Autonomy

The Quest to Build the Driverless Car—and How It Will Reshape Our World

By: Lawrence D. Burns, Christopher Shulgan

Narrated by: George Newbern

A deep dive into the race to develop and perfect the driverless car—an innovation that promises to be the most disruptive change to our way of life since the smartphone—by a veteran insider of the automotive and tech worlds

In Autonomy, former GM executive and current advisor to the Google Self-Driving Car project Lawrence Burns offers a sweeping history of the race to make the driverless car a reality. In the past decade, Silicon Valley companies like Google, Tesla and Uber have positioned themselves to revolutionize the way we move around by developing driverless vehicles while traditional auto companies like General Motors, Ford, and Daimler have been fighting back by partnering by with new tech start-ups. It’s not a question of whether the self-driving car will disrupt the automobile industry; it’s a question of when, how, and who will win the race.

With the first driverless car likely to hit markets in less than five years, Burns also looks toward the future and explains how this new technology will impact our lives—from removing the hassles of driving, parking, and refueling our cars, to eliminating 90 percent of road fatalities, drastically reducing our carbon footprint, and automating yet another segment of blue collar industries, putting more workers out of their jobs.

We are on the brink of a technological revolution that promises to fundamentally change how we interact with our world. A chronicle of the past, diagnosis of the present, and prediction of the future, Autonomy is the ultimate guide to understanding the driverless car and to navigating the revolution it sparks.

©2018 Lawrence D. Burns (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Inspiring and compelling

Well written and engaging story for anyone. There is a plethora of historical details which will interest anyone who cares about technology or transportation.

Great for technical and non-technical audiences!

Control theory and autonomy are very daunting topics; in-depth math, computer science, machine learning, etc. Autonomy offers a glimpse into this world and what it offers, but keeps it light enough that it can be thoroughly enjoyed by a non-technical audience as it speaks to the societal and economic impacts of the autonomy disruption. As a research engineer, I appreciated the technical discussions and nods at DARPA's Grand Challenges, but I could listen without extreme focus and still understand what was happening. The narration is light and clear, making for a fun listen. I'd recommend this for engineers and non-STEM folks alike, as it really makes you appreciate how one technology can cause ripples through society that will disrupt generations.

Good book, needs better audio editing.

Needs audio editing. Multiple retakes left in. Well read otherwise. Good story telling by author.

wonderful read

an amazing read for those interested in the future of mobility. this book covers the history and the present of the mobility disruption very well.

Great, inspiring book!

An epic history of autonomous cars and where we are today and a vision for a better future. I’m excited!

Awesome, engaging telling of SDC history

Great story! There's a ton of information, but the author ties all the people and efforts together nicely. The narration is pleasant, but there are sections where entire paragraphs are repeated, the narrators' mistakes or throat-clearing are left in, and sentences are repeated. This isn't frequent enough to be a big problem, but it's weird that the editing is so poor.

Oddly inspirational

I initially bought this book out of a mild curiosity to learn about the ongoing history of the inevitability that is autonomous driving. In addition to quenching that thirst, Mr. Burns also drops wholesome little tidbits of inspiration and motivation applicable to any entrepreneur.

great primer on the history of autonomous cars

Quick and engrossing listen on the history of autonomous car development. While much I to come, the book sets it up nicely for a future of clean cars and safe roads.

Important Emerging Technology

Most people do not realize how advanced, real, and immediate self-driving cars are. This book will bring you up to speed on this important technology.

Easy listen, non-technical perspective

It seems to be a fairly even-handed history and analysis of autonomous automobiles, though not complete. Lacking any technical details, which could be good or bad depending on your taste. Also lacks details regarding the extent of entrenchment in old ways of doing business in Detroit.

Can't expect everything from someone writing about a rapidly-evolving technology. I'm just happy someone from the inside took the initiative to write about the current state of affairs for autonomous vehicles.