Conversations on the Edge of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Future with Noam Chomsky, George Carlin, Deepak Chopra, Rupert Sheldrake, and Others

by David Jay Brown

Book Overview

In his latest interview collection, David Jay Brown has once again gathered some of the most interesting minds of today to consider the future of the human race, the mystery of consciousness, the evolution of technology, psychic phenomena, and more. The book includes conversations with celebrated visionaries and inspirational figures such as Ram Dass, Noam Chomsky, Deepak Chopra, and George Carlin. Part scientific exploration, part philosophical speculation,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1403965323
• ISBN13: 9781403965325
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Los Angeles Times Review by Susan Salter Reynolds

"Pressure to evolve has never been greater. In interviews with leading-edge thinkers in genetics, neurobiology, linguistics, media, psychiatry and parapsychology, David Jay Brown asks the Big Questions: Will we survive? What is the effect of technology on the biosphere? What happens to consciousness after death? What gives reason for hope?...Despite their wildly varying concerns and views on specific questions, these thinkers show the power of intelligence and collective vision to change the present, reverse the past and influence the future...These short interviews offer so much to ponder and follow up on, not least of which are a fantastic reading list, new thinkers to watch, websites to check and reasons to reach beyond the boundaries of ordinary dreams. Most of all, this book offers positive visions of the future." -- Susan Salter Reynolds, The Los Angeles Times

What is consciousness, and where does it go when we die?

Wow! Beautiful! This book was given to me by a stranger (now a friend) immediately before a long flight, and I have been traveling with it ever since. Although each interview is carefully and masterfully woven together to create a whole, each interview is also an entity in itself and short enough to lend to an interested traveler for a brief trip of the mind. So often we pass by or purposefully ignore those deep questions about our future. Not this book; this book spills it all out naked before you. I love the odd collection of interviewees. Each is a well-respected leader from a different field, giving a diverse yet surprisingly good conglomeration of thoughts. The author is not telling you what to think, he is simply putting forth the information from many different walks of life. I love to read such a blatant clash of viewpoints right next to each other. Beware: The ideas contained within these pages are sometimes encouraging, sometimes frightening, but always thought-provoking.

A spectacular encounter at the borderlands of science

David Jay Brown takes the reader on a stimulating odyssey through science, technology, and the mind -- a world that involves the future of humanity, the mystery of consciousness, the significance of hallucinations, supertechnologies, the afterlife, and alien life. No human being should pass up the experience of stepping through the portals of this beautiful book into fantastic new worlds that scientists, psychologists, and philosophers are now exploring at the frontiers of science and mind.

Most interesting book I've read all year!

I was delighted to find such a diversity of brilliant people interviewed in one book. Many of the ideas expressed give me tremendous hope for the future, which is something I've needed lately. I can't believe somebody found this dull...but then again, I can't believe republicans continue to hold office either. If you are so firmly set in your beliefs that there's no room for any questions or varying perspective, this is not a good book choice for you- it will probably enrage you. But if on the other hand you don't automatically scoff at open minded or liberal perspectives, this book is well worth reading.

Enlightening perspectives, interesting read.

After reading the Publisher's Weekly review of *Conversations on the Edge of the Apocalypse*, I decided to read the book to see if I agreed with the anonymous reviewer--because I just couldn't imagine how a collection of interviews with some of the greatest minds on the planet, about some of the most interesting questions that I can think of, could possibly be as "dull" as the reviewer claimed. It just looked too interesting. After reading the book, the big question that I now have about that review is: Why didn't Publisher's Weekly pay somebody to read the book who actually has an interest in exploring philosophical ideas? Since I have some questions about our approaches to the implausible, that go beyond clinging to normative standards, I found this book to be a fascinating gateway into a lot of fabulous minds.