A Brief History of the Future (Paperback)

What will planet Earth be like in 20 years? In 2050? In the year 2100? Prescient and convincing, in the tradition of Alvin Toffler's Future Shock and Alan Weisman's The World Without Us, this book is a must-read for anyone concerned about the future. Never has the world offered more promise to future generations, nor been more fraught with dangers. In this powerful and sometimes terrifying work, Attali analyses the past and pinpoints nine distinct periods of human history, each with its world center of power and prestige, and predicts what the tenth will bring by the end of this century. Attali foresees the disappearance of individual countries and the dominance of a world government, with democracy prevailing. However, the ultimate, burning question he asks is: Will we leave our children and grandchildren a world that is not only viable but better? Or will we bequeath to them a planet that will be a living hell? Either way, he warns, the time to act is now.