About book Collapse Of Western Civilization: A View From The Future (2014)
Eh, OK, I guess... didn't live up to the hype, in my opinion. The message is very important... but the presentation was lacking. The premise is an important one and the idea was worth pursuing, but it's really about the length of a New Yorker article padded out to 80 pages with a wholly unnecessary glossary (could have easily footnoted these) and a bit of a self-congratulatory interview with the authors that takes up a full third of the meager 80 page book. I feel as though they could have written a decent book, had they taken the time, instead this is just kind of a long pamphlet. Hence, my disappointment. This style of future history based on extrapolation from the present to the future is a rare type of speculative literature, but has been done amazingly well by the author of "Last and First Men" and "Star-maker" ... so, if you aren't satisfied with this very thin polemic on the very worthy subject of the complex of free markets and climate change... but really want to see what a true master can do with this sort of speculative form, then it's time for you to pick up some Olaf Stapledon. Contrary to what the review I read stated, this short novel didn't inject much drama or urgency into a discussion of the likely near-term harms of global climate change. It's probably a consequence of the narrative structure (the piece is billed as a review article written by a scholar from the Second People's Republic of China in the 24th century), but this story somehow made the deaths of billions completely drab.
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"Knowledge does not always translate into power"
—Tobie
I wanted more from this: more book less essay.
—MMgibbons
The writing is weak but the message is solid.
—ejames12
