Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived

Wilson explores such predicted advances as flying cars, holograms, ray guns, and, yes, personal jetpacks to find out the current state of research (or lack thereof). A space elevator, for instance, turns out to be not impossible in the foreseeable future. Some of the chapters are a lot more interesting than others, but what I really enjoyed was his turn of phrase, like “We must each decide on our own whether life is worth living without the prospect of a relaxed cruise in a luxurious airship the size of a small Mexican village.” And I know there were better ones, and lots, but it seems one can never find that kind of thing when one is actually looking for it!

A pleasant enough little book that I finished in a matter of hours. It reads more like a series of short, humorous articles out of Popular Science than anything else. The tone is light and breezy, almost funny in spots. Almost scholarly in spots. Don't expect too much and you won't be too disappointed.

An amusing, tongue in cheek look at icons in classic science fiction and how close modern technology has come to achieving them. The design is quite cool, with heavy paper, blue sides and a sci-fi blue, black and silver cover. But in the end, it's still just waiting room material.

If you are looking for a quick and quirky read then "Where’s My Jetpack" is for you. Have you ever wondered where all those marvellous future inventions that were promised to you as a child have got to? Well this is a funny but factual account of progress so far (or lack of) on many gadgets and machines comic books and science fiction once assured us were just around the corner. Written by Daniel H. Wilson this book covers everything from robot pets to space lasers to teleportation. Having a PhD in Robotics you can be pretty sure he has a firm grasp of the subject material (at very least the robotics elements) and his research has obviously been wide. You may be surprised to read how much progress has been made on some pretty show more fantastic science and you will almost certainly find Wilson’s humorous style entertaining. In the nicest way possible I would compare his writing to that of many writers of men’s magazines, such as FHM. If you try this book and enjoy it keep a look out for another of Wilsons books, “How to survive a robot uprising”. show less

Shorter and more blurby than I was expecting. Like blog entries, go figure. Clearly-explained science for us non-science folks, with a nice sense of humor. Fun random factoids that are handy at parties.

We live in the 21st-Century, that magical century heralded in the past century as The Future, yet The Future has been somewhat disappointing. Where's my jetpack? : a guide to the amazing science fiction future that never arrived (2007) by Daniel H. Wilson recounts all the great inventions promised to an eager public by science fiction, comic books, World's Fairs, and documentaries that seemingly have never come to pass. Wilson goes through several of these fantastic devices and describes what advances have actually been made and tells how several of them actually exist. Albeit in less than fantastic guises or far to expensive/exclusive for the general populace. Here are some of my favorites:

The jetpack, which works, just not for very show more long due to fuel limitations.
The zeppelin which once sailed elegantly through the sky until the Hindenberg disaster, but may be making a return.
Teleportation which is possible with particles if not with human beings.
Underwater hotels: one exists but it's not very luxurious. More luxurious hotels are in the works.
Anti-Sleeping pills are available under the brand name Provigil (I'm tempted to get a prescription).
The Space Elevator is theoretically possible and Wilson suggests we submit our plans to the Spaceward Foundation and win a prize (Hey, there's a space elevator blog too!).
And a Moon Colony? It's in the works!

This is a fun little book with a good mix of science and humor that will appeal to anyone's inner geek. show less

Cute idea, well executed.