Hollywood Wants to Kill You: The Peculiar Science of Death in the Movies

Description

Asteroids, killer sharks, nuclear bombs, viruses, deadly robots, climate change, the apocalypse - why is Hollywood so obsessed with death and the end of the world? And how seriously should we take the dystopian visions of our favourite films? With wit, intelligence and irreverence, Rick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks explore the science of death and mass destruction through some of our best-loved Hollywood blockbusters. From Armageddon and Dr Strangelove to The Terminator and Contagion, they investigate everything from astrophysics to AI, with hilarious and captivating consequences. Packed with illustrations, fascinating facts and numerous spoilers, Hollywood Wants to Kill You is the perfect way into the science of our inevitable demise.

Rick Edwards is a writer and television presenter. He is the host of BBC 1's quiz !mpossible. Rick has a Natural Sciences degree from Cambridge but only dimly recalls it. Dr Michael Brooks is an author, journalist, and consultant for New Scientist. His biggest accomplishment to date is not the PhD in Quantum Physics - it's writing Rick's favourite popular science book, 13 Things That Don't Make Sense. Together they were the authors of Science(ish): The Peculiar Science Behind the Movies.

A wonderful book... Delightfully varied... As with all the best science writing, this book doesn't just give answers, it also asks interesting questions. * Daily Mail * A witty and informative look at how Hollywood kills us off. As a film buff and scientist I love this book. * Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist and presenter of The Sky at Night * Great fun and makes you feel a hundred times cleverer. * Charlie Higson, actor, comedian, and bestselling author * Explores everything from the ins and outs of black holes (Interstellar) to artificial intelligence (Ex Machina)... Edwards and Brooks don't take themselves too seriously and their cartoon heads pop up throughout deconstructing the films wittily while explaining the underlying science simply. * Sunday Times on Science(ish) * Deeply funny, academically accomplished, and unfalteringly engaging. Entertaining as it may be, it's difficult to escape the fact that Edwards and Brooks have just made the world of popular science much harder work for the rest of us. * Ben Miller - comedian and author of It's Not Rocket Science on Science(ish) * Chirpy bantering. * Strong Words *