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An impassioned defence of progress and innovation and an argument for social responsibility from engineer, businessman and former CEO of BP Lord John Browne

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LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2019

´An ode to the ways in which engineering has improved human civilisation´ John Hennessy, Chairman, Alphabet

´A blueprint for future global progress underpinned by the spirit of innovation´ Lord Foster, architect

Today´s unprecedented pace of change leaves many people wondering what new technologies are doing to our lives. Has social media robbed us of our privacy and fed us with false information? Are the decisions about our health, security and finances made by computer programs inexplicable and biased? Will these algorithms become so complex that we can no longer control them? Are robots going to take our jobs? Will better healthcare lead to an ageing population which cannot be cared for? Can we provide housing for our ever-growing urban populations? Will we all be terrorised by autonomous drones that can identify and kill us, one by one? And has our demand for energy driven the Earth´s climate to the edge of catastrophe?

John Browne argues that we need not and must not put the brakes on technological advance. Civilisation is founded on engineering innovation; all progress stems from the human urge to make things and to shape the world around us, resulting in greater freedom, health and wealth for all. Drawing on history, his own experiences and conversations with many of today´s great innovators, he uncovers the basis for all progress and its consequences, both good and bad. He argues compellingly that the same spark that triggers each innovation can be used to counter its negative consequences. Make, Think, Imagine provides an eloquent blueprint for how we can keep moving towards a brighter future.

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[A] significant and satisfactory volume. Here Browne is as public intellectual and national guidance counselor, bent on directing the country out of its current post-imperial innovative quagmire and towards the sunlit uplands of a high-technology utopia, and presenting the very best of what he believes tomorrow´s world has to offer us all. He has decided here to delve into the minds of others who are themselves busily solving technical problems ´not even conceived of´, and who thereby are maybe bettering the world. This book, an engaging and stimulating trek through their thinking, is the result. Worthy and intelligent Spectator

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Browne, John
John Browne trained as an engineer and was CEO of BP from 1995 to 2007. He is Chairman of the Crick Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society, past President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and former Chairman of Tate. He is a collector of antique books and art and the author of four previous titles, including The Glass Closet.

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