Planet in Peril: Humanity's Four Greatest Challenges and How We Can Overcome Them

Written by an award-winning historian of science and technology, Planet in Peril describes the top four mega-dangers facing humankind – climate change, nukes, pandemics, and artificial intelligence. It outlines the solutions that have been tried, and analyzes why they have thus far fallen short. These four existential dangers present a special kind of challenge that urgently requires planet-level responses, yet today's international institutions have so far failed to meet this need. The book lays out a realistic pathway for gradually modifying the United Nations over the coming century so that it can become more effective at coordinating global solutions to humanity's problems. Neither optimistic nor pessimistic, but pragmatic and constructive, the book explores how to move past ideological polarization and global political fragmentation. Unafraid to take intellectual risks, Planet in Peril sketches a plausible roadmap toward a safer, more democratic future for us all.

Michael Bess is Chancellor's Professor of History at Vanderbilt University. He has been teaching award-winning courses on science, technology, environmentalism, and global catastrophic threats since 1989, and has written four other books on these topics. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and National Human Genome Research Institute.