A Short History of the Future

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Intellectual futurism - Rated
I read this book a little while ago and while it can be heavy going in places especially where political dogma features heavily, many many of the concepts and ideas put forward as to what might happen in the next 200 years are not only plausible but will keep you thinking for months afterwards.

I've not read anything quite like it before. Highly recommended.

Cheers, GH

Best future history ever! - Rated
I am quite new to this genre of writing, but have already read several books based on alternate historys and possible futures. This book is simply the best i have read by far. The content is scientifically enough based to make it believeable and yet not overly so, so as to keep the book interesting. This book arrived from amazon in the morning and i'd finished it by bedtime. Amazing read and especially good if you are new to this style of writing.

Magnifique!!! - Rated
Dr. Warren Wagar creates an exciting adventure into the world of plausible futures. He colorfully combines fact and narrative to strengthen the possibility of a nuclear disaster in the year 2044. Wagar warns of the power of the capital intensive market leading to a monopolistic rule. He skillfully conveys the destructive consequences of a few multi-national corporations yielding control over the disempowered working class. Overall, the story was a fantastic, well-constructed thriller intended to stimulate interest into the ever-growing field of futurism.

Enjoyable on many levels, it gets you thinking for months - Rated
ASHOTF is one of the best books I have ever read, and the most influential (Structure of Scientific Revolutions and A History of the Balkans are the others), it doesn't leave you.

Enjoyably at the end of every section, there are personal notes from "ancestors" of the authors. Also included are some major political characters from obscurity to leadership, as well as the define and fall of nations. ASHOTF manages to perfectly meld a family history, a history of nations, and a discussion on philosophy while seeming to be neither. It makes you see everybody, from your parents to Jefferson, Marx, and Mao, in a new light.

An extraordinarily plausible glimpse into the future - Rated
I would not be at all surprised if the future contains many of the possibilities outlined in Dr. Wagar's book. More than just an exercise in creating scenarios, the book attempts to ask--and answer--philosophical questions about who we may become as a species. In three sections, Dr. Wagar applies the philosophies of capitalism, socialism, and anarchism, searching out their strengths and weaknesses as means toward the end of human realization. Along the way, many other topics are covered, such as space exploration, genetic engineering, nuclear war in the year 2044, ecological breakdown and renewal, and the transformation of marriage and the family. This is a book in the grand tradition of Olaf Stapledon, but more accessible to contemporary readers. Dr. Wagar has made an important contribution not just to imaginative literature, but to the whole field of human thought and human possibility. You will view the world differently after reading this book.