I read Future Shock immediately before reading Alvin and Heidi Toffler's latest book: Revolutionary Wealth. I am fascinated with thoughtful predictions of the future. Knowing the accuracy of the predictions he made about the future in Future Shock (which was first Published in 1970) would provide a good indication of how accurate he would be in Revolutionary Wealth.
I found the book extremely interesting, insightful, and well researched. It was scary at times, but upbeat at others. It discusses where we are headed as a society (from a 1970 perspective), and what lies ahead. It covers subjects such as: the throw away society, the fractured family, education of the future, the diversity of life styles, the origins of over choice, cloning and much more. Many of these topics are today's headlines...not bad for peeking into a crystal ball back in 1970!
At times I caught myself thinking "There is nothing new here; Toffler is just eloquently describing today's society." Then I realized when the book was written.
Toffler has an amazing ability to look at the very beginning of trends and then extrapolate a future out of those trends. His predications come from interviews with many world experts. Toffler then uses his critical thinking skills to integrating everything he has learned. From this knowledge he constructs a vision of the future. Not only that, he provides options we should consider to create a positive future for ourselves.
It is amazing enough to predict the future relatively accurately. By providing us with options, Toffler completed this masterpiece of writing.
Some of the predications Toffler made didn't come to pass. That's to be expected. There are so many that have come to pass that it makes this book a powerful work.
Flash forward:
When I read Revolutionary Wealth I paid close attention to what is in store for us in the next 30 years. Once again Toffler hits a home run. The future will be amazing and we have more control than we think to make it great!
The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking
