Customer Reviews

As the Future Catches You: How Genomics & Other Forces Are Changing Your Life, Work, Health & Wealth

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When I first received this book and flipped through it, I was seriously tempted to send it back unread. The typesetting is... creative to say the least - lots of white space, multiple fonts, scattershot graphics. Indeed, it looks like you've received an extra long email from someone who's just discovered how to play with all the format settings. Given that I'd purchased a hard cover book at hard cover prices, I felt ripped off.

However, I decided to read it anyway, and I'm glad I did. It's a short read, but a wild ride, and it's packed with information about the biotech and economic revolution we're just getting into. There are lots of facts and figures to consider, and the author does an excellent job of providing thought-provoking analogies that may change the way you look at some things. In one example, he asks you to think of mosquitoes as flying hypodermic needles - right now these insects infect people with things like malaria, but scientists are trying to figure out how to use them to innoculate people instead.

This book would make an excellent Christmas gift for non-technical people who want to try to understand the potential impact of biotechnology, genetic engineering, computers, and the Internet. The choice of typesetting, it turns out, is deliberate: it's designed to convey the speed at which these changes are taking place, and it makes reading the book as easy as consuming a sound byte from the 11 o'clock news. It can get a bit heavy on the hype factor, but the author acknowledges this at the end.

It should also be required reading for all the politicians, bureaucrats and other politicos involved in making decisions about things like cloning, genetically modified foods etc. These people in particular have to be able to see past the immediate 'ick factor' reaction and to the long term economic consequences of the legislation they propose.

In short, its an excellent primer on the biotech revolution, and a great starting point for anyone seeking to understand what's happening. And even those who are used to, as I am, reading more technical material on this topic, it provides a good summary of what's happened to date, how technologies have converged, and what we might expect in the next decade.

If you want to understand some of the "big picture" issues in our society I strongly encourage you to read this book. Peter Drucker's Management Challenges for the 21st Century and Daniel Pink's Free Agent Nation are two other good reads on a knowledge-based economy.

While Mr. Enriquez spends most of the book talking about genomics (his area of expertise and knowledge) and the implications arising from developments in the area, he also tries to illustrate the impact such discoveries might have on the world economy in a very basic, easy-to-understand manner. Mr. Enriquez does an excellent job in talking about the importance of education and how the large differences among certain geographic regions may lead to a larger divergence of wealth in the next century.

In talking about genomics, Mr. Enriquez is quick to talk about cloning and the moral and ethical issues that will arise from such technology and how it will be EXTREMELY TOUGH to policy this technology due to its rapid evolution and ability to move into other countries borders. In the past the evolution of public policy was adjusted with the technologies but genomics is different in that we are talking about the potential to create human life via cloning, which stirs up all kinds of moral and social issues which affects politicians and their voting constituencies.

The one thing I know is that genomics is revolutionizing modern medicine as we breathe today. The new drugs, cures and foods that will be created and these WILL have VERY PROFOUND impacts on our standard of living in the next century and will cause tons of social implications. This book is your entrance into learning about geonomics in a very easy to read book. I highly recommend purchase of the book.

On the whole, this is a good read, integrating and extrapolating contemporary trends in national wealth & technology (especially genomics). Yet these insights suffer from several flaws. First is the uncritical idolatry of Craig Venter. Sure he pioneered excellent work in shotgun sequencing whole genomes. Yet Celera has now dumped Venter & their sequencers & the sale of genomic sequences (derived in part from PUBLIC information, I might add--although you wouldn't know it from *this* book), and is now in the business of finding new pharmaceuticals. This whole issue raises some important questions (like, "Who should legally 'own' gene sequence data?") that are nowhere addressed here. You can bet that the author spent NO TIME talking with Eric Lander, Francis Collins or other leaders of the public project. And there are business models besides Venter's (e.g., Big Pharma's public SNP consortium). Secondly, his chapter "Sleepless (and Angry) in Seattle"--on opposition to Globalization--is weak and vapid in the extreme. Apparently, there aren't any potential problems with rampant bioengineered tradition-busting world capitalism. Nor is there anything traditional worth salvaging from the slaughter. Enriquez' version of technology lacks vision, prioritization or leadership--its pure gang-busters. This might be fine, given leaders with moral authority a la Peter Drucker. But in our too-real post-Enron/WorldCom/Tyco world of sleazy ethics, criminal accounting and unabashed greed, I find it remarkably naive. And the environment? No problemo--global warming, air/water pollution, the fossilization of fossil fuel economies, & natural resource depletion notwithstanding. The anti-Globalization movement has some very important points that are sadly overlooked here. That said, the book offers a largely comprehensive and integrative look at the convergence of technologies facing us in the 21st century.

This book reads like an engaging lecture. If you're looking for an extensive and scholarly work . . . you'll give it a single *. If you're looking for a well written, extended and readable Powerpoint presentation (and I mean that in all seriousness) you'll rate this book much more highly. I was surprised by how light the book was on words/$ but was pleasantly surprised that after I'd adjusted my expectations the book was readable and engaging. And it's significantly less expensive than the thousands Enriquez probably charges to deliver this presentation in person . . .

This book is a blend of intresting observations and speculation on various hot technologies (gnemoics in particular) and it's likely impact on people and countries. It is an intresting book and can be easily followed by anybody (even without any intrest or knowledge of the subject). The page layout (with large typeface and fonts) may seem condescending to some of the serious readers, but i think it works in this case, since the book isn't verbose and the author packs thought and info in small sentences, which provokes one to pause and reflect. For eg: sample this: "there used to be one way of getting pregnant.. Now there are more than Seventeen" OR " A seed is an instruument designed to execute a genetic program that transforms soil, water and sun into Wood, Flower.. Fruit"

You need not know anything about Gneomics, Computers, Biology sciences or the various other technologies which this books quotes, to enjoy this book. It's pretty sweeping in scope and you need not necessarily agree with all that the author says about his versiion of the future (i did not). But, one can certainly give full marks to the author for making serious sciences entertaining, by sharing his thoughts on how it is/may impacting our lives.

The challenge and pitfalls in speculating about the future is ironically seen here - This book was written in 2001 and as such the author makes a glowing reference to the AOL-Timewarner merger (which later turned out into a disaster!); India and China are lumped as "having few resources, capital and respect for entrepreneurs", whereas the outsourcing boom in the last five years has clearly proved this wrong.

Not everyone will agree with the author's touting of Gene food (btw, this is not a default food in Europe) or the 'small population' advantage. Patents is relatively a western phenomenon, so comparing the number of patents of US to China or India seems out of place. Couple of chapters venture into politics of why many countries broke apart in the last fifty years and the treatment of it may seen one-dimensional. Afterall, the things that defines a nation is something more complex than what the author seems to define.

There is lot of great Links/references in the Appendix of the book for anybody intrested in exploring further on this topics.

Irrespective of what one's throughts are on the opinions and coverage in this book, i think this is a book which gives value for the time and money spend. It is thought provoking.

I would recommend it to all.

First of all, I would like to thank the author for exposing enoromous potential of genetic revolution (if you can call it that !). Also, the author provides an interesting look at history - history of nations. How some nations simply failed to progress due to faulty policy-making. From that regard, I would consider this book a must-read for policy-makers all across the world, specifically, developing countries like India, Mexico, etc..

This book is more like a article stretched into a book in an innovative way by using different fonts. Personally, I found the chaning fonts a bit irritating while reading. Author promises to publish three "serious" book going forward, this book is suppossed to be an introduction. It does a good job as an "introductory" book.

I wish the author had highlighted some more disturbing ramifications of "genetic engineering" . The movie "Gattaca" comes to mind.

In conclusion, this is a book that you could read in few hours and it gets you excited about some fascinating possibilities. However, it is skewed more towards hype.

... Juan Enriquez' book - better than anything you'll ever read - frames the entire globalization debate in a clear, pragmatic, level-headed way. He blitzes through a complete review of inter-country economics - from agri-society to the Industrial Revolution to the Information Age, now giving way to the force of Genomics.

Enriquez has a way of making startling points in a pithy, almost prose-like fashion. [In fact, don't be put off by the Tom Peters-like spacing and font shifts. Here, it works. He brings heady and potentially esoteric subjects down to size in an inviting 'read me' fashion.]

Here's an example (and one of Enriquez' main points):

"Science and technology allow people to multiply their productivity much faster than those who do not have the same knowledge or instruments. ....

The text is spread out just like that in short, punchy, well-crafted sentences.

As you can tell from that passage, one of the book's main thrusts is Enriquez' comparison of countries that can or will meet the challenge, vs. those that don't or will not. In one of the book's best sections, he compares South Korea ("the ulitmate meritocracy"), the USA (he makes the point that, increasingly, we rely on imported brain power) and Mexico (he recounts some shocking stories of Mexico's capacity to squander its intellectual capital).

Enriquez is well-positioned to make a S. Korea/US/Mexico comparison. He's a true 'man of the world' - an HBS professor and former CEO of Mexico D.F.'s Urban Development Corporation. He remains a harsh critic of Mexico's need to 'shape up' or be left behind at the station. [In fact, he has an eye-opening, scalding commentary in the book of Ernesto Zedillo's tenure as Education Minister and President of Mexico.]

A good way to learn a little more about Enriquez and this book - before comitting to buy it - is to take a look at a recent piece wrtitten about him in Fortune (they call him "Mr. Gene"). This article is available online & you can find it at the Fortune site by putting in "Juan Enriquez" as your search term.

I have been hypnotized by this seemingly brief book for over a month now. Initially, I was attracted to the cover of the book (ideas catching fire) -- at least enough to take a closer look inside -- what I now consider one of the most important books to be published this year.

On first glance, once I saw that As the Future Catches You dealt with what appeared to be "scientific" topics, I was inclined to put it back down on the counter and move on. The pure sciences have never been my greatest interest or strength. Yet, as I started to read the headings of the sections of the book, and sampled some of the initial ideas, the fire that the cover portrays lit inside me! After reading the first ten pages I was absolutely `ablaze'.

Ironically, this short book has taken me longer to work through than most 500 or 600 page books I have read. It is a collection of facts, cases, arguments, criticisms and scenarios that demand some serious and sometimes sobering thought and reflection. My now well worn book is filled with notes and underlining, along with personal reflections that grew out of points that the author made, or catalyzed, in my own mind while considering his presentation.

Juan Enriquez writes very clearly and compellingly about how the future will be significantly different than the present. While many of us are quite proud of the change we have managed to adapt to in the past decade as technology diffusion took place and changed our world in record time, we have likely given little thought to what other changes we might need to prepare ourselves to face in the short term. As the Future Catches You - does just that. It gets our attention in a very big way.

Juan Enriquez informs us that the rapidly emerging advances in genome research, coupled with technology and economics will change us in ways that will make the technological revolution of the past decade seem minor

The author presents a book that appears playful on the one hand because of the layout and creative use of type font but all of that is actually hypnotically deceptive. This little `playful' book is a very serious instrument, which clobbers us over the head, page after page, with particularly compelling facts, conclusions and new food for thought - page after page, over and over.

Enriquez urges us to prepare for what is to come - not by looking in our rear view mirrors while driving onward- but by opening our eyes, facing front, hanging on tight, getting ready for the ride and a fast one it will be at that!

The genetic revolution is well underway. This is not a "could happen" book. In As the Future Catches You, we meet figures whose names are not yet known in many households- yet these are names that will become as important, if not more so, that the greatest change leaders our world has ever encountered. These are the researchers and other members of the `knowledge' community, all seekers, who are already far beyond most of us in their thinking and in what they have already achieved. These folks are not celebrity figures. We don't hear about them everyday. There isn't much interest in their personal lives. Theirs is not a `sexy' medium or industry. Yet, these trailblazing scouts are already far out on a pretty uncharted path drawing up some maps that many of us will eventually come to likely know like the `back of our own hands.' These men and women are leading the charge on a new and very dramatic wave of changes in scientific, social, ethical, psychological, physical, spiritual and personal realms.

Every educated person needs to know more about these men and women and their work. And we need that information YESTERDAY!

Genes, Computers, Economics, Knowledge, Globalism, Education. In combination, within new fields, some of which we don't even know what to call, we are about to see a diffusion of innovation that is building to a launch speed unlike any timeframe or pace we, or our ancestors and their forbearers, has ever witnessed.

Enriquez seems to want to shake us, shock us, electrify us, cajole us, insult us and use whatever means he can to get us to make a personal "leap of faith" toward better preparedness for the future. His efforts did that to me. I am sitting up straight and paying lots of attention!

This initially reluctant reader is convinced that Juan Enriquez is absolutely on target. The train is leaving the station. Our choice is whether we want to be on the train or we want to watch its rear end as it leaves - whether to be a part of the trip or to be left behind! This is the decision that each of us will need to face. So too, every country around the world will need to pay complete attention to this same question. A journey is starting. Are we going to be a part of it? Or, will we be left behind wondering what we didn't know that we obviously have lost out as a result of our ignorance.

While we may seek to dismiss the ideas Enriquez outlines as possibly overblown, or far too science-fiction- like, his research is so completely thorough, his arguments so compelling and clear and his conclusions so obvious, that it is hard to dismiss what is reported to us.

I believe that this is a book every college and university should immediately add into its curriculum as required reading for careful study. Any person being initially educated for tomorrow's world at this point must be steeped in the language that Juan Enriquez only introduces us to in his small effort.

For those of us who have completed our formal education, it's time to get our minds in full gear again; it's time to do a bit of studying and learning all over again! While some of us may have had some fantasies about a slower paced tomorrow - at least slower than the last ten years of change - it seems we `ain't seen nothin' yet! So we better get ready! It's time to travel --- forward!

An Outstanding Mind Expanding Read!

Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota USA

As the Future Catches You is an excellent trigger of ideas and questions surrounding the impact of biotechnology in our daily lives in the years to come. Enriquez has the ability to build strong arguments, with few well-chosen words, that make you think differently about: science and technology as a driver of economic growth; the relationship between scientific progress and society; and most of all the importance of countries and regions in acquiring the necessary tools to participate in this new revolution. As someone who lives in
Europe and works in the technology sector, I see this debate increasingly gaining importance, and this book has been a boon to understanding the issues at hand.

Every now and then there is a book that absolutely captures the imagination. "As the Future Catches You" clearly caught me. The writing style is more like poetry than prose, but works very well. Rather than sorting through detailed text, Enriquez hits you with bullet point after bullet point to get his message across. Loaded with facts, insight and some futuristic dreaming which you become convinced is more reality than dream, the book fascinated me from start to finish.

I think Enriquez is absolutely correct in his assessment of the critical importance of knowledge in the future. He focuses on genomics as the main wave, but certainly points out the importance of the data technology wave. The one wave that is missing is the demographic wave of the rapid aging of the Western world. That force, I believe, only further validates his arguments for the importance of knowledge and the dangerous ledge upon which Europe is perched.

Europe is fighting the genomics wave and is about to be overwhelmed by the demographic wave. An interesting follow up to Enriquez' work would be the future of Europe.

Great book. Captivating and thought provoking. If you want a glimpse of the future, get this one.

My only complaint is what appears to be a mixing of some financial facts. Comparing Microsoft's market capitalization to the exports of Latin American in a given year is comparing wealth to income. It seems this is done often, but the points being made are still valid.