If Science is to Save Us

policy makers, and citizens everywhere to join forces so that the extraordinary advances in science will be directed toward solving pressing global challenges. Whether we live in the best of times or the worst of times in the future is up to all of us."
Shirley M. Tilghman, President Emeritus of Princeton University
 
"The future of humankind depends on science and on fully integrating that science into human culture and society. In this erudite yet accessible book, Martin Rees makes a compelling case for supporting science and making it an integral part of our democracy and political decision making."
Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate, Director and Chief Executive of the Francis Crick Institute
 
"Delight along with me as Martin Rees describes his world of science and what it will take to ensure that we not only survive but prosper in the Anthropocene Era."
Charles F. Kennel, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and former Chair of the NASA Advisory Council
 
"This lucid and compelling book by one of the world's foremost and far-seeing scientists shows why we ignore science at our peril. The book should be required reading for scientists and is an accessible 'must read' for everyone interested in the critical and existential challenges facing humanity."
Ian Goldin, Director of the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
 
"Martin Rees is unique in combining achievement at the very highest echelons of science, an almost cosmic perspective on humanity's risks and prospects, and the ability to communicate complex ideas in vivid ways. Here he shows how much we need science, in a tour rich in personalities and history, fusing comments on the frontiers of science with appreciation of their political and ethical dilemmas, giving the reader the pleasure of learning in the company of a sparkling intellect."
Geoff Mulgan, University College London, and former Chief Executive of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts
 
"Is science and its organization fit for purpose as society faces 21st-century challenges, from climate change to dominance by AI? As clearly demonstrated in this masterpiece, no-one is better able to answer this crucial question than Martin Rees."
Tim Palmer, Royal Society Research Professor, University of Oxford
 
"[Rees'] reasoning is sensible and down-to-earth, and the call for change refreshingly urgent instead of doom and gloom."
Publishers Weekly
 
"This book is both pleasurable and essential -- a guide to the worst that can happen by one of our best."
Bryan Appleyard, The Critic
 
"The title of Rees's latest book - 'If Science is to Save Us' - is an unfinished thought, possibly containing a fundamental ambiguity depending on whether you think of it as starting or ending a sentence. It can be read as a warning or a note of optimism, which seems to encapsulate the author's position."
E&T Magazine
 
"Martin Rees, Britain's longstanding Astronomer Royal and an outstanding voice of scientific wisdom, takes a sweeping view of the global mega-challenges facing humanity, from climate catastrophe to AI taking over the world. Writing with his characteristic concise elegance, he shows how future scientists could solve some of the problems their predecessors inadvertently helped to create."
Clive Cookson, Financial Times
 
"[Rees's] thoughtful, enjoyable book on science and civilization ranges from the deficiencies of formal science education to the mega-challenges of climate change and pandemics."
Andrew Robinson, Nature
 
"When Britain's Astronomer Royal puts out a short, easy-to-read book with the provocative title If Science is to Save Us, it behoves us to pay attention. [...] Rees offers a rallying cry and a road map, hoping readers will engage sufficiently with science to ensure that it does, indeed, save us."
The Sydney Morning Herald