Anticipating Tomorrow : Living And Making A Living In The 21st Century

Rating:
Summary: "An Important Book for Educators"
Review: "Anticipating Tomorrow" invites the reader to examine a blue-print of life for Americans in the 21st century. The book engaged my interest, but the chapter: Education, the Democratic
Autocracy was especially insightful to me, an educator with over 40 years experience, both on the college and secondary levels. I found M. Blickstein's analysis of America's educational system accurate, sound and meaningful. His prescription for change is "on target." I feel this book is important for educators to read. Frances S. Dubner, Ph.D.

Rating:
Summary: Brave New World
Review: Five years ago did you think you would be using your cell phone for text messaging? Were you using your computer as a source of recorded music? Were you concerned that information encoded in your credit cards could give away the whole store if the data found their way to the wrong hands? Blickstein's book is about the effect of technology on our lives. The changes we know of are the foundation of the book, but its thrust is on the changes we have yet to see. Blickstein has an enormous wealth of knowledge that he brings to bear on the subject. Equally important, he has the vision to describe the way things will be, not in the distant future claimed by sci-fi, but in the immediate future and a few years beyond.

The chapter headings show the book divided into distinct aspects of our lives: Medical, Religion, Community, Politics, Education, Jobs, Retirement, Entertainment, and Networks. In each of these, we are told what to expect and why. A small sampling: Machines in our homes to monitor our health and less need for invasive surgery, decentralized control of mainline religions, an increase in the transient population with concomitant effect on geographic political lines, many if not most blue-collar jobs entailing abstract problem solving, and on and on for hundreds of specific effects of technology.

This book can be recommended for anyone interested in "living and making a living in the 21st Century," the book's subtitle.

Rating:
Summary: Anticipating Tomorrow
Review: This is a very well-written book that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Blickstein displays an excellent knowledge of modern technology, and how it affects both how we live today and what we can expect in the near future. His research is exemplary, and his careful use of statistics is easily understood. As a retired academic, I particularly appreciated the chapters on education and retirement. This book is hard to put down.