Dictionary of the Future, The: The Words, Terms and Trends That Define the Way We'll Live, Work and Talk (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this clever but gimmicky attempt at lexical clairvoyance, trend-spotter Popcorn (The Popcorn Report) and advertising sage Hanft offer their best guesses as to the phrases and concepts that will emerge in the coming years. It is a "fictionary" rather than a dictionary, however, since it largely comprises terms not in active use. And yet they have a certain familiarity like "disability chic" (describing fashionable hearing aids and canes) or "relationshopping" (a step beyond "relationsurfing," it signals a desire to settle down). Entries are divided into subject categories rather than listed alphabetically to showcase future trends in areas where the current state of the language is insufficient (e.g., Aging, Biology and Biotechnology, New Jobs, and the intriguing section for Fear, Frustration and Desire). Each section concludes with "Dictionary of the Future Predicts," a listing of newly concocted terms, courtesy of the authors, for ideas yet to come. "Bankaurants," for example, will be chic restaurants that inhabit bank lobbies in the evening hours, while "Inkists" will signify those who continue to insist on signing documents with pens when an e-signature would suffice. This is an amusing book for those with a high tolerance for, or appreciation of, chatter about trendiness, but it will quickly date itself as the authors are proven right or wrong. (Dec. 12)Forecast: Popcorn's notoriety and her nod toward defining an uncertain future via verbal prescience will attract an early audience, but the novelty will wear off as quickly as it did for Rich Hall's Sniglets if not faster. After all, Hall's goal was entertainment; Popcorn's is utility.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Popcorn (EVEolution) is a prognosticator and marketing analyst whose Manhattan consulting firm, BrainReserve, advises companies like Campbell Soup and Eastman Kodak on trends in consumer interest. Among her claims to fame were predicting the failure of New Coke and naming the late-Eighties trend of staying at home "cocooning." Here, Popcorn and Hanft, who works in marketing and advertising and has contributed to Worth and Civilization magazines, gather about 1500 words and phrases that describe late-breaking phenomena and trendy concepts. The words and phrases are either gleaned from the press, TV, business, science, technology, and academia or fall under the heading "Dictionary of the Future Predicts," created by the authors to articulate realities not yet expressed in the language. Organized into 35 topical chapters such as "Computers," "Health & Medicine," "New Behaviors," and "Technology" are such future terms as "adulescent," which refers to the trend of baby boomer adults acting more like children; "ego surfing," looking yourself up on the Internet; and "food macho," meaning eating food others find objectionable. The topical organization, the book's disappointing name index, and the quirky, often manufactured entries diminish the usefulness of this book. While it may be entertaining reading, it is not a necessary purchase. Paul D'Alessandro, Portland P.L., ME
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (December 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786866578
• ISBN-13: 978-0786866571
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #858,084 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars MIXED BAG, January 20, 2002

By	Worldreels (MANKATO, MN) - See all my reviews

I suspect some of these reviewers gave themselves five stars for finishing the book. I don't know how one reviews this collection of terms. All I can say is here is a mixed bag of terms, half of which should never have survived the cut. Way too many are already in current usage, (e.g., lucid dreaming, mother-of-all, rage, brownfields), way too many will never become generally used because they are nearly unpronounceable (e.g., participlaytion, bacterroria), others add nothing to existing terminology (e.g., boatominiums or floatominiums for house boats; relationshopping for relation shopping or relationship shopping--Is one very long word better than two short ones?) and there are far too many compounds, words strung together arbitrarily (e.g., socially irresponsible investing, self unfulfilling prophecies, driving Miss Daisy syndrome). Are they patronizing the reader?

I would like to have seen the www.web sites included in the index--there were at least fifty of them relied on and cited. In fact, if the truth were known, the internet was the principal source of half of the thousand terms listed. I would have liked to see the list cut in half, using only the most interesting terms (actual new terms, not those just abbreviated or strung together). Also the authors organized the words into 35 idiosyncratic chapters (e.g., Figures of Speech; Fear, Frustration & Desire; New Behaviors). I would have liked to see half that number of Chapters (e.g., ego surfing was placed in New Behaviors instead of in Internet or Computers. Three sections: Computers, Internet and Technology might have been combined into one).

As to the sections that tried to predict which new terms might catch on--really only a useless guessing game. These sections added very little to the book (e.g., fashion will become fash just as glamour has become glam is no doubt inevitable since both www.....com and www.....com are URL domain names now for sale on the internet). Dropping the last 3 letters to a word merely indicates how lazy some internet users are becoming. There is nothing new in knowing that.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, first rate, December 15, 2001

By	"davidnoyola" (San Francisco, California USA) - See all my reviews

The Dictionary of the Future is an exciting, quick read, filled with witty comentary and winning insight that I think taps into the zeitgeist of the culture. Don't think that this is your average, Webster-type dictionary -- it's really more about coming to terms with, and giving terms to the trends and the movements that will change the complexion of society. The Dictionary of the Future forecasts what culture will be like, and what it has already become; take the chapter on Terrorism, which has already become more than prescient. Opening the book is opening the door to the culture of next 50 years: Highly researched and smartly written, this is the book that your children will pick up down the road and wonder how we knew it back in 2001.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb and Unexpected, January 5, 2002

By	robert baldwin (Minneapolis MN) - See all my reviews

Did Faith Popcorn have a brain transplant? Her earlier books were frothy and insubstantial, lacking substance and simply restating the obvious with a superficial twist. So when I received the Dictionary of the Future as a Christmas gift, I groaned. But what a surprise when I began to leaf through it. Page after page of insight, fascinating peeks into the future, and intellectual fun. I cannnot recommend this book highly enough -- I can't think of anyone who wouldn't find rich value and stimulating thought here. I don't know who this new co-writer is, but she should stick with him in the "future."