Hilarious and endlessly fascinating ... well-illustrated pages ...this book is potentially invaluable (and mighty entertaining) one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about life, the universe, and the fly wheel.
North's premise might sound dry, as he's basically writing an encyclopedia. However, he's talented and smart enough to make essentially any topic entertaining ... North's pseudo-encyclopedia provides perspective, and far-reaching thousand-year long view is actually a relief right now...a reminder that humanity is capable of making significant, real progress, albeit slowly. North's vision of history is one of ingenuity and progress in the best way possible. He is here to tell us that we've been better, and we can be better.
[A] wonder of a book ... bubbles with humor ... Reading it brought me back to all the afternoons I’d spent as a kid flipping through the big reference books in my local library, and then eagerly running home to tell anyone who’d listen what I’d learned. One of this book’s great achievements is the way it so gracefully combines scholarly rigor with youthful wonder.
[A wonderful book ... I recommend this to any time traveler or world builder who is in the market for a fresh civilization. This is certainly one of those “better to have and not need rather than need and not have” books, folks. So run out and grab this.
Packed with cool, fun, and useful stuff ... A friendly and thought-provoking reference, just the thing for the bright kid in the family, to say nothing of the neighborhood time traveler.
A witty pop science guide ... wry humor keeps the discussion lighthearted ... North’s 'survival guide' is a fun, thoughtful, and thoroughly accessible reference for curious readers, students, and world-builders, as well as wayward time travelers.
