'One of the most mesmerising and exhilarating, yet alarming modern technology books I've read. These days most of us have become stealthily addicted to GPS, not just when driving but also when performing many functions with our smartphones and other devices.' Financial Times Weekend

'In Pinpoint, the US journalist Greg Milner explains brilliantly the American military heritage and management of GPS, as well as its essential role underpinning the world's communications and transport infrastructures... [Pinpoint] is a joy to read, not only for the central story about GPS but also for side excursions, for example into the ancient navigation systems that guided Polynesians around the Pacific islands and into the effects on the human brain of overdependence on satnav. It will be a strong contender for my science book of 2016.' -- Clive Cookson, Financial Times

'A deeply researched book with fascinating interludes... [Milner] explains the technological principles lucidly' -- Steven Poole, New Statesman

'Mr Milner is a brisk and funny guide to the bureaucratic and technological infighting in the US military, which created GPS over the course of several decades beginning in the immediate aftermath of the 1957 launch of Sputnik' -- Konstantin Kakaes, Wall Street Journal (Europe)

'An informative yarn for those who [...] would like to know more about the invention.' -- James Anthony, Evening Standard

'[A] riveting story of how the Global Positioning System evolved from a US military project to make bombing more accurate into a global utility underpinning the world's communications and transport infrastructure. Milner also makes fascinating side excursions, for example into the ancient navigation systems that guided Polynesians around Pacific islands and into the way satnav affects the human brain.' -- Financial Times

'In this startling and persuasive book, American journalist Greg Milner shows how [GPS] saturates our existence... [Milner] suggests that GPS is as potent and pervasive a force as the Internet - if much less well understood.' -- James McConachie, Sunday Times

'[A] suitably precise and fascinating account of the modern evolution of [GPS]... Milner expertly deconstructs the implications of this monumental shift in human life.' -- Tim Adams, Observer

'This book is a welcome guide to where [GPS] came from, what it does and where it might be taking us.' -- Damian Whitworth, The Times

'Milner is suitably impressed by the wonders of GPS... [he] delves into the fascinating, if hazy, issue of cognitive abilities... Milner has put in the hours: interviewing the pioneers, poring over psychological studies, and wrestling with thorny issues... [Pinpoint] is a useful starting point for discussion.' -- Jon Wright, Geographical magazine

'The real value from Milner's book comes from what it says about us as humans... This is a technology that was initially designed to enable military commanders to track and kill more efficiently. Without the human desire to kill more precisely, we might not be able to get directions to that café so easily.' -- Chris Tilbury, Prospect magazine

'Absorbingly detailed' --Mail on Sunday

'Engaging... Pinpoint is a great read with lots of insight and anecdotes even if some fly in the face of GPS's precise positioning trigonometry by heading off on a tangent. Enjoy' --Stephen Booth, Geomatics World

Pinpoint unearths with surprising detail the history of GPS as a technology, from its conception during the Cold War, up to its position at the forefront of technology today... This book offers a striking anthropological analysis of how we, as humans, understand the world around us' --E&T Magazine

GREG MILNER is the author of Perfecting Sound Forever, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A former editor at Spin, his writing has also appeared in Slate, the Village Voice, Wired, Salon, New York, Blender, Rolling Stone, the Word, the Sunday Times, and the Journal of Technology in Human Services. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.