Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now, and they come to the chapter "Y2K to March 2004," what will they say was the most crucial development? The attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq war? Or the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating... (more)

The Giver: Book 2

Gathering Blue

by Lois Lowry

Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. When she is given a task that no other community member can carry out, Kira soon realizes that she is surrounded by many mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world—and to find out what exists beyond it.

Book of Ember: Book 3

The Prophet of Yonwood

by Jeanne DuPrau

It’s 50 years before the settlement of the city of Ember, and the world is in crisis. War looms on the horizon as 11-year-old Nickie and her aunt travel to the small town of Yonwood, North Carolina. There, one of the town’s respected citizens has had a terrible vision of fire and destruction. Her garbled words are taken as prophetic instruction on how to avoid the coming disaster. If only they can be interpreted... (more)

Mind Set!: Reset Your Thinking and See the Future

Mind Set!: Reset Your Thinking and See the Future

by John Naisbitt

In his seminal works Megatrends and Megatrends 2000 , John Naisbitt proved himself one of the most far-sighted and accurate observers of our fast-changing world. Mind Set! goes beyond that— Mind Set! discloses the secret of forecasting. John Naisbitt gives away the keys to the kingdom, opening the door to the insights that let him understand today's world and see the opportunities of tomorrow. He selects... (more)

Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative

Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative

by Ken Robinson

"This really is a remarkable book. It does for human resources what Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring did for the environment. It makes you wonder why we insist on sustaining an education system that is narrow, partial, entirely inappropriate for the 21st century and deeply destructive of human potential when human beings have so much latent creative ability to offer. A brilliant analysis." Wally Olins, Founder,... (more)

What We Believe But Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty

What We Believe But Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty

by John Brockman

More than one hundred of the world's leading thinkers write about things they believe in, despite the absence of concrete proof Scientific theory, more often than not, is born of bold assumption, disparate bits of unconnected evidence, and educated leaps of faith. Some of the most potent beliefs among brilliant minds are based on supposition alone -- yet that is enough to push those minds toward making the... (more)

The Road Ahead

by Bill Gates

What is the information highway? How will the new technology change our lives? The Road Ahead is Bill Gates' vision of the future. In it he describes how he thinks the revolution of the information age will change the way we buy, work, learn and communicate with each other. Bill Gates has built the Microsoft Corporation into one of the most successful companies in the world. His book is an optimistic look at how... (more)

Physics of the Impossible

A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

by Michio Kaku

A fascinating exploration of the science of the impossible—from death rays and force fields to invisibility cloaks—revealing to what extent such technologies might be achievable decades or millennia into the future. One hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. In Physics of the Impossible , the renowned physicist... (more)

Arcology: The City in the Image of Man

by Paolo Soleri

This edition contains all the text and illustrations found in the giant Arcology, photographically reduced somewhat to allow a lower price and enhanced handleability. "In the three-dimensional city, man defines a human ecology. In it he is a country dweller and metropolitan man in one. By it the inner and the outer are at 'skin' distance. He has made the city in his own image. Arcology: the city in the... (more)

The Valkyries

by Paulo Coelho, Alan Clarke

Travel into the searing heat of the desert, discover fabulous spiritual mysteries, and witness a fateful meeting with guardian angels in this thrilling adventure and international bestseller from the beloved author of The Alchemist.

The Long Tail

Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

by Chris Anderson

What happens when the bottlenecks that stand between supply and demand in our culture go away and everything becomes available to everyone? "The Long Tail" is a powerful new force in our economy: the rise of the niche. As the cost of reaching consumers drops dramatically, our markets are shifting from a one-size-fits-all model of mass appeal to one of unlimited variety for unique tastes. From supermarket... (more)

Brave New World Revisited (P.S.)

by Aldous Huxley

When the novel Brave New World first appeared in 1932, its shocking analysis of a scientific dictatorship seemed a projection into the remote future. Here, in one of the most important and fascinating books of his career, Aldous Huxley uses his tremendous knowledge of human relations to compare the modern-day world with his prophetic fantasy. He scrutinizes threats to humanity, such as overpopulation,... (more)

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

“<Taleb is> Wall Street’s principal dissident. . . . <Fooled By Randomness> is to conventional Wall Street wisdom approximately what Martin Luther’s ninety-nine theses were to the Catholic Church.” – Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker Finally in paperback, the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about the markets and the world.This book is about luck: more precisely how we... (more)

The Giver: Book 1

The Giver

by Lois Lowry, Maria Luisa Balseiro

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Oryx and Crake

by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the... (more)

Being Digital (Vintage)

by Nicholas Negroponte

In lively, mordantly witty prose, Negroponte decodes the mysteries--and debunks the hype--surrounding bandwidth, multimedia, virtual reality, and the Internet, and explains why such touted innovations as the fax and the CD-ROM are likely to go the way of the BetaMax. "Succinct and readable. . . . If you suffer from digital anxiety . . . here is a book that lays it all out for you."--Newsday.

Silent Spring

Our Ravaged Environment and the Man-Made Pollution

by Rachel Carson

First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. "Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . <It is> well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had not inspired a... (more)

A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women

A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women

by Connie Willis, S. Williams

From the archives of Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Asimov's Science Fiction magazines comes this thought-provoking anthology of stories by a group of acclaimed, bestselling female writers who have changed the nature of visionary fiction. These 10 classic stories, each featuring well-developed, strong, female characters, have garnered numerous literary awards and span every style and theme in speculative... (more)

Book of Ember: Book 1

The City of Ember

by Jeanne DuPrau

The End of Days: Armageddon and Prophesies of the Return

The End of Days: Armageddon and Prophesies of the Return

by Zecharia Sitchin

Why is it that our current twenty-first century a.d. is so similar to the twenty-first century B.C. ? At a time when religious fanaticism and a clash of civilizations raise the specter of a nuclear Armageddon, many ask: Is history destined to repeat itself? What does the future hold? Will biblical prophecies come true, and if so, when? Ever since Zecharia Sitchin, in his first trailblazing book The 12th... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: the future

A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

by Thomas L. Friedman

by Lois Lowry

by Jeanne DuPrau

by John Naisbitt

by Ken Robinson

by John Brockman

by Bill Gates

A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

by Michio Kaku

by Paolo Soleri

by Paulo Coelho, Alan Clarke

Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

by Chris Anderson

by Aldous Huxley

by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

by Lois Lowry, Maria Luisa Balseiro

by Margaret Atwood

by Nicholas Negroponte

Our Ravaged Environment and the Man-Made Pollution

by Rachel Carson

by Connie Willis, S. Williams

by Jeanne DuPrau

by Zecharia Sitchin