ISBN 0-671-71108-3 (UK hbk)

"K.Eric Drexler, the world's leading expert on nanotechnology, explains that while this science is fast becoming a reality, it involves a fundamental change in how we approach matter. Instead of looking at it from top down, as we do now (mountains become rubble, rubble becomes iron, iron becomes steel, and steel is used for cars, for instance), nanotechnology will work with matter from the bottom up (manipulating it at the molecular level). We will be able to create machines so small that they will have to be measured in nanometers (billionths of a meter) able to manipulate matter with atom by atom precision. The consequences of this technology will be staggering.

"Unbounding the Future provides a guided tour of a future where the principles of nanotechnology have been applied. In this world, Drexler envisions the ability to cure diseases such as cancer and AIDS with molecular machines programmed to repair diseased cells. Toxic waste will be cleaned up by molecular machines that will render harmless dangerous pollutants, molecular manufacturing will produce products superior to those of today while using a fraction of the labour and producing no pollution. Drexler is confident these astonishing capabilities can be attained within our lifetime.

"Whether we are ready for it or not, scientists are at the edge of an era that will make nanotechnology a reality and revolutionize life as we know it today." [jacket blurb, UK hbk, 1992]

"More accessable to the general public than Drexler's first book on the subject.

"Absolutely a 'must read' for people concerned about the future." --Henry W.Targowski (in Mark/Space , 1995).

Recommended.