5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
my impressions of this book., June 22, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: The third millennium: A history of the world, AD 2000-3000 (Hardcover)
The authors of this book, while not getting every little nuance of the future correct (I am writing this 12 years after the book was published and have read it several times, the first time 4 years ago) have presented a very plausable and believeable future that people can look forward to. This story of the future is not glorious like star trek, or bleak like the road warrior. It is the story of humans learning and fumbling there way through life, as they have always done. It is the most believeable picture of the future I have read even though it is so old. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what challenges lie ahead for us, and how we will respond.
I have often wondered if the authors will update the book, including new findings and ensights, but have not heard anything yet. enjoy!!
I can be reached an proc@pacbell.net.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing future history! But progresses much too slow..., May 13, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The third millennium: A history of the world, AD 2000-3000 (Hardcover)
Unlike many books in this genre, "The Third Millennium" succeeds in conveying the illusion of a real historical account. In fact, this is the only book I've ever seen which truly deserves the name "a fictional future HISTORY".
The steady progress from the turmoiled 21st century to the utopia-like 30th, is portrayed with incredibe realism and vividness. If I'd want to give this book a rating solely as a work of fiction, I would have given it 6 stars...
But "The Third Millennium" is not a mere work of fiction. As the authors point out on the back cover, it is a serious attempt to portray a realistic future of the real World. And in this respect, the book suffers from one fatal flaw: In terms of absolute dates, the progress of events is agonizingly slow.
A few events and their dates would make this complaint clear. In this book, fusion energy is harnessed only in 2054 AD, and becomes dominant near 2180 AD. Genetic engineering in humans begin after 2227 AD. Unmanned probes to nearby stars, powered by nuclear fusion, are launched only in the 26th century...
Very slow indeed.
A more understandable glitch is the failure to predict the fall of the USSR. In this book, the cold war continues well into the 22nd century.
Since no one in their right minds thought in 1985 that the USSR is going down in the near future, I do not hold this particular mistake against the authors. But the agonizingly slow progress of technology in their scenario is something I will not forgive that easily.
It is this sluggish pace of progress is what turns this book from "a perfect masterpiece" to "a great idea ruined by one bad call".
And what a masterpiece it would have been! After all, there aren't many works that get a rating of 4 stars after being ruined, are there?
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A thousand years of history..., September 4, 2002
...that should have happened within only a few hundred years. Scientific development, political trends, changing social issues and even developing philosophies happen so slowly in this book, that you wonder why the cockroachs haven't taken over by the end of the book!
Lets skip the fact that the English used in the book should be totally different by the end of the 30th century.
But the book is FULL of interesting ideas and details about the future and, if not taken too seriously, should be enjoyable.
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