Glad to be here [Hardcover]

Arthur Herzog (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1979

Returning in triumph to New York City to announce their victory, the revolutionaries, Bil and Alce, the very, very old Ralp Nadir and the very, very sexy Dian Toffler, find that no one has noticed the revolution, and no one cares. Everyone just wants to keep on jogging, safe and secure and uninvolved. Finally, the message of freedom breaks through the nearly fatal apathy of the people, and the painful, stumbling process of reinstituting democracy begins, with Bil as the new President. Then suddenly, it's all a flashback to the twentieth century, as Bil attempts to revive such great American classics as marriage, fashion, pollution, pregnancy, subways and airplanes, and three square meals a day. Meanwhile, dogs demand equal rights, Staten Island threatens secession, and a counter-revolutionary group, the Sad To Be Heres, gains momentum. Can you teach a new society all of its old tricks? Can humanity relearn self-government and resist the temptation to slip back into the security of computer domination? Will the computers themselves remain unplugged-and unnoticed? In the wit and fun of Glad To Be Here, you'll find some startling and timely answers, and be glad that Arthur Herzog is back with this rip-roaring saga of life, love, and lunacy in the thirtieth century.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Arthur Herzog is an award-winning novelist, non-fiction writer and journalist, renowned for his best-selling novels The Swarm, Orca (both made into popular movies), Earthsound, Heat and IQ 83, hailed by the British press as one of the best science fiction works ever written. A New Yorker, avid reader, and world traveler, Herzog continues to write fiction and non-fiction books. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 251 pages
• Publisher: Crowell; 1st edition (1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0690018185
• ISBN-13: 978-0690018189
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,163,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Look At the Human Race in 3000, October 14, 2004

By 

jane (sacramento, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glad to be here (Hardcover)

Glad to be Here takes place after the events of Make Us Happy. The computers have been defeated and now the story's main characters, Bil and Alce, have returned to New York City to announce their victory and restore democracy to the land. As President, Bill wants to bring back the values that America once possessed in its distant past. He promotes marriage, three square meals a day, the importance of fashion and transportation in the form of airplanes and subway systems. While the computers had human life controlled and ordered, with Bil's revolutionary changes return things like pollution, population growth and unrest amongst certain groups of unsatisfied people. In particular, the Sad To Be Here's rise as a movement against Bil's leadership.
Once again, Herzog uses humor to examine the state of human beings. What is best for us, what happens when we are in control of our societies and lives? Is it better to be numb and just move through the motion of life. Are we happiest when someone or something in charge provides structure for our lives and we have nothing to worry about or be concerned with?
This is a thoughtful look at human nature and our history as well as a potential future.