American renaissance : our life at the turn of the 21st century /

If Cetron and Davies (coauthors of The Great Job Shakeout ) are correct, the U.S. by the year 2000 will see many dramatic changes: a large, prosperous, expanding middle class; decreased crime, possibly achieved through legalization of drugs; a 32-hour week, with nearly one-fourth of Americans working at home via computer hook-up to main offices. The authors predict a rebirth of grassroots activism, full-scale environmental clean-up, health insurance for all citizens, massive funding for education. Some of their prescriptions sound simplistic (e.g., ending homelessness by forgoing rent control, so that builders will glut the luxury housing market and thus be forced to turn their attention to the middle class and poor). In each of 22 areas--from the elderly to AIDS, religion and U.S.-Soviet relations--the authors extrapolate from current trends, adding a dash of optimism and creative thinking. First serial to Longevity and Omni; Fortune Book Club main selection. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Cetron and Davies see the future through a rose-colored crystal ball: This uncritical and unfailingly optimistic bundle of predictions covers politics (the GOP keeps the White House), science (computers get smaller), medicine (AIDS cured), the environment (cleaned up), business (high-tech jobs), and religion (``right-wing'' churches in, women in--the pulpit). Most assumptions are based either on a heartwarming faith in the ``American way'' (current problems in education will be straightened out because it is imperative that they be addressed), or on a scalding conservatism that runs through this book like an undertow (terrorists will not attack the U.S. Congress, because ``the liberal Democrats on the Hill may be the only force that prevents the extreme right wing from immediately destroying several troublesome countries in the Middle East''). Mostly a manifesto for wishful thinking, with little objective support for the forecasts, and on the hard questions, like the drug problem, they waffle. No seers here.Fortune Book Club.-- Mark L. Shelton, Columbus, Ohio (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A third intriguing round of rose-tinted crystal-ball gazing from Cetron, head of a consultancy called Forecasting, International and coauthor of Encounters With, the Future (1982) and The Future of American Business (1985). Here, Cetron teams with former Omni editor Davies, to offer a hopeful look at America ten years from now. The authors foresee a resurgent US, one ""which will have learned to cope with its troubles,"" boasting a vigorous economy, falling urban crime rates, and a healthier school system. Why the optimism? Primarily because of the increasing impact of technology--an impact that the authors detail in areas varying from caring for the elderly to coping with terrorism to fighting AIDS to enfolding minorities within our ever-more pluralistic society. It's technology combined with millennial spirit (""the end-of-the-century phenomenon"") that will revitalize the US (simultaneously, the authors predict, Japan will tumble from its lofty perch, victim of an aging populace and competition from the cheap labor markets of Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong). Along with technological wonders, the authors see a future bathed in moral fervor, with ethics part of the everyday school curriculum, a resurgence of religious faith, active repair of the environment, and a 32-hour workweek that allows people to focus on ""lifestyle,"" not ""workstyle."" Despite a few plugs for Cetron's firm, the authors are willing to take risks, including some that run counter to their generally conservative political bent: e.g., predicting and backhandedly calling for the legalization of drugs; on the other hand, they do foresee Sandinista terrorism within the US, and, in a burst of obfuscation, find the ""real cause"" of homelessness in ""the soaring price of apartments."" Fun to pore over, as predictions often are; but many may find that the authors' often superficial optimism flies in the face of history's bitter lessons. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.