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Future Shock
by Alvin Toffler
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Random House (1970-06-12)
ISBN: 0394425863
EAN: 9780394425863
Dewy Decimal #: 301.24
Hardcover
Release Date: 1970-06-12
SKU: 25247
Condition: Collectable Like New
Comments: THE HARDBACK BOOK! RANDOM HOUSE, 1970. THE UNABRIDGED EDITION. BCE. HARDCOVER BOOK W/GILT LETTERING, DUST JACKET and pages are IN FINE CONDITION, CLEAN AND TIGHT. Ships immediately w/FREE tracking, GREAT PACKAGING. To Overseas, will be shipped by AIR MAIL.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Examines the effects of rapid industrial and technological changes upon the individual, the family, and society.
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Customer Reviews
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Toffler's Political Prescription Yet to be Realized
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-06-15
After devouring this book on first publication (literally camping out in a vest pocket park in London to finish it after getting off a transatlantic flight), I was curious to see whether I would still find this intellectually rich, superbly organized and artfully written work as groundbreaking as I felt it was four decades ago. Again savoring each vignette and prognostication, the answer was a resounding "yes".
Toffler was not the first intellectual to amass, synthesize and extrapolate vast data and opinions on a variety of subjects of interest to the body politic - think tanks had been quietly going about that very work for years - but he was the first to popularize the whole process and make it accessible to the lay person. "Future Shock" not only became its own buzz phrase but set off a veritable cottage industry of crystal ball gazers that remain busy at work to this day - some of them intellectually rigorous, some of them decidedly so-so.
"Future Shock" has stood the test of time due to its probing analysis of trend lines, how they might play out and their likely concomitant effects; Toffler's batting average on that score is quite high. His detailed observations about what we now call the Internet was light-years ahead of its time, and he also plumbed numerous other topics (long-distance commuting, the breakdown of top-down organizational structures, increasing societal mobility and the growing impermanence of "community") with great foresight.
It is in the area of democratic governance, however, that time has not been overly kind to Toffler, not because Toffler's understanding of the need for more effective long-term debate and planning was misguided, but because our elected leaders, most especially at the federal level (where Toffler's comments about a disconnect between the body politic's opinions and public policy development seem most directly aimed), do not possess or care to exercise the leadership necessary to make hard choices.
When the author suggests an approach of "anticipatory democracy" centered on a variety of forums and "what if?" scenarios in which a wide variety of Americans can express their opinions about what kind of country they want, he's on to something. Nearly 40 years later, the body politic has access to a dazzling array of methods to express their informed or semi-informed opinions: national polls, town hall meetings, focus groups, letters to elected officials, etc. Yet for all the data and all the public input our elected officials can mine, all but a few (abetted by endless election cycles and a horde of lobbyists) seem constitutionally incapable of arriving at more than an incremental solution to the big problems of our day. Repeatedly slapped in the face by energy shortages, high gasoline prices and rogue, oil-rich states, our reaction is to endlessly debate North Slope drilling, the windfall profits tax and CAFE standards; meanwhile, the "early adapters" (still fewer than 5 percent of the US population at this writing), vote in the marketplace by buying hybrid vehicles. Similarly, the crisis enveloping Social Security is met with a series of "bipartisan commissions", and the mind-numbing issue of bioethics is sent to a cabal of academics/presidential advisors for analysis with no national debate whatsoever. The late, great Daniel Patrick Moynihan got it right: if you want to address a serious public policy issue, be prepared to invest at least 30 years in the process. No one should fault Toffler for the inability of others to take up his crusade.
"Future Shock" remains Alvin (and Heidi) Toffler's finest accomplishment and one of the most intellectually stimulating non-fiction works of the 20th Century. Let's hope the last chapter of this seminal work - the one on anticipatory democracy - finally gets the audience it deserves.
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Amazingly Accurate!
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-05-31
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
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
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Amazingly Accurate!
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-05-31
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
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
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
Revolutionary Wealth
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Are we falling apart??
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-04-11
0 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
I had to read this in high school, thought it was interesting and maybe possible (people not being able to handle rapid change), but now it's 38 years later...well, where are all the people coming apart at the seams cause of technological change? We seem to handle it no prob, and plenty of people still lead simple lives if they want to, it just didn't happen Alvin, sorry, but you keep on self-promoting, this is America after all..
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Non Fiction
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-09-03
0 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Toffler's Future Shock is something similar to what science fiction writers have discussed many times. What happens when you throw advanced technology and concepts at a more primitive people (human/alien/mineral/vegetable) or whatever.
Here he is talking about us, and the seeming increasing pace of change, and the general inability of people to keep up with it. While this may be true for some, being in his 35 years ahead future now, with all the people on the planet wandering around with mobile phones, is this really the case for mankind in general?
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