Future in Sight: 100 of the Most Important Trends, Implications and Predictions for the New Millennium. - book reviews

Entrepreneur, Jan, 1996 by Debra Phillips

IMAGINE an increase of nearly 2 billion in the world's population. Imagine technology akin to Dick Tracy wrist radios becoming commonplace. Imagine consumers being able to shop for a new home at virtual reality centers. If Barry Howard Minkin's prognostications are on target, these are a mere sampling of what we can expect by 2030.

"As we accelerate into the next century, sharp eyes and quick reflexes are needed to navigate the turns in the road," writes Minkin in Future in Sight: 100 of the Most Important Trends, Implications and Predictions for the New Millennium (Macmillan, $22.95 cloth). "Bereft of a crystal ball, how are we even to look at the future? Life is complex now; it will become more complex. To contemporary eyes, how can the future be anything but a blur? But for those who know where-and how-to look, the future begins to emerge, becoming clearer every day."

Admittedly, some of Minkin's predictions border on the predictable (no pun intended). But for every forecast of continued vigilance on environmental issues, there is a preview of, say, such technological marvels as shopping carts equipped with video screens.

The question is: Will you be prepared for the future-or will the future pass you by?

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