Nanotechnology will enable us to create machines so small, they will be measured in nanometers (billions of a metre), able to manipulate matter with atom-by-atom precision. This book provides a guide to a future where the principles of this technology have been applied: diseases such as cancer and AIDS will be cured by molecular machines programmed to repair diseased cells, toxic waste will be cleaned by rendering harmless the polluting molecules, the consequences of nanotechnology are staggering and, says Drexler, attainable in our lifetime.