Where's My Jetpack? A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived

"The future is now, and we are not impressed," writes Daniel H. Wilson, a somewhat miffed scientist. "Where are the ray guns, the flying cars, and the hoverboards that we expected?" Wilson is voicing the frustrations of several generations who feel cheated by the unfulfilled promises of technology.

During the mid-20^th century, optimism about the future was whipped into frothy peaks. The atom was harnessed, there would be better living through chemicals, Tomorrowland was at hand, space travel was becoming routine. We said, "I do" at the altar of science and were then seemingly left jilted. In the 21^st century, we still don't have robot servants, teleportation or even a decent pair of x-ray specs. We are living more like The Flintstones than The Jetsons.

This really ticks off Wilson, who holds a doctorate degree in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and is also the author of How To Survive a Robot Uprising. Dr. Wilson wants his jetpack and he has written a humorous equivalent of a techno-tantrum. Where's My Jetpack is a science geek's wish list of cool gadgets and brainy devices that were supposed to be delivered courtesy of technology, but somehow never arrived. Wilson discusses gizmos like holograms, artificial gills, food pills, language translators and space elevators in their varying degrees of development from brain storm to actual prototype.

He is skilled at describing concepts for non-scientists, such as the pursuit of invisibility with adaptive camouflage. "You can get started right now," coaches Wilson. "Aim a web cam backward over your shoulder and stand behind the computer monitor. Because the computer screen is displaying an image of what's behind you, anyone standing directly in front of you will see a rectangular hole where your totally ripped abs should be." His goofy sophomoric humor is editorially appropriate for this deliberately nerdy handbook. Also appropriate are the accompanying stylized two-tone illustrations and diagrams by Richard Horne. His art is evocative of the witty minimalism made popular in the Worst Case Scenario book series.

In his intellectual impatience, Wilson says "you must grab your favorite scientist by the lapels and shake hard. Never stop pushing the frontiers of science, never lose your natural human curiosity, and never give up." The best part of this advice is his assumption that we have a favorite scientist.

Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived
By Daniel H. Wilson, Ph.D.
Bloomsbury, 192 pages, $14.95 paperback