巴剋明斯特·富勒（R. Buckminster Fuller），美國科學傢、發明傢、設計師和未來學傢。他的一生酷似凡爾納筆下的全纔工程師。富勒1895年齣生於馬薩諸塞州米爾頓，是先驗論者富勒的侄孫。他在哈佛大學兩次被開除而又復學，50年代後圓頂建築大獲成功，為他贏得世界性聲譽。

富勒贏得瞭二十八個美國專利、四十七個榮譽學位，獲得羅納德·裏根總統頒發的自由勛章。

他於1983年在洛杉磯因癌癥去世，歸葬馬薩諸塞州劍橋。

R. Buckminster Fuller is regarded as one of the most important figures of the 20th century, renowned for his achievements as an inventor, designer, architect, philosopher, mathematician, and dogged individualist. Perhaps best remembered for the Geodesic Dome and the term "Spaceship Earth," his work and his writings have had a profound impact on modern life and thought.

Critical Path is Fuller's master work--the summing up of a lifetime's thought and concern--as urgent and relevant as it was upon its first publication in 1981. Critical Path details how humanity found itself in its current situation—at the limits of the planet's natural resources and facing political, economic, environmental, and ethical crises.

The crowning achievement of an extraordinary career, Critical Path offers the reader the excitement of understanding the essential dilemmas of our time and how responsible citizens can rise to meet this ultimate challenge to our future.