I read broadsheet newspapers all the time and often the broader significance of things gets lost on me. I found this book a great help in sensing what to expect from the world.
Patrick Dixon has a brilliant understanding of what is going on and what is going to happen and he spells it out in very clear language. Reading this book brought a refreshing perspective to it all and I was gripped from start to finish. He breaks down how the future will be using the anacronism: Fast / Urban / Tribal / Universal / Radical / Ethical. Foreign aid as imperialism, another Chernobyl by 2030, clean fuels, transcontinental smog, global trade unions, money markets dominating nations, internet TV, information apartheid, a 'new big idea', unrbanised China - already lots of it is happening.
Reading this book made me feel excited about (and better prepared for) the challenges that will come - I also felt assured that in spite of the turbulance that this stuff will bring, life will continue - it was a great antidote to the histrionic dramatics that newsprint media enjoys.
There isn't any mention of sport, and he reckons that people will go for Global Hypercolor style glow-when-you-sweat clothing which I can't see being repeated in a very long while, but for the most part, the book talked a lot of sense.
See the big picture, see it coming and enjoy the ride!
