MILO,Daniel << back to list Daniel Shabetai Milo was educated in Israel and in France. He is a professor of natural philosophy at the École des Hautes Etudes en sciences socials in Paris. In addition to many books and articles, he has also directed a play and two films. http://www.danielmilo.com/ Bibliography & Foreign sales THE INVENTION OF TOMORROW (Non-Fiction) 2009 Best seller since publication November 2009 The Invention of Tomorrow is an exploration of evolution and the human dilemma, written for a popular audience. Daniel Milo, a brilliant professor of natural philosophy and a gifted raconteur, maintains that evolution has given human beings a brain that is simply too large for our own good. Producing options without end, this overly fertile organ also condemns us to lives of restlessness, dissatisfaction and overconsumption. How did the jewel of creation come to be a cause of such discontent? Milo’s answer is that, because of the excess capacity of the human brain, we don’t need to employ all of our intellectual faculties in the basic tasks of life, and so we have created the concept of the future. Man is the only creature that is capable of planning more than a few hours ahead. We have, as he puts it “invented tomorrow” and, with it, generated an abiding dissatisfaction with what we already have in the present. Refreshingly eclectic, and in the style of the best popular scientific writing, this best seller succeeds in being at once serious and entertaining, provocative and amusing. Science and philosophy are interwoven with references to chess boxing, tickled chimpanzees, Chinese taxidermists, the Passover Haggadah and McDonalds hamburgers. Rights sold to: France, Les Belles Lettres; Israel, Hakibbutz Hame’uhad Reviews “The book is excellent and deserves a central place in the library of Darwinian evolution. I especially liked the revival of the way of seeing pertaining to a “philosopher of nature,” based on curiosity, observation, analogies, and conclusions. The quotations of literary and historical sources broaden the horizons, and add a unique charm to the book.” Zvi Yanai, author of “Yours, Sandro.” ”The result, as it is reflected in the reading, is exhilarating and interesting. To the reader’s joy, the freedom that the author takes in the book and the wide span he depicts (…) are pleasurable. Milo isn’t satisfied with the ’dry’ scientific methodology, but rather chooses to tell a story, based on data (…) and also offers an explanation; by doing so he transforms the book (…) into an epic tale of Man’s descent and his unique nature.” Dudi Goldman, Notes on Science and Short Poesy ”There’s something definitely refreshing about an academic with the zeal of a preacher (…) who is simply trying to understand why man is just a sad mammal who knows how to comb his hair.” Iri Rikin, NRG