significant advances. Dr. Kaku clearly labels this, which is another strength of the book. He shows where our current understanding is lacking, and his optimism shows through by the belief that at some point we will solve the problems. Where science fiction says this is how it’s gonna be, Dr. Kaku says this is how it might be. A small but important distinction for a non-fiction book.

The book skims the surface of many topics. While there is a list of further reading included, I’d like some of the topics to be explored with more depth. Surveys whet the appetite and leave us hungry for more. With all the questions asked, the ethical question of whether we should leave the planet was never considered. If humans trash the one planet that we live on, is it ethical to treat other planets similarly? Enormous amounts of resources are needed for these futures to exist. Will we evolve past our current disregard of our home? I don’t see how that happens considering all the signs of climate change are somehow still ignored. Dr. Kaku is more of an optimist than I am. That’s for sure.

Ideally, this book would end up in the hands of parents, voters, and Congress. The Future of Humanity shows the power of our creativity and the potential of the human mind. It is a challenge issued to all homo sapiens that we are better than our current state, and if we can unite in purpose, we can make our species into the science fiction heroes that inspire us. It is not just a challenge in physics, though. Biology, chemistry, medical and material sciences, engineering and more are required to move off world. The Future of Humanity reawakened my hope that our species will survive past Earth. This book shows the steps between now and a galaxy spanning civilization. It will excite any reader to the possibilities that science has in store. The Future of Humanity is more a sales pitch than physics book, and it sold me on our future.

The book is available from Penguin Random House publishing on February 20, 2018.