"With wit, humour, and clarity Apollo's Arrow gives a good overview of the history of science as a predictive tool ... By challenging the notion of science as a predictive tool, Orrell's work takes nothing away from past accomplishments. It does, however, have the potential to change the way we plan for the future, both personally, and as a society." Winnipeg Free Press. Full review.
"Even big-picture predictions - global warming, impending pandemics, the global impact of consumerism, emerging technologies such as genetic engineering and nanotechnology - seem less overwhelming after this enlightening history lesson ... Some of his most eloquent and provocative passages are about those unpredictable forces known as free will and personal choice, and he rallies us all to effect positive change." Canadian Geographic. Full review.
"If you loathe uncertainty, can't cope with complexity or prefer easy (yet wrong) solutions to complex problems, you may not appreciate this book. On the other hand, you will likely find it reassuring, even empowering perhaps, to know that the 'experts' can be wrong, and that common sense is still useful." Edmonton Journal. Full review.
"The special and enchanted land of forecasting is inhabited by tribes of specialists who speak a language that is unintelligible to most of us. David Orrell's The Future of Everything is a wonderful guide and companion to that land; its history, its valuable resources and its fault lines. And it still manages to be a good read." Everett Herald. Full review.
"Orrell's writing is top-notch, but he's at his finest when writing about the old days, somehow finding exactly the right mix of anecdote, broad brush and humour. There's the goat's-beard hygrometer (curly plant = humid weather) and the invention of the word "forecast" (to distance weather prediction from astrological prediction, though the same folks often did both)." The Globe and Mail. Full review.
"Mathematician David Orrell [explains] why the mathematical models scientists use to predict the weather, the climate and the economy are not getting any better, just more refined in their uncertainty ... Dr. Orrell is no climate-change denier. He calls himself green. But he understands the unjustified faith that arises from the psychological need to make predictions." The National Post. Full review.
"The Future of Everything: The Science of Prediction offers the latest research and methods, examining how past scientists predicted the future and how modern scientists forecast events ... a grounded, rational examination which considers the pros, cons and uncertainties of prediction science." Midwest Book Review.
"An engaging, as well as deeply insightful, discussion on the difficult task of prediction ... it can change the way you view forecasting." Foresight (a publication of the International Institute of Forecasters). Issue 10, Summer 2008. Full review.
"A compelling discussion of real world complexities and human fallibility ... certain to contribute to scholarly and intellectual debate on the use of models in decision making." Ecological Complexity. Volume 5, Issue 1, March 2008, Pages 69-70. Full review.
Chemistry in industry, Vol.57 No.7-8 July 2008. Full review in Croatian.
"Not since the time of the medieval astrologers has so much effort been put by so many into predicting the future. From economics to healthcare to climatology, the science of forecasting is everywhere - and so is the hype and hucksterism. David Orrell is one of the few experts able and willing to reveal the truth about what we can and cannot know about the future." Robert A.J. Matthews, author of 25 Big Ideas: The Science That's Changing Our World.
"An impressive and wide-ranging discussion of the importance and the difficulties of predicting future events...written in a clear, accessible style.... My own prediction is that readers will enjoy this book and will come away with lots to think about." Jeffrey S. Rosenthal, author of Struck by Lightning: The Curious World of Probabilities.
Reader reviews from Amazon.com (Future of Everything). See also here (Apollo's Arrow).
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