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Will the Geeks inherit the earth?
If computers become twice as fast and twice as capable every two years, how long is it before they’re as intelligent as humans? More intelligent? And then in
two more years, twice as intelligent? How long before you won’t be able to tell if you are texting a person or an especially ingenious chatterbot program designed
to simulate intelligent human conversation?
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According to Richard Dooling in Rapture for the Geeks—maybe not that long. It took humans millions of years to develop opposable thumbs (which we now use to build
computers), but computers go from megabytes to gigabytes in five years; from the invention of the PC to the Internet in less than fifteen. At the accelerating rate
of technological development, AI should surpass IQ in the next seven to thirty-seven years (depending on who you ask). We are sluggish biological sorcerers, but
we’ve managed to create whiz-bang machines that are evolving much faster than we are.
In this fascinating, entertaining, and illuminating book, Dooling looks at what some of the greatest minds have to say about our role in a future in which
technology rapidly leaves us in the dust. As Dooling writes, comparing human evolution to technological evolution is “worse than apples and oranges: It’s
appliances versus orangutans.” Is the era of Singularity, when machines outthink humans, almost upon us? Will we be enslaved by our supercomputer overlords,
as many a sci-fi writer has wondered? Or will humans live lives of leisure with computers doing all the heavy lifting?
With antic wit, fearless prescience, and common sense, Dooling provocativelyexamines nothing less than what it means to be human in what he playfully calls the
age of b.s. (before Singularity)—and what life will be like when we are no longer alone with Mother Nature at Darwin’s card table. Are computers thinking and
feeling if they can mimic human speech and emotions? Does processing capability equal consciousness? What happens to our quaint beliefs about God when we’re
all worshipping technology? What if the human compulsion to create ever more capable machines ultimately leads to our own extinction? Will human ingenuity
and faith ultimately prevail over our technological obsessions? Dooling hopes so, and his cautionary glimpses into the future are the best medicine to restore
our humanity.
Dooling is at his best when he profiles technology's most captivating futurists: Ray Kurzweil,
inventor of scanning and text-to-speech technologies, beguiles with his vision of human minds embedded in silicon chips; physicist and science fiction writer
Vernor Vinge portrays a bleaker future where humanity serves its hyperintelligent computer overlords. Dooling veers back and forth between celebrating the
speed with which technology is evolving and ruing its hidden perils. — Publishers Weekly
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A terminally ill man sells his life insurance policy for cheap to an investor who will collect the full amount when
the sick man dies. But is the sick man really sick? Does he even exist? In the age of AIDS and no-holds-barred capitalism,
the business of betting on how much longer sick people will live is thriving. Is this new market in which life insurance
policies are bought and sold a legitimate enterprise, or is it an open invitation to fraud and murder?
Carver Hartnett, Miranda Pryor, and Leonard Stillmach all work for Reliable Allied Trust, in Omaha, where they investigate
insurance fraud. Carver — the narrator of this edgy and surprising novel —
is frustrated. His company would rather raise
premiums than prosecute insurance criminals. Miranda, his seductive coworker, leads him on and then puts him off —
she seems to have something monstrous to hide. When their friend, crazy Lenny, a computer gamer and an expert with
drug-and-alcohol cocktails, dies in the middle of playing Delta-Strike online, a strange and disturbing narrative
unfolds around a possible murder and massive insurance fraud. Carver is drawn deeper into various hearts of darkness,
and in his efforts to discover the truth behind his friend's death, he ends up betting his own life.
Filled with memorable characterizations — Carver's boss, the shrewd Old Man Norton; Dagmar Helveg, Norton's fascist
assistant; regional investigator Charlie Becker, a plain-talking, commonsense cop -- Bet Your Life conducts a stealthy
philosophical investigation of its own, in which our hero ends up investigating the mysteries of his soul.
— from the publisher
Richard Dooling is one of the finest novelists now working in America, and BET YOUR LIFE shows him at the absolute top
of his game. It is by turns horrifying, suspenseful, and howlingly funny. Can you imagine Elmore Leonard somehow crossed
with Michael Crichton, with a soupcon of Richard Pryor thrown in? If so, you'll get an idea of how many different ways
this novel succeeds. You can put it down up about ... oh, I'm gonna say page seven. After that, you're in for the night.
And you won't mind a bit. — Stephen King
A Techno Update for a femme fatale and a fall guy. —
Janet Maslin, Daily New York Times
This is the kind of book that keeps you reading all night. — Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
Nebraska noir ... — Mark Costello, Sunday New York Times Book Review
Humor, wit and suspense. Dooling's Web-savvy characters are startlingly realistic: They shock, amuse, frustrate and
refuse to behave. His descriptions are breathtaking and crystal-clear. — USA Today
Wild and zany ... Unconventionally delightful. — St Louis Post Dispatch
Delightful mayhem and intrigue. — Rocky Mountain News
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Most language issues from the cerebral cortex — evolution's pride and
joy.
But swearing erupts from the buried, primitive limbic system, which is the
same part of the brain that produces passion, hatred, and aggression. As
National Book Award nominee Richard Dooling tells us in his smart, funny,
and erudite exploration of verbal taboos, this difference in linguistic
origin
explains why many people who suffer brain damage that destroys their
ordinary speaking abilities can nevertheless cuss up a storm. It also helps
to explain why swearing pervades all eras, cultures, and levels of human
society:
we have the hardware for swearing built into our systems, and nature —
or at
least human nature — doesn't like to let any tool lie around unused.
But our capacity and our impulse to give vocal offense have always run smack
into good manners, and in America these days they also run smack into
political correctness and federal regulations. These age-old and newfangled
conflicts provide Richard Dooling with his richest sources of insight and
humor.
He demonstrates in logical and hilarious detail why government rules about
language are next to unenforceable, focusing directly on those that involve
sexual harassment. He skeptically follows the trail of professional
psychobabble
about profanity, and he traces the history and meaning of several primary
English
curse words and their tendency to wax and wane in transgressiveness. Right
now,
for example, "hell" is often used as a conversational litmus test for
dirty-word
tolerance, and it's the only common imprecation that doesn't involve
scatology
or sex. But in Blue Streak, Dooling makes a convincing case that
"Go to
hell" should be regarded as the ultimate insult, and he proceeds to prove
that
cursing is not only part of our biology, but a necessary component of any
religious
view of the universe.
In these pages, Richard Dooling shows the same deep and energetic
understanding
of human nature that has made his two novels, Critical Care and
White
Man's Grave, landmarks in modern American fiction. Filled with
provocative
and illuminating references to the literature of profanity from Egyptian
hieroglyphs
to the Marquis de Sade to 2 Live Crew, Blue Streak will enlighten,
tickle,
and entertain anyone given to — and even put off by — oaths and
insults.
Rate it "R,"
for "Readable." — from the jacket
A funny, provocative, and knowledgeable book about cursing
and swearing, Blue Streak includes chapters on political
correctness and on foul-ups in the workplace and in the courts
caused by language regulations. It explores the tendency of men
to swear more than women, the history and implications of some
of the more common swear words, and obscenity in social, personal,
and even theological conversation and literature.
In this volume you will find a fascinating and hilarious explanation of
what "f — - you" actually means. (It turns out to be a strange little
piece
of syntax.) You will tour Hell as a piece of real estate. And you will
learn why God would probably rather have us swear than not. The
writing is playful and sophisticated, and it takes Blue Streak far
beyond mere naughtiness and into the realm of
literature. — Random House
Blue Streak is less an argument than it is a kind of illustration,
an
often extremely clever and creative sort of literary acting out. Dooling,
to
be sure, makes some lawyer's arguments before the court of his readers. But
most of all he celebrates the "splendor and mystery of dirty words" by
using
them and, more generally, by colorfully, waggishly flaunting a Rabelaisian,
Marquis d Sadeian barroom wit's defiance of the conventions of
politeness. — New York Times
... like most neocon types, I have a cackling appetite for PC horror
stories, of which Blue Streak has plenty. — Thomas Mallon,
GQ
This sure-to-be controversial book features direct and funny assaults
on censorship, plus entertaining and erudite explorations of the
psychological, religious, social, and historical landscape of obscenity.
Playful and sophisticated, Blue Streak takes readers far beyond
mere naughtiness and into the realm of literature. — Amazon.com
Dooling's principal target is Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which
has come to define harassment as the cretion of "an intimidating, hostile
or offensive work environment" for women. ... Dooling contends that
"swearing
is becoming illegal in the workplace precisely because men do it more than
women. And women find it offensive in the same way men can't stand
nagging. — Gerald Wade, Omaha World-Herald
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A comic, cautionary tale for young lawyers everywhere: Whatever it takes,
don't agree to defend an alleged hate killer.
James F Whitlow (so the US Attorney claims) arrived at his army-base home
to find Elvin Brawley, the African American artist Whitlow's enlisted wife
had hired to give sign-language lessons to the couple's deaf son, giving
Mary Whitlow another kind of instruction. Inflamed not only by jealousy
but by hatred of blacks and the deaf, Whitlow shot the interloper and now
faces a murder charge, with only his court-appointed lawyer, neophyte Joe
Watson — a research and writing factotum at the swanky St Louis firm of
Stern, Pale & Covin who hasn't set foot in a courtroom since he was sworn
in — standing between him and lethal injection. But Watson's
inexperience
is the least of his problems. His mentor at Stern, Pale wants him to drop
this unlovely, nonpaying case forthwith and is prepared to find a reason to
boot him out of the firm if he doesn't. The presiding judge, Whittaker J
Stang, is a demented cackler, the federal prosecutors have reams of
evidence linking Whitlow to the Eagle Warriors, a violent, crazy group of
white supremacists; and Whitlow's best hope — bewitching forensic
neuropsychologist Rachel Palmquist, aka Aphrodite MD — is clearly
ravenous to batten on him as a fascinating case study. Worse, she's also
got designs on Watson (revealed in the most perverse seduction scene of the
year) that could complete the hat trick by depriving him of wife and family
along with job. It's all too much for this courtroom Candide, especially
when it becomes clear that both his client and his client's wife, the
all-important witness for the prosecution, are telling a bunch of whoppers.
Dooling (White Man's Grave, 1994, etc) has such a gorgeously
rampaging
take on brain chemistry, hate-crime law, and the grounds for contempt of
court that you may find yourself, like Joe Watson, losing sight of the
brilliantly overinflated conflict at the heart of this postmodern
fable. — Kirkus Reviews
Joe Watson envisions a comfortable future with a venerable law firm until a
shrewd federal judge tags him for a pro bono murder case that will test the
new Federal Sentencing Guidelines for hate crimes. Joe soon finds himself
detached from his firm, separated from his family, and under the scrutiny
of a pair of thugs who think he has something that belongs to them. A sexy
forensic neurologist and a peppery criminal lawyer may or may not be in his
corner. Joe doesn't fall into the lawyer-as-detective stereotype that
usually signals lots of fast action, and the prose is demanding, with lots
of legalese as well as some neurological theorizing. It's Dooling's
skillful characterizations (especially cut-'em-off-at-the-knees Judge
Stang) that drive the story, along with the complex racial and
constitutional issues at the heart of the case. Dooling wants us to stop
and think about our rights and freedoms, and his passion for the law pulls
us breathlessly along. An obvious choice for Grisham and Turow
fans. — Booklist (starred review)
A serious novel of ideas. — George F Will
Dooling's new book, which rollicks along as cleverly and boisterously as a
Rabelaisian farce, is a mystery story and an anti-utopian parody at the same
time. It is a brilliant concoction, flashing with comedic and intellectual
energy. ... Dooling's new
book is an inspired piece of work, a caustically funny, antic diatribe with
a tightly woven criminal intrigue at its narrational heart. — Richard
Bernstein, New York Times (daily)
... a hilarious novel about hate.
Set in the near future, it is a serious novel of ideas,
including Dooling's idea that laws mandating
enhanced penalties for "hate crimes" create, in effect,
thought crimes. — George Will, Washington Post
Richard Dooling has done it again. With Brain Storm, he has written
a whacky, offbeat, zany and wildly funny novel. ...
Dooling writes superbly, especially about human flaws. If you like
Carl Hiaasen's offbeat stuff, you'll like Dooling's, too.
Maybe you'll like
Dooling's even more, because it takes the offbeat a rung
higher on the ladder of sophistication. — St Louis Post Dispatch
Brain Storm is
wildly, laugh-out-loud, wake-up-your-spouse-to
read-passages -aloud funny. — San Jose Mercury News
... a gorgeously rampaging take on brain chemistry,
hate-crime law, and the grounds for contempt of court. —
Kirkus Reviews
Dooling wants us to stop and think about our rights and freedoms,
and his passion for the law pulls us breathlessly along. An obvious
choice for Grisham and Turow fans. — Booklist
Dooling ... has written another hilarious and chilling tale of intrigue.
The author has a deft comic touch and a vivid sense
of drama and the elements that go into a good thriller. ... Brain
Storm
is an edge-of-your seat courtroom thriller and a thoughtful analysis of
neuropsychology, hate crimes, and the desires that can undo us all. —
Nebraska Review
... brilliant ... — Time
This novel can't easily be subcategorized because it is, among other
things, a defense of free speech,
a whodunit, a speculation about the way cognitive neuroscience is
changing our perception of crime, a satirical portrait of the legal
profession, a sex romp, a de facto essay on language and, by no means
least, a comedy. This book is packed. ... Here is a
whodunit that achieves a comic fugue-state mastery of the language of our
sexually charged, violent, technocratic society. Here is a writer who
reminds us that the umbrella on the literary beach marked "thriller" is
broad enough to accommodate a story of intrigue in which bodies don't
pile up like menus for Chinese takeout, in which no ninja soldiers huff
importantly through the darkness. Rather, the narrative in his thriller is
driven by rarer stuff — ideas. — Colin Harrison, New York
Times
(Sunday)
Author Richard Dooling ponders hefty issues of conscience, human
motivations, and hate crimes in Brain Storm,
his well-paced, scrupulously researched fourth novel.
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In the eerie, fluorescent darkness of a hospital intensive care unit,
medical
resident Werner Ernst is simply doing his job: keeping death at bay for as
long as science is able ...
But, alas for Werner, medical science has yet to determine an antidote to
the ravages of lust. In this case, a profound physical attraction for the
daughter of the man in Bed 5 — who is pleading with Werner that her
father
be allowed to die.
Torn between sound medical practice and insane sexual attraction, the
dedicated carer soon finds the road to Hell is paved with good
intentions ... — from the jacket
Critical Care is alternately funny, shocking, a scintillating read.
Dooling has succeeded by the sheer power of brilliant writing — Derek
Humphrey, author of Final Exit
Darkly funny, constantly absorbing, as stunning as any Stephen King horror
story. Mr Dooling's first novel is simply simpossible to put down — Bob
Marion, MD, author of The Intern Blues
A bitter and disturbing, though often very funny, first novel with a
sensibility that Dr Strangelove fans will recognize. ... This
sometimes phantasmagoric, often ribald and always disquieting
story reveals an angry, talented and deeply cynical
author. He takes the reader on a wild
tour through everyone's worst nightmare ... a bitter and disturbing,
though very funny first novel. — Washington Post
Sardonic, often harrowing look at the American way of life support
by a writer so thoroughly in control it is hard to believe that this is a
first novel. A stunning debut. ... A powerhouse for those strong enough in
spirit and constitution to read it. — Kirkus Reviews
The often macabre world of high-tech dying seems all too real in this
provocative, sardonic first novel ... Dooling's handling of the medical
satire is gut-wrenchingly accurate, authentically frightening and
certainly timely. — Publishers Weekly
A scathingly funny black comedy. ... Dooling's legal and medical training
come
into full play as he takes us on a tragicomic tour of a man-made hell of the
"medical-industrial complex" ... Critical Care is sometimes hard to
take, yet is almost impossible to put down. — Saint
Louis Post Dispatch
Richard Dooling's first novel is a masterpiece of fiction ... he
demonstrates a fresh talent for storytelling
and clean clever writing. — Boston Sunday Herald
Mr Dooling's caricatures of self-important or senile doctors are wickedly
clever, his descriptions of half-alive sufferers are mercilessly
detailed, and his dissections of hospital financial maneuvers are
cynical. — The Atlantic Monthly
The National Book Award finalist for White Man's Grave
now presents a scathing, hilarious satire of doctors, lawyers,
hospitals, health care, life, and death. When Felicia Potter comes
to the hospital to visit her comatose father, Dr Peter Ernst, a young
resident, sees the opportunity to spice up his grim
routine with a little romance. — Amazon.com
A masterpiece. — The Boston Herald
A very funny first novel. — Washington Post
Evelyn Waugh-like heights.Booklist
If you're comfortable with the human condition, get Critical Care.
Pretty sick stuff — but unbelievably funny. — John Albrecht
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When Peace Corps volunteer Michael Killigan goes missing
in the African wilds of Sierra Leone, his
father and his friend set out to rescue him. Both men assume
that American influence extends to the
ends of the Earth, but the power they encounter, and the
mystery at its core, proves beyond their
expectation or control. — Amazon.com
This is a galloping tale about a clash of worldviews, in this case between
insular West African Mende culture — complete with tribal politics and
voodoo — and the pure red-blooded Caucasian American variety, with
its highly
rational citizens bent on ideological
conquest, good deeds and the accumulation
of cash. ... The book's language expands to accommodate the bizarre and
mind-bending mysteries of witchcraft upon which the plot turns. In the end,
the book's lush satire cleverly obscures its simple, unarguable premise:
that
unfathomable rituals are at the heart of any culture, even in
Indiana. — Publishers Weekly
Dooling's novel reads like two different books — both worthwhile and
engaging. One is the story of Boone Westfall, a nice young Hoosier who
travels to primitive, impoverished Sierra Leone in West Africa to search
for
his best friend, Michael Killigan, a Peace Corps volunteer who has
disappeared. ... The second story is a spectacularly wicked satire about
bankruptcy lawyers, personified by the missing volunteer's father. ...
One of
Dooling's points, of course, is to make sure readers ask themselves, who is
the primitive? — Booklist
Author Dooling (not a PCV himself) spent 7 months with the Mende, doing
research, and in
acknowledgment offers praise to his hosts' hospitality. The book was a
National Book Award
nominee. The work is current, what with Liberia's civil war, and the ever
hot topic about how
"developed" countries can help the third world. Many Peace Corps
experiences required relearning that our ideas were anathema to our host
cultures, important fodder for the debate about how the West tries
reinventing itself based on questionable methods and
goals. The author doesn't pretend to challenge nor explore that
theme, but makes a good point that striving to belong to another culture
takes a remarkable transformation, and even then, one can end up
inhabiting the nether world of no true belonging. — Angelo Presicci
A bravura display of satire. ... Dooling evokes the humane checks and
balances
of a deep world: the logic, you might say, of its magic. — Los
Angeles
Times Book Review
The book is absolutely astonishing; I am a Richard Dooling fan for
life. — Phillip M Margolin
The author's fizz of comic energy is as wild and scornful as Richard
Condon's. — Time
Impressive ... sharply satiric. — New York Times Book Review
Richard Dooling's second novel, White Man's Grave, is a wicked
anthropological satire that attacks American materialism with enough
nastiness to make just about everyone feel picked on. ... Dooling's
presentation
of the bushman culture reveals a rich understanding. Their superstitions
and
rituals are shown in wondrous complexity, with no lack of detail.
Particularly
fascinating is Dooling's treatment of the entire system of cursing and
counter-cursing as outward expressions of internal fears, and the "witch
finder-as-psychologist" theme. — Colgate Maroon-News
Ein spannender Thriller, in dem das reiche Amerika und das Entwicklungskand
Sierra Leone
aufeinanderprallen. Es stellt sich heraus, daß es immense Unterschiede gibt
und daß der "American
Way of Life" nicht allmächtig ist oder vielleicht
doch? — Egotrip
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What the Critics Say
Bibliography
