How to Take Over the World
Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain
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Narrated by:
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Ryan North
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Written by:
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Ryan North
About this listen
NAMED A BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE
“Comic book fans will fall hard for this delightfully daffy guidebook. . . . Exuberant, optimistic, and just plain fun, How to Take Over the World will both surprise and delight.” —Esquire
A book this informative should be a crime!
Taking over the world is a lot of work. Any supervillain is bound to have questions: What’s the perfect location for a floating secret base? What zany heist will fund my wildly ambitious plans? How do I control the weather, destroy the internet, and never, ever die?
Bestselling author and award-winning comics writer Ryan North has the answers. In this introduction to the science of comic-book supervillainy, he details a number of outlandish villainous schemes that harness the potential of today’s most advanced technologies. Picking up where How to Invent Everything left off, his explanations are as fun and elucidating as they are completely absurd.
You don’t have to be a criminal mastermind to share a supervillain’s interest in cutting-edge science and technology. This book doesn’t just reveal how to take over the world—it also shows how you could save it. This sly guide to some of the greatest threats facing humanity accessibly explores emerging techniques to extend human life spans, combat cyberterrorism, communicate across millennia, and finally make Jurassic Park a reality.
©2022 Ryan North (P)2022 Penguin AudioYou may also enjoy...
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What the critics say
“An irreverent romp through geeky tropes that also sends up the undying self-help genre. Who among us hasn’t thought about the best way to construct a secret, technologically advanced lair from which we might conquer all humanity? North assumes we all have, and in doing so he zaps the fun back into one of pop culture’s most enduring archetypes.”—NPR
“[How to Take Over the World] is full of extremely funny, extremely informative riffs that make for an engrossing frame for very deep dives into knowledge that is esoteric, interdisciplinary, and damned interesting.”—Cory Doctorow on Twitter
“Who among us has never dreamed of living on a secret base, riding around on a dinosaur and holding the Earth’s core hostage? . . . The joy of this book comes from the straight-faced seriousness with which North approaches each scheme. . . . fun and accessible.”—Nature
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What listeners say about How to Take Over the World
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Mark
- 2022-05-23
funny and interesting pop science
Hilarious with deep knowledge. "While the world may be large, complex, and hard, and unfair; it is also knowable. It can be understood. Once understood, it can be directed, controlled, and improved."
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