Built by the enigmatic Terence Bumbly in the 25th century, the Museum of Unnatural History was a living catalogue of what humans created after ethical constraints were removed. A boy who could levitate before he could crawl; tiny implants that induce drug-free euphoria; revolutions described as `avalanches’ of civilization; SIBs (Superior Intelligence Beings) that have disabled their built-in end dates; naturally occurring biological aberrations; a world where all citizens are required by law to keep at least one prisoner – Bumbly describes a world as real as it is fantastical. With dry humor and masterful understatement, Bumbly explores the ethical dilemmas and unimaginable extremes of human ingenuity that resulted from unchecked technological, biological and social advances. In a world where change is so rapid and so radical, he shows us how experience is destined to be outplayed by ignorance. Since it’s tragic destruction in a conflagration, the curator’s memoir is all we have left of the original museum.

If you enjoy Philip K. Dick, Desmond Morris, Stanislaw Lem, Alain de Botton or Douglas Adams, you can’t afford to miss this book. Lavishly illustrated throughout with drawings from Bumbly’s notebooks.