Schmidt is best known as the long time editor of Analog the more science oriented of the science fiction magazines. He also has a doctorate in physics. Both these facts make him a perfect person to explain how advances in science and technology have altered our lives, how they will continue to do so and why we should understand the process. Schmidt reminds us that computers, CAT scans, cell phones and gene therapy were all just fiction fifty years ago. Nanotechnology is now being used in industry. Cloning is a fact. So we should expect other ideas that sound preposterous to become a reality. But Schmidt also points out that the convergence of technologies can give results the inventors never imagined. Wilbur Wright lived to see an airplane deliver an atom bomb. Changes we make to our own bodies to cure disease or prevent birth defects could change the way we define who is human. Schmidt warns us that we can't be complacent and that it is our responsibility to understand the ramifications and be prepared to deal with them. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)