Customer Reviews

Next : Trends for the Near Future

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

 

 

Next is a great general business guide for showing both companies and employees how to navigate the turbulent changes ahead. Insightful and entertaining bytes of information round out what the country as a whole can expect from the near future, in terms of home, business, politics and technology. The book also gives Americans a good view of where they stand in terms of the rest of the world. The What's Next sections are "food for thought" for new business and product ideas.

The offenses in this text range from citing surveys that show the emotional differences between the sexes narrowing (hint: surveys about attitude reflect the desired perception, rather than reality) to the usual hackneyed predictions about the growth of e-commerce and Java-based refrigerators. It's a superficial and uninspiring roundup of all the press release style journalism you'd find in Wired or Business 2.0. This is the kind of material that might be "inspiring" if you were to set your sights low enough. No breakthroughs here, although I suppose it's a serviceable summary of many of the trends that have already been predicted to death elsewhere.

It's not often that a book about the future comes along that give the reader not only a sense of what's to come but that does so in such a human way. Dire predictions, a la Nostradamus, these ain't. What this book provides, instead, are well-concepted, easy-to-digest chapters that cover a great breadth of material with obvious expertise and somehow manages to do it without preaching. It's invaluable for business, also, since who among us couldn't use some good global insight?

This book is a handy guide to issues that will be affecting us in the near future - a great read written in a witty, charismatic style. The authors present the material with clarity which kept me interested from start to finish. A practical guide for those who want to know where the future is going to lead us - in life, love and business. The book provides something that just about everyone can grasp on to - pertinent and relevant information that can help make sense of a changing planet!

I find the book a pleasure and a quick read. It is almost like taking a car ride through various scenaries and countries. You get a sense of a larger picture of a possible future, but yet you yearn for the slow walk when you can really see the details. A major gripe would be that, despite pages on Asia, it is still a Western, especially US-centric, future that is being painted. And the Asian section reads like a current affairs report. Interestingly though, what the authors failed to pick up is that the section on Europe holds many parallels for Asia. In summation, NEXT is good for triggering other thoughts and ideas. Not so great if you want to drill down into the whys and wherefores.

Everyone has wondered what they would do if they could see into the future. How would they prepare for it? Where would they put their money? How would they change their lives? Well now we can. Unlike similar titles, the trends discussed within this book stand a very good chance to coming into being.

By limiting themselves to the near future, the authors have maximised the usefulness of their research. So, whether you are interested in knowing which careers to seek, which industries to invest in, or merely which colour-scheme to choose for your house - this is the book for you.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in their own future. My only complaint is that some discussion of how we (the readers) can also spot trends is missing. This would have given the readers an even better edge in the next millenium.

The law of averages says if you make enough predictions, some will end up being right. And there are plenty in Next. Trouble is, the authors want it all ways, with futuring AND global sociology lite AND armchair marketing for theorists who don't have to sell anything.

The scope is broad and ambitious, the tone wobbles between authoritative, chatty and breathless. There's evidence of real knowledge, thinking and analysis here and there, but all too often the authors dip into their grab bag of random examples. Trick or treat? The USA Today style statistics are supposed to lend weight but end up showing just how spurious percentages can be.

A handy book for the bathroom shelf. Mind bites for the board members who want to look well informed but nothing much for management to get their teeth into.

Its like taking a picture on something you have never seen

i haven't read your bok yet. i want to read some chapters of your book online. please suggest how to do that.