2044: The Problem isn't Big Brother; It's Big Brother, Inc. (1) [Kindle Edition]

Eric Lotke (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

2044 starts where George Orwell’s 1984 left off. The problem isn’t Big Brother and the leviathan government. It’s Big Brother, Inc., and the all-powerful marketplace.

In 2044, engineer Malcolm Moore discovers a cheap, easy way to take the salt out of seawater. Fresh water is scarce enough right now. By the year 2044, people will die and countries will go to war for water.

Malcolm’s discovery could help people everywhere – but it also threatens interests who are happy the way things are. Malcolm is branded a terrorist. People who know his secret are harassed, jailed and even killed.

With the assistance of Jessica Frey, an attorney he met on a bad date, Malcolm tries to stay alive long enough to bring his water to the world. Quickly they learn that change isn't easy when big business prefers the status quo. Join them on an adventure filled with danger, invention and surprise in 2044.
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ERIC LOTKE is an attorney with a Masters in philosophy. He has flushed every toilet in the Washington, D.C. jail, and won a million-dollar lawsuit against the private Corrections Corporation of America. He routinely publishes nonfiction on subjects ranging from youth homicide and criminal sentencing, to clean energy and urban infrastructure. He lives in Arlington, Va

About the Author

Eric Lotke writes from the heart of the progressive political movement. He has published policy reforms and organized campaigns for change. An attorney with a Masters in Philosophy, Eric has taught law school classes and flushed every toilet in the D.C. Jail. He lives with his wife and children in Arlington, Va.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 241 KB
• Print Length: 304 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: iUniverse; 1 edition (May 22, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002P8MEH2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,293 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #82 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Current Events > Globalization

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bleak Tomorrow - "Page Turner" on Kindle, November 23, 2009

By 

R.A. (Columbia Maryland) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 2044: The Problem isn't Big Brother. It's Big Brother, Inc. (Paperback)

This is just the kind of book that reminds me why I got a Kindle. I did not want to put it down. I read it, horrified yet not wanting to stop, as my husband drove the car, as I was waiting for a concert to begin, in bed... etc. The "Predator State" that James Kenneth Galbraith describes so well, the oligarchy we live in, could definitely get worse. We have corporations now who decide life and death issues for people by denying health care and lobbying to oppose health care for all. Climate change is already depriving 3rd world citizens of food and water and it will get worse and effect us in the west also. The author has put together a novel that paints one of the possible bleak scenarios that await unless we regain our identities as citizens and NOT consumers, and invest in a world economy that supports human life and human dignity over greed and short term gain for those at the top.

See also The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Page Turner, November 8, 2009

By 

N. Duffy - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 2044: The Problem isn't Big Brother. It's Big Brother, Inc. (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed 2044. It's a riveting page-turner set in a world of the future where big business is in control and fresh water is in short supply. It's about an average guy, Malcolm, who comes across a new technology that desalinates water without need of energy. It's a technology that's good for people, but bad for business. Find out what happens when Malcolm and his friends set out to share the technology with the world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2044 -- frightening, yet plausible!, August 26, 2009

By 

A. Shore - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 2044: The Problem isn't Big Brother. It's Big Brother, Inc. (Paperback)

I found Lotke's vision of 2044 more frightening than Orwell's 1984. While the threat to our individual freedoms has shifted from government control to the increasing power of global corporations, the plausibility of the threat becoming a reality feels way more likely, and at times, approaching probable.

I highly recommend this novel. The pace is fast, the characters are compelling, the message is haunting, and the punch is hard. Lotke extrapolates to a world where employees are reduced to productivity obsessed units of production. A smaller and smaller number of increasingly consolidated multinational corporations monitor, manipulate, pressure, and control its employees and customers.

Today, we rationalize our commitment to long work weeks with language, such as spending "quality" time with our friends and family. However in Lotke's world, we don't even try. Normal social interactions are a distant memory -- part of our antiquated past left by the wayside on the steady march in the name of progress. Instead, we pledge loyalty to the corporation and willingly sacrifice our fleeting leisure time to complete the next project like a workforce of Bill Murrays trapped in a really scary version of Ground Hog Day.

Like Orwell, Lotke relies heavily on exaggeration; however, after reading the book, one cannot help but notice things at work in a different (more jaded) light. On a similar note, I just saw a phenomenal documentary, Food, Inc. (a must see) where the alleged behavior of today's Monsanto Corporation is no less alarming than Lotke's fictionalized Microtech Corporation. Unfortunately, glimmers of 2044 are already here in 2009.

I'm very interested in seeing what Lotke sees in his crystal ball for 2084...