Customer Reviews

The Shift Age

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As a regular reader of Davis Houle's blog (www. evolutionshift.com),
I immediately ordered his newest book when publication was announced.

His latest offering, "The Shift Age", is the handbook for the future.
The touchstones of this Age may not have much relevance in the next.

The Middle East morass, the loss of U.S. influence in the
world, vanishing jobs, wealth transference, the disappearance
of the middle class, dwindling fossil fuels and global warming
are but a few of the current problems with which we are transfixed
when we should also be looking over the horizon to see where
all these events are taking us and how they will impact the
future of our civilization.

David Houle has been doing just that! Houle is the Alvin Toffler
of the Shift Age who is thinking about where we are headed and what
we should be doing now to prepare for it. I highly recommend his book
to anyone who believes in advance notice because David gives you plenty!

John A. Hennessey

The Shift Age is one of the best books I've read this year, and I read a lot of non-fiction. I just ordered more copies to give to my friends -- I can't imagine anyone not getting some good ideas from it. What I liked the most about it is how Houle brings together research, historical perspectives, and very current political and economic issues as a basis for his "Shift Age" premises. From a snapshot of our lives in the mid-1980s to a review of the Agricultural and Industrial Ages to a look at the immense changes we're experiencing today, Houle's writing is thought-provoking and engaging. I found myself thinking and talking about his ideas and statistics days after reading a section. And that's the other thing I liked about it: he has structured the book so it can be read in relatively brief chunks and still be provocative and interesting. I just don't have time to sit down and read huge pieces at once, and Houle has recognized that fact as part of the age we're in.

Interestingly enough, the other book I've been reading the last few weeks is a wonderful account of Lewis and Clark's expedition, by Stephen Ambrose (Undaunted Courage). As Ambrose talks about life 200 years ago, it's striking how much it dovetails with Houle's points about how fundamentally different the speed of change is now. Ambrose and Houle both point out that 200 years ago, NOTHING moved faster than the speed of a horse: not information, not people, not goods. Ambrose's account, as a history, leaves the point there. For Houle, that's a jumping off point in contrasting the instantaneous transmission of information today and the impact it has on all of us.

So, I'll stop. But if you have any interest in thinking about history or where we're going next, I'd buy a couple copies of this book. You're going to want to give it to people.

I found "The Shift Age" strangely comforting. As I spin forward in my life, reaching for my cell phone while speeding along a highway, or sipping my morning coffee while reading about Earthlike worlds in the universe, or dismantling my computer with the help of a woman on the phone from India -- who calls herself Shirley, author David Houle gives me something to hold on to.

He compares what we are all experiencing to a kind of psychological earthquake - a shifting under our feet that we can't control. But to counter our concerns, he gently takes us into the past to anchor us to our humanity and then through a series of topics (technology, economy, environment, media) into a future which offers "a great transformation for us all."

Houle is an optimist with a plan; I guess that's what a futurist is. Writing about space exploration Houle says: "While it is important to search for other places than earth that might be hospitable for human life, it is even more important to look for life as we might not know it." Welcome to "The Sift Age" because living life as we might not know it is here to stay.

I picked up this book as I had heard favorable comments regarding the author. I intended to read the book in it's entirety but after 90 of 216 pages and right before the chapter on global warming I decided to cut my losses. The beginning of this book outlines the various eras of mankind's existence - agrarian, industrial, and information which lead up to the current age which the author coins as "the shift age". Now at least 3 years have passed since this book has been published and except for this book I have never heard the term shift age used anywhere else. The first part of the book was interesting however the second part was a compilation of blog postings with an enormous amount of repetitive information. I agree with the author that the proliferation of the cell phone has transformed communication but this fact and others are repeated numerous times. I started to wonder if I had lost my place in the book and was reading it over from an earlier point. My apologies for submitting a review for a book I didn't finish - I just couldn't.

Illumination in a world shifting around us -now every twenty years or
even more quickly- is the genius of Houle and mission of the futurist.
Evolution Shift is a powerful navigational tool that tells us where we are and where we are heading. Don't leave home without it.

Not only does "The Shift Age" put the past into perspective and gives us a great opportunity to see what is ahead if we don't change our ways and the exciting possibilities just a few weeks, months or years in front of us if we are willing to change. Cars running on CO2 and the ability to erase my carbon footprint for only $100 per year? Not something I would have thought possible when I woke up and blinked this morning! It is fascinating to look at how long it has taken us to get where we are today and more fascinating to see how quickly we will be moving forward tomorrow. David Houle is one of the great thinkers of the new century and has a unique way of putting our new path into a perspective that is not only easy to read and understand but incredibly thought provoking, too. This quick read book will be a must read for my friends, family and staff.

Richard Holcomb, Ph.D.

Apparently, the future arrived sometime late last night. David Houle was there to meet it, greet it and learn all about it. In The Shift Age Houle presents a compelling argument that we have left the information age, something we were all just getting used to, and have entered a new era of enlightenment, something we can all embrace. The Shift Age is filled with an incredible amount of information that helps you make sense of what's going on, how we've come to where we are, and most importantly, where we're headed. Houle is masterful about synthesizing data and trends and human history to the point of making sense of what to expect next. It's sometimes hard to tell whether he's predicting or demanding the coming age of consciousness and simultaneous global and individual focus. But he's exactly right and this book should be on everyone's shelf. Houle is a true futurist and trail-blazer and makes his book live on with his www.evolutionshift.com blog. Check it out and send this book to your friends and loved ones- and when they start telling you about it, remind them you found it first!

For anyone wondering where we are heading and what the future holds, The Shift Age is a fantastic resource! Author David Houle reaches into the past and uses it to present a clear picture of where we are today and what our future holds as we travel down a path that moves faster than ever with more information than ever. Houle's insight and experience help us to better understand our world, our economy, and our technology , and how we play a role in the current Shift Age.

According to Houle, the Shift Age is the period of time we live in now - a period that has moved faster than any other and will be considered by historians as the most significant "shift" in human progress and development - far beyond the impact of the Industrial Age or the Information Age. Dominated by our technological advances and connectedness, our global economy, and the power of the individual to now impact both of these, the Shift Age is a very real, uncertain time that Houle eloquently walks the reader through, providing valuable thought and predictions for our future existence.

Houle is a prominent blogger at evolutionshift.com. If you have not read his postings, The Shift Age is a great way to introduce yourself to Houle and his writing, as much of the book is excepts from this expansive blog. The writing is clear, concise, and reads very quickly as Houle details our world, his experiences with it, and hope for humanity to grow even further. Everyone needs to get on the Futurist bandwagon, and The Shift Age is an excellent place to start! I recommend this book to anyone interested in the world around them and how they can participate in shaping humanity's future! The future really is now!!

I first heard about this book at an education workshop and was curious about both the author and the book's perspective. As one of the founders of MTV and VH1, Houle has a remarkable vision of the future. While much of his book is common sense and general knowledge, Houle gives "meat" to our technologically advancing world through interesting statistics, practical applications, and published essays. And though some of my colleagues complained that Houle has no real answers to our questions about society's preparation for the future and adaptability of the inevitable, I find it refreshing that he leaves the answer to us as a society. I plan to reference this often in my classroom -- lots of data for out future leaders to mull over!

David's calm vision is refreshing. His observations on the present's impact on our future is exciting to watch and his ability to support it with similar trends in history make it compelling reading. It is wonderfully current, you feel like you are in the midst of something magical as many of his "predictions" are occurring around us as you read!

You feel smarter as you read "Shift Age!"

David Houle's life experience, warm generosity of spirit, and thirst for knowledge give the reader entree into an an exciting world of possibility.

I highly recommend "Shift Age!" The topics within are wonderful conversation starters.