What's Next: The Experts' Guide: Predictions from 50 of America's Most Compelling People [Hardcover]

Jane Buckingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 22, 2008

In her role as founder and owner of Youth Intelligence, a trendspotting company at the forefront of predictions about the ever-elusive youth market, Jane Buckingham spends her days looking for the telling details in today's culture that give clues about what our future might be. And, as a savvy businesswoman whose company is a subsidiary of Creative Artists Agency, she has access to a world of fascinating, compelling leaders in a variety of industries. In this book, she follows her thread of interest wherever it leads her - and the result is a collection of 50 wide-ranging essays, all asking those people at the top of their field what their predictions are for the future of their industry or area of interest. Examples; SpaceX founder Elon Musk on how the future of space travel is in privatization and NASA is dead; Author Reza Aslan on how American Islam may become a model for the world; MIT professor Steve Ward on how "computers are no damned good" and how this will change.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jane Buckingham is a founder and president of the leading trend-forecasting and consulting firm Youth Intelligence, part of Creative Artists Agency, Buckingham determines lifestyle trends in the eight to thirty-nine age range for companies including MTV, Levi's, Nike, Polo, NBC, Microsoft, ESPN, Fox, Sony, and Chanel. Buckingham is also contributing editor to Cosmopolitan and the author of The Modern Girl's Guide to Life (based on her Style network show of the same name) and The Modern Girl's Guide to Motherhood.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper (January 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060885351
• ISBN-13: 978-0060885359
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,588,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jane Buckingham is the president of Trendera, an innovative marketing and media consulting firm with numerous Fortune 500 companies as clients. She is a contributing editor to Cosmopolitan, a regular guest on Good Morning America and The View, and was recently named by Elle as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, bestselling business author Marcus Buckingham, and their two children, Jack and Lilia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The book is shallow and wrong. Dont buy it., May 18, 2008

By 

Cathy Gontar "cathyg" (louisiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What's Next: The Experts' Guide: Predictions from 50 of America's Most Compelling People (Hardcover)

Just 2 good examples of wrongness:
The expert chosen for "City Planning" chapter is
Kristina Ford, New Orleans' city planner from 1992 to 2000.
Too bad New Orleans had no plan for a disaster in 2005.
The food expert, an academic, thinks obesity
and a fantastic abundance of food are the essential
issues in the future, also the threat of bioterrorism on our food
supply. In fact, potential energy crises and a government in the
service of short term corporate profit schemes
threaten food production and distribution. Ask the Thai people
about the price of rice right now and the "obesity problem".
Overall, the book's point of view is quite provincial
and right of center.
Cathy Trione Gontar

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Most Chapters Are Not Worth The Time, July 22, 2008

By 

Jerry Sanchez (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What's Next: The Experts' Guide: Predictions from 50 of America's Most Compelling People (Hardcover)

This book overpromises and underdelivers. These so called experts may have some experience in their field, but most of them do not write particularly well. Plus, with each chapter being only a few pages long at most, there is little room for substance and development regarding what the future will truly look like. Not to mention the chapter topics themselves (there is a chapter on the future of bartending, for example). A coherent, flowing narrative by one or two authors that were experts in the field of futurology covering big-picture topics of how our lives will change in the future would have been more interesting to read. There are few chapters in this book worth reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!! Very compelling and informative with a superstar list of contributors, January 24, 2008

By 

Cass 2210 "Cass 2210" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What's Next: The Experts' Guide: Predictions from 50 of America's Most Compelling People (Hardcover)

I have been a huge fan of Jane Buckingham since her Modern Girl books, and her latest experts' guide is a must-read for anyone who wants to know how the most compelling people think and feel about what the future holds. As a fashionista, I enjoyed reading Chip and Pepper's Eco-Friendly Trends section and as a hopeless romantic, I found Dr. John Gottman's essay particularly inspiring. It is a very cool glimpse into the lives of the people who are making things happen. A+++++!!