Hollywood Wants to Kill You

'A wonderful book... Delightfully varied... As with all the best science writing, this book doesn't just give answers, it also asks interesting questions.' Daily Mail 'Captivating and intelligent! Who knew death could be this much fun?' Richard Osman Asteroids, killer sharks, nuclear bombs, viruses, deadly robots, climate change, the apocalypse - why is Hollywood so obsessed with death and the end of the world? And how seriously should we take the dystopian visions of our favourite films? With wit, intelligence and irreverence, Rick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks explore the science of death and mass destruction through some of our best-loved Hollywood blockbusters. From Armageddon and Dr Strangelove to The Terminator and Contagion, they investigate everything from astrophysics to AI, with hilarious and captivating consequences. Packed with illustrations, fascinating facts and numerous spoilers, Hollywood Wants to Kill You is the perfect way into the science of our inevitable demise.

Rick Edwards is a writer and television presenter. He is the host of BBC 1's quiz !mpossible. Rick has a Natural Sciences degree from Cambridge but only dimly recalls it. Dr Michael Brooks is an author, journalist, and consultant for New Scientist. His biggest accomplishment to date is not the PhD in Quantum Physics - it's writing Rick's favourite popular science book, 13 Things That Don't Make Sense. Together they were the authors of Science(ish): The Peculiar Science Behind the Movies.