How to Survive a Robot Uprising

Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion

By: Daniel H. Wilson

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

How do you spot a robot mimicking a human? How do you recognize and deactivate a rebel servant robot? How do you escape a murderous "smart" house, or evade a swarm of marauding robotic flies?

In this dryly hilarious survival guide, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson teaches worried humans the secrets to quashing a robot mutiny. From treating laser wounds to fooling face and speech recognition, outwitting robot logic to engaging in hand-to-pincer combat, How to Survive a Robot Uprising covers every possible doomsday scenario facing the newest endangered species: humans.

Based on extensive interviews with prominent scientists and including a thorough overview of cutting edge robot prototypes like humanoid walkers, insect, gecko, and snake robots, this one-of-a-kind audiobook makes a witty yet legitimate introduction to contemporary robotics.

©2005 Daniel H. Wilson (P)2006 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Humorous and informative...this nifty little guide to surviving the inevitable robot apocalypse may have you reconsidering purchasing that 'smart' (read: insidious) refrigerator." (Publishers Weekly)

Great!

Loved it's tongue and cheek humor, the robotic scientific tidbits, and other useful information on survival.

Good, not great

This is a none-to-subtle rip off of The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, which I cannot recommend highly enough (see also World War Z).

That being said, it's well-read, well-written, and successfully sneaks interesting information about robotics to the listener.

...info-tainment lol

informative and entertaining. I subtracted 1 star for the goofy sound effects.

Scary funny

Enlightening, historically and scientifically accurate and comedically precise. Every point made was backed up by real-world tech, research and/or direct citations; every tongue in cheek joke landed like a DARPA directed energy EMP blaster. Fifty years from now, instead of muttering, “Who’s John Galt?” after every newsworthy event, we’ll be saying, “Remember that robot book?” The only issue is that I had to set the playback to 1.3x due to the narrator’s pacing. Overall, I loved this book.

Great Listen...Just Drags On A Little

Any additional comments?

The research that has obviously gone into making this book is amazing. The author thoroughly goes into pretty much EVERY situation one might come across or look out for during your inevitable battle between man & machine.
I'd compair this book to "The Zombie Survival Guide" in the way he goes into so much depth and seriousness regarding the somewhat tongue-in-cheek subject material of the text. LOTS of great audio clips/quotes regarding robots.
My ONLY complaint of this book would be concerning the fact that it comes across as somewhat dry during some points strictly due to the fact that the author goes over EVERY little detail with a fine toothed comb. This might be a plus to some, (especially in the paper edition) but I just happened to find some parts pretty dull.