by Martin J Rees. (Get the Book)Invited to deliver the 2010 BBC Reith Lectures, in which an eminence expounds on his specialty, Rees talked about science's relevance to the future in broad terms, as the four talks reworked for this short tome indicate. The first mulls the extent to which scientists should involve themselves in public policy. So long as they don't invoke their authority as experts in spheres beyond their ken, Rees, a former incumbent of Britain's most prestigious scientific posts and author of works of popular science, in effect says to scientists, have at it. The second lecture picks three issues Rees regards as the most threatening to humanity and, therefore, suitable for science's public activism world population and food supply, climate change (the major worry in Rees' Our Final Hour, 2003), and energy supplies. The third and fourth lectures are, respectively, about Rees' predictions of future discoveries and his suggestions for enhancing the training of scientists in this era of globalization. A prominent figure and accessible writer, Rees will attract interest to his scientific observations and prognostications. --Booklist
