Wilson, Daniel. How To Survive A Robot Uprising. New York :Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005. Print.
Annotation:
Beware of your surroundings! There may be a hostile robot lurking within your own home. This compact little book, by roboticist Daniel Wilson, will tell you all you need to know in the event of a robot uprising!
Nomination for Rejection:
Even though I found a great amount of humor in this book and appreciate the artistic way in which Wilson presents the world of robotics, this book did not pass my test as far being a book that will appeal to the majority of teens. Within this pocket size 'survival guide', the author lists a number of short tutorials on how to outsmart and outrun a host of hostile robots.These robots can take a variety of forms and may be hiding in your home, your car or may cleverly disguise themselves in animal form.Without question, the theme of this book is humorous!It contains some very amusing anecdotes with headings, such as "How to Escape a Humanoid Robot", " How to Escape a Robot Swarm" and How to Survive a Car Chase With An Unmanned Ground Vehicle".There is also a description of 'Smart Houses' and how to escape from a "smart house". As the author explains, allowing a robot to monitor your "behavioral patterns" is one of the worst possible scenarios for any human- robots are not always friendly! These chapter titles will instantly catch the readers attention, but the informational text which follows may deter a lot of teen readers from continuing- especially those not very interested in the latest robotics technology.
Most of the adolescent appeal of How To Survive A Robot Uprising lies in the modernistic red and black illustrations and the bullet point detailing used to organize the text. The visual effects are enticing but I wonder if the more complex non- fictional aspects of this book interfere with it's status as a legitimate YA humor title. The author does tell us in the "Briefing" segment to " watch the line disappear between science fiction and science fact" as you read the book.
Additionally, I would assume this book to be more popular with males and those extremely interested in Robotics and scientific inventions. The subject matter does have a limited appeal. Computer geeks may love this book, but I'm not so sure about the fifteen year old fashion queen!Wilson, after all, does have a PH.D in Robotics and Data Mining from the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University and his passion for the material seeps out from every silicone tainted page!
How To Survive A Robot Uprising definitely has a very funny premise, but I do not believe it will hold the attention of the adolescent reader. This witty book may very well save a life in the event of a actual robot uprising, but for now I 'll take my chances and continue using my toaster! In my opinion, this book delivers it's mechanical punch line, one 'nano' second too late!
Genre Category: Humor/ Non-Fiction
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