change Books

Terribly boring, a sorry way to end such a promising series on environmental climate change. Again, Robinson focuses on the bureaucracy dealing with climate change which can be interesting, but the plot was tedious and drawn out. The lame side story of a secret government agency fixing the election via a Diebold like fixing is pointless. I have no doubt Diebold has done some nasty stuff, but I did not see the relevance of it in this book. This entire series dragged for me and this last book was such an utter disappointment, I really wanted to like it but it was not good.

In Sixty Days and Counting, Robinson closes his stupendous climate trilogy. In this series, Robinson gives us a fascinating look into very realistic scenarios of politics and science in a not too-far-away future. But what gives these books an added depth, I believe, is his wonder on human nature, on who we are, and why we are the way we are. One of the aspects that I most enjoyed in these books was his delving into evolutionary biology and sociobiology. That is, how to explain in a scientific way the way we are, based on the understanding that we are apes that evolved in the African savannas. We're apes with very special abilities, for sure, but apes in the end. Robinson goes further and connects ideas that have come from an evolutionary point of view with Tibetan Buddhism. I was surprised to see how close they are, how they've come to similar conclusions by way of very different methods. I believe that he was able to set out these two sets of complex ideas in an understandable format, and I'm very glad that he included these topics in the books. This is the reason that I give 40 Signs of Rain (and this trilogy) 4 points.
I could also add other high points of these books. First is Robinson's ability to create fascinating characters and go deep into their thinking and acting. By the end of this book, we know the characters as if they had been our friends all our lives. In his first book, Forty Signs of Rain, Robinson starts with several characters whose lives at first appear disconnected, but later on become more intertwined in a complex and interesting drama. On the second book, the author focuses more on Frank, a professor from UCSD who is at leave from the university and working at NSF. This character is rich, complex and realistic. The second book is the strongest of the three for me, with the most entertaining plot, and where he covers these philosophical ideas more deeply. In the third book my understanding is that he focuses more on change, and how what we believe to be permanent things turn out to be ephemeral.
I do have some criticisms! I think that the first book starts out too slow, and the third book looses steam at one point, and, for a while, it is hard to see where the author wants to go. But it is on this seemingly non-changing plot in 40 Days and Counting that suddenly everything is different by the end of the book.
In this climate trilogy you will find a realistic story of climate change, not a Hollywood story The Day After Tomorrow-like, where in a single day a cold front buries all North America in 1000 feet of ice. But in that realism relies, for me, the strength of this book. Robinson was able to create such a good story out of ordinary people in extraordinary times. And although this trilogy might have its slower parts, I highly recommend it.

Neatly wraps up the three-book series, but perhaps a bit too neatly. While the major issue -- the effects of global warming and efforts to mitigate it -- continues to be the most fascinating "what if" of the third book, and is convincingly dealt with (saying more would be a spoiler), the resolution of the human relationships in the book is a bit pat in some cases and some plot twists are of the "I wonder when he was going to throw that in" variety. Still, Kim Stanley Robinson is a fine writer with an eye for realistic detail, and the odd turn on that detail, and this book is worth reading for the thought-provoking aspects alone.

Bit of a dud. It got boring, not saying anything, and working towards fairytale endings.

Those of you who read the previous two books in this series will remember that, at the end of the previous book, Fifty Degrees Below, Senator Phil Chase was elected President of the United States. Chase was elected, thanks to the combined efforts of NSF scientist, Frank Vanderwal, his spook girlfriend, Caroline Barr, and a number of Frank's clandestine colleagues around the country -- all of whom joined forces to prevent the right-wingers, including Caroline's (ex?) husband, from yet again stealing the presidency for their own personal gain and evil ends (but the author never clarifies what exactly are the goals of these evil people, I guess he assumes we all are privy to this information, although I certainly am not).

By the time Chase is elected president, it is clear that the planet's climate is going to hell in a handbasket. Not only is the weather in Washington DC wildly unpredictable -- warm one day, freezing the next -- but there are other daily indications that things are not going well, such as widespread housing and food shortages, flooding, drought, loss of biodiversity and numerous other problems. However, there is some reason for optimism: scientists have at least managed to restart the Gulf Stream, for example.

Because Chase was elected President, his principle advisor, Charlie Quibler, must go to work full-time at the White House instead of spending his days yelling advice into his cell phone while running through the city's parks, chasing after his toddler son, Joe -- a proposition that Charlie hates. But he finally does give up his mister mom role by entrusting his precious younger child to the White House daycare staff, and works down the hall from the President himself, helping Chase make key appointments to his cabinet.

One of those choices was appointing NSF head, Diane, to the role of Presidential Science Advisor. Diane, of course, asks Frank and Anna Quibler to join her, but Anna refuses, wisely preferring to stay at the NSF. Frank is suffering from a brain injury that renders him indecisive, and further, he is also in love with Diane, so he accepts her invitation, although he'd rather return to his previous job in California.

The novel mostly focuses on Frank, once again, although why it does, I do not know -- so would it be trite of me to mention at this point that even though he is working at the White House, Frank is still officially homeless? Hello?? Has the author ever heard of Homeland Security? Okay, it's true that Frank often stays with the expat Khembalese on their estate in Maryland instead of in his van or in his treehouse in a downtown park in Washington DC, and that he rarely hangs out with his homeless friends anymore and only tracks escaped zoo animals when he has spare time, instead of every evening as he did in the second book when he was working at NSF. I should also point out that when Frank stays with the Khembalese, he is properly nourished too, instead of living on refuse retrieved from dumpsters throughout the greater Metro area.

Anyway, after this idiosyncratic beginning, the novel rapidly devolves into a silly 500-plus page cat-and-mouse political spy thriller where poor, indecisive Frank is stuck in the middle of two women (neither of them knows about the other, of course), unable to decide who he is really in love with; the powerful, articulate and intelligent Diane, or the nearly invisible and flighty, but occasionally sexually available Caroline? Of course, there is Caroline's (ex?) husband to consider, too. He's the man who gave Frank his little brain injury in the second book by smashing him in the face with a tire iron.

The book occasionally comes up for air from the contrived Frank-Diane-Caroline emotional menage a trois to examine other topics that were introduced in the two previous books, such as the effect that the Khembalese ah, "exorcism" had on Joe's personality. Basically, in the second book, the Khembalese perform a so-called "exorcism" ritual that transforms the toddler from a complete brat into a more affable kid. But his parents, Charlie and Anna, are troubled by this sudden docility, realizing that they prefer their little Joe to be banging innocent playmates on the head with steel dump trucks that are the size of footballs. So by the end of this book, poof, the Quiblers get their wish: the Khembalese undo their hocus-pocus and little Joe is once again happily terrorizing his parents, their friends and all the children within city blocks of where he is located.

Additionally, this book includes a brief but nonetheless unsatisfying glimpse at the so-called "ferals" and homeless people (mostly men, mostly mentally ill) whom Frank spent so much time with in book two, giving me the impression that these people were not very important to Frank (nor to the story, and definitely not to the author). Further, I was especially disappointed with the thoughtlessly casual way that the author dealt "the problem" of the homeless teenager, Chessman: the author hinted that Chessman might have an important role in the development of the story as early as the middle of the second book, since Frank repeatedly wondered about Chessman's mysterious disappearance from that point onwards. But Chessman's disappearance had nothing whatsoever to do with the story's development or resolution, making it appear that the author didn't know what to do with this particular character, which makes me wonder why Chessman was introduced into the story in the first place.

In addition to all those little quibbles, I have a few other things I'd like to mention: I thought that Frank's brain injury, which made him unable to think clearly and to make decisions, was an absolutely ridiculous plot device. Ditto for Frank's entire lifestyle as a homeless, tree-dwelling, dumpster-diving, frisbee-flicking, animal-tracking primate who happened to be employed as a scientist at NSF. I mean, really, this was such an overt insult to all those truly hard-working scientists out there who actually do work at NSF or elsewhere!

I also thought the "exorcism" (and its subsequent reversal) of Joe Quibler by the Khembalese was beyond stupid: It was an overt insult to the author's main characters, most of whom were scientists -- people who are steeped in rationality and logic, who are not about to believe in that sort of mumbo-jumbo. He thoughtlessly betrayed so many of his characters, beginning with the cooly rational Anna Quibler, with this truly ridiculous and dead-end story line.

Further, I was astonished at the audacity and lack of ethics displayed by the scientists who released an untested, genetically-engineered lichen that would supposedly reverse global warming by absorbing carbon [yes, there was a wee bit of science in this book, although you did have to look hard to find it]. And finally, I admit that I laughed out loud when the author suggested that nearly all (or was it all?) of the US military's funds be shifted to ecological programs -- puhleeze. I thought the author was writing a "hyper-realistic science-fiction novel" not a comic fantasy.

Okay, this is my last complaint: I didn't like ANY of the characters. After spending 1500 pages with all of the characters in this story, I ended up wanting to slap every one of them for various reasons, starting with Frank, because they were so annoying, so stupid, so out-of-character! Well, except for Diane and Phil Chase, but we, the readers, never get to know either of them because the author is too busy regaling us with yawn-inspiring anecdotes about how women look sexy when throwing softballs or rock-climbing or kayaking up dangerous waterfalls.

Oddly, after taking more than one thousand pages to develop the story, the author casually wraps up most of his plotline's wacky loose ends in only a few pages (three or four, to be exact), none of which are even remotely interesting or logical. In short, Sixty Days doesn't end with a bang, as I had expected, instead, it ends with a barely audible whimper, accompanied by a stinky sulfurous cloud as it quietly slides past the author's sphincter muscles and out of his bowels and onto thousands of dead trees that these stupid books were printed on.

c the world as a place of love, happiness, and peace. use positive energy to break down negative energy surround yourself only w/ people who r going to lift you higher. THere is something good in all seeming failures. You are not to see now. time will reveal it. be patient. when we do good in the world, we come to happiness. we r here to awaken from the illusion of separateness. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. You have to take it. Support what supports you back. "after feeling and seeing what is good accept it and live it.

The book Do You was received as promised. Delivery time unfortunately, I cannot state if it was timely or not. I went out of town as soon as I placed my order. My books and a host of mail awaited my arrival back home. Thank you for good service- again! The books nature is to stimulate you to take action, to be a doer and not procrastinate. Step out of the box and take a leap of faith..

After reading just a few pages I had already begun to plan how I could change my thinking, thus change my life for the better. What stood out the most in the book was how the title, DO YOU, although simple is a quite powerful truth...

The book made me realize that I have, over time, lost sight of many of the simple truths that make me who I am.

After reading the laws I began making changes that helped me to be more true to myself.

My favorite thing about the book was how he used real life examples of how people who are successful now got their start by being humble servants. That has always been my belief so it was nice to hear real life success stories.


Monica Marie Jones
Author
www.monicamariejones.com
www.myspace.com/flossthenovel
www.lulu.com/monicamjones

The Ups and Downs of Being Round
FLOSS* (1)
Taste My Soul

THESE ARE THINGS THAT THEY DO NOT TEACH IN COLLEGE. THAT IS PROBABLY WHY MOST OF THE MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES OUT THERE DID NOT FINNISH OR DID NOT GO TO COLLEGE. I AM NOT PUTTING ACADEMIC EDUCATION DOWN BUT JUST REALIZING REALITY!
THE ADVICE IN THIS BOOK IS HARDCORE. I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT RUSSEL SIMMONS BUT NOW I AM AN ADMIRER. HE AND THE PEOPLE HE WORKED WITH AND PROMOTED ARE AMAZING. IN A SOCIETY THAT CONTINUES TO PUSH THE AFRO AMERICAN ASIDE, EVEN THOUGH WE CONTRIBUTED MORE THAN ANYONE, WE HAVE ALWAYS SEEMED TO ACHIEVE AGAINST ALL ODDS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE RUSSELL SIMMONS!!!!!!!

Wow! This book is all about feeling good inside. I am 50 years old and already make a very high income from my day job and play jazz at night. I know almost nothing about Hip Hop, am white and grew up in the suburbs. I had never even heard of Russell Simmons. I was not sure if this book would touch me in the right way because I assumed it was "exclusively" for the young, urban,hip hop crowd. I bought the book on CDs based on all the great reviews and am blown away by it. It is written in a way that is so inspiring because of the honesty. He talks to you like your hanging out with him instead of in a lecture hall. He fills you with a calming spiritual feeling with his totally inclusive and spiritual nature. It's contagious. He totally cares. On top of all that, he has done it all himself from bottom to top. I can't imagine a better role model to learn from.

You will not be able to read this book and not be changed in some way. I cried as Katherine's 'perfect world' crumbled around her in one crisis after another. Then I wanted to shake her till her teeth rattled. Cried some more, wanted to shake or slap a few other people, while rooting for the four key people involved. Katherine, her husband, Brad, and their two daughters, Hayley and Emma. And one other person I wanted to rip off her face. But I won't go there.

Many of us, as Christians, or what we believe ourselves to be, know how to walk the walk and talk the talk. But how deep does it go? How will our faith hold out? Will it sustain? What about trusting? We're GOOD Christians, right? So why do bad things happen to good people?

Katherine wants to know, too, Why doesn't God just make everything go away and put things back the way they were? It's a long, painful, lonely and torturous path she follows to find the answers. By herself and for herself.

Funny thing, when I finished this book somewhere around 2:30 in the morning, I was smiling. I felt good! Because what Katherine learned helped me, too. Strengthened my faith and trust in The Only One Who has all the answers. The Only One Who can help us find our way. All we have to do is listen, then follow, trusting.

Brava, Robin Lee Hatcher. This is one book I'm keeping!

The Chase (Jill Lewis Mystery Trilogy #1)The Candidate (Jill Lewis Mystery Trilogy #3)The Replacement (Jill Lewis Mystery Trilogy #2)

Robin Lee Hatcher is a crafter of unique stories. Her characters in this one are multi layered and well developed. Everyone has problems, challenges...we can see a bit of ourselved in these characters. The storyline is interesting and relatable. I have been a fan of Ms. Hatcher for a while now and will be for a long time.

The Perfect Life is a drama involving a woman's crash into the reality of the fallen world. Even more difficult is the fact that she faces the brutal truth that Christianity is not a promise of the sweet life. Her struggle to survive, accept and overcome her rude awakening, winds through the novel and is told through both first person and supporting third-person characters.

The drama unfolds a lot like the story of Job with much inner soul-searching and lamenting on the part of Katherine.

Those who avoid novels with a lot of introspection may struggle with the slower moving format of a woman devastated and her plunge into self-preservation.

However, sticking with the story and following the heart-breaking progress from broken dreams to hope is very much worth the trip.

The Perfect Life

I hated this book. I also really liked it and realize the reasons that I hated it were the reasons why a story like this is so important to read. If you have read any of my reviews before you have heard me say that this kind of Christian fiction is not my cup of tea. I'll take it in, but I don't have to like it. Reading this book, I remembered how I felt when I listened to A Slender Threaduthor"> Tracie Peterson by Tracie Peterson. It's close to real life and life hurts sometimes, most of the time. First off my problems with this book, then my likes... The first thirty chapters are a complete depression and drag. I started this book last night, read a little during the day, and finished it tonight. The entire day, I was depressed. Nothing was right, everything was wrong. No particular reason it just was. Katherine faces things that she had never really let herself think through fully before and is ill-equipt to deal with them and basically her body just shuts down. I know how that is, and I don't like it. Lastly, after going downhill further and further for thirty some odd chapters, Katherine finally seeks counsel with God to talk things through. Then before you know it the book is over and that's that things are finished before you have time to process anything and like or hate the outcome. But as I said... I also liked the book. This is my first Robin Lee Hatcher book experience and she is a fabulous author. The way that she brings you in and out of different characters' heads throughout the entire story is creative and works wonders with comprehension and empathy. When Katherine starts to really delve within herself to figure out what she is fighting and faces a harsh reality it is of things that she does not want, but needs to know and acknowledge. I think that these things can really open the door to healing when need-be. Hatcher touches on a topic that many people wouldn't touch because it is too difficult and hurts too much.

This book did put me in a funk because it is painful, but that also goes to show how well Hatcher wrote. She was able to make you understand her characters and bring them to life in you. I do not think that in one weekend everything can be hunky-dorey again, but I do think that a door to healing can be opened if you let it. I would really say that this book is something that someone should read if they are hurting and doubting God's trust, existence, or having human trust issues. But this book should be read with the warning that I was given before I first read the scriptural book of Job. You have to read the whole thing. If you read parts of it, you might like it, you might benefit, but probably will only become angry. If you read the whole thing, you will learn things about yourself that you didn't want to know nor see, but you will be a hugely better person because of it and will sincerely benefit.

The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher is the story of Katherine Clarkson and her storybook life. Her husband Brad, who runs a charitable organization, is the perfect husband. Both of her adult daughters are pregnant, and the world is full of hope for this Bible-reading church-going woman. Until a former employee of Brad's accuses him of mismanaging the company's money AND having an affair with her. Katherine's world quickly collapses around her as she tries to both face and shut out the accusations against him. Her faith isn't as strong as she thought it was, not in God or her husband.Hatcher always writes books with powerfully sympathetic characters, and Katherine is no exception. Even as she shuts out her family, you can't help but grieve at the loss of the life she thought she had. Many Christians stumble in their faith when it comes to facing real crisis; I know I still do. And this book is a great reminder about why we need to trust and lean only on God, because everyone else is ultimately human. The resolution is true to life and not tied up in a neat bow as many books try to do. Life has rough edges, and Hatcher isn't afraid to use them to show the glory of love of God.

Ever been in a tall building that has an express elevator? No need to go through all the stops on all the intervening floors...just, ZAP! and you are at the top. In the penthouse suite. That's what this book does for my mind -- gets me full speed to my best, most creative thinking. Freedom.

As a business and life coach, I have been using Steve Chandler's books for several years now and see them impact clients in major ways -- and quickly. What's great about this book is Chandler writes like he talks: clearly, succinctly, and with great humor. He makes change not only possible but FUN. His books make my professional work a whole lot easier.

This is his best yet. Why? Because it addresses, challenges, and shows us how to eradicate the single greatest problem that underpins all the others--Fear.

It's not about prevailing in the face of fear. Or about learning to live with fear and doing it anyway. It's about living without fear. Nada. Take it off the menu. A fearless life. Imagine that.

If you buy one book this year, make it this one.

I just finished reading Fearless by Steve Chandler. The book is written in a highly accessible style, with chapters that are brief but packed with wisdom. I think it is Steve Chandler's best work to date, a book that helped me in some very personal ways.

If you'll open yourself up to the ideas the book presents, you'll find yourself seriously questioning why you don't do the things that you've always wanted to do, why you walk around judging everything to be "good" or "bad," and why you let fear govern so much of your thinking.

This book gave me a very big boost of intellectual and emotional energy. I read it over the course of a week and each day I found myself more energized, less judgmental of the people I live and work with, and more confident in my ability to move into the next phase of my career.

This is a quick read, but you should read it twice or three times so that you give the ideas a chance to change the way you think about the fears that hold you back in life.

As a coach I am dedicated to helping my clients find resources to move them forward. I am also always reading to fuel my own personal development. Two days ago I came across a book that I just can't put down and want everyone to know about.

"Fearless: Creating the Courage to Change the Things You Can," by Steve Chandler, addresses the one thing, truly the one thing, that is holding you or me back from success...FEAR! This book is remarkable, written in short chapters, and one that you will want to read over and over once you realize that it was written for you.

Buy this book, read it, and you will realize that you have the ability to change the way you think about anything in your life. And then, get up and take action!

A perception, a word, an idea, can change fear to courage. Steve Chandler clearly points the way for the reader to make this transition, this transformation in his book "Fearless: Creating the Courage to Change the Things You Can."

The book's short chapters are filled with illustrations, keys, hints, and instructions that left me as a reader with many "aha" moments. I found myself reading a few pages, assimilating them, reading them again to digest the potent powerful keys to replace fear with courage, reacting to creating, and the fear of insecurity to excitement.

Chandler has a gift for telling and choosing stories that illustrate stepping out in courage to serve others. I found the book "unputdownable" as I read of a 93 year old newly widowed author writing his memoirs and a publisher who couldn't put the book down. I went right on to the next story of compassion and community which brought a missing daughter home to her father.

Steve points out that, "Being bold and focused is what creates energy." This means I must make a fearless decision to do exactly what I want to do. An important principle I am trying to incorporate in my life is a revamping of my appointment calendar to include exercise, meditation, and planning, actually scheduling a time for my own personal creativity. I am looking forward to discovering and cultivating the power of solitude.

I have read five of Steve's books previously but always find a fresh newness in his writing, indicting that he is experiencing the personal growth he speaks of in his books. This integrity is important to me as a reader. Steve has earned a high ranking spot on my list of favorite authors.

I enjoyed reading the book, which was required for my college course. I learned about the numerous futuring techniques avaiable to help one anticipate future events. I have a much better appreciation of the world around be as a result.

Sponsored by the World Future Society, this book brings into one volume dozens of the world's "experts" in many areas of life and science and religion and technology and government to project their visions and scenarios of the next 25 years. I find their opinions hopeful, and, although very "man can do anything" in outlook, encouraging. We can create a better future than previous generations could dream of. "While it would be pleasant to envision a world free from the pressure of material want, a more realistic projection, based on the evidence, is of a world in which generation after generation thinks it needs only another 10 to 20 percent more income to be perfectly happy."--page 32.
My future will be great! Because I am grateful for the past.
Jon

First, I want to say that the topic of "futures" is not for all people. One must want to be able to think beyond and use available tools in the area of forecasting. Cornish's Futuring - The Exploration of the Future is one of those tools. Cornish truly has written a book that assists the Future's reader in forecasting the future via exposing risk and the effects of that risk on one's managing or potential management of either their own life's future or that of their respective organization..
Second, Cornish's Futuring - The Exploration of the Future is written in an understandable format that could draw unsuspecting readers in to future forecasting by providing the foundation for folks to remove their inhibitions about controlling their future.
This book is more than just about scenarios, offering a convincing and comprehensive understanding of how scenarios can and should be used as a form of strategic management.
Along the way, the reader is treated to clear and helpful explanations of such things as "the history of futures explorers" (ch. 1), "the great transformations" caused by change (ch. 2), "the six supertrends shaping the future" (ch. 3), and "various futures methods of change" (ch. 6), among others.
Overall, methodologies such as scenarios are examined and understood by Cornish (the founder of the World Future Society and the editor of its "flagship" publication the Futurist Magazine), are useful tools. They are foremost forecasting tools which are best used by both organizations, as well as the solitary planner at their workbench.
If you want to understand how the future can be more accurately perceived (though not predicted) then this is a worthy addition to the library of any management strategist or student of the future.

If you're new to the study of the future and want to find out why it's important, what methodologies it uses, and how it's applied in the real world, this book is an excellent place to start, and it includes an extensive bibliography for further study. If you've already done a lot of reading on futurism, much of this will be familiar, but it will still provide good background and historical perspective.
The early part of the book, particularly chapters 2 and 3, is reminiscent of the writings of Alvin & Heidi Toffler, discussing the history of technological revolutions and outlining six "supertrends" that will shape the future. The book takes on its own unique trajectory starting in chapter 4, which addresses trends, cycles, patterns, and the tension between stability and change. Methodologies are outlined in chapters 6 through 8, including expert polling (such as the Delphi process), gaming, modeling & simulation, "visioning," scenarios, and their variants. I was hoping for a bit more depth in this part of the book, but at least it gives a first look at the nuts-and-bolts of futuring. Other sources are available to supplement this.
I found chapters 11 through 14 to be an interesting trip through the futurist movement of the past century, highlighting key individuals, organizations, and their effect on societies in different parts of the world. Chapters 15 and 16 end the book on a more philosophical note, arguing that our duty to coming generations requires us to actively cultivate our futuring skills.
The most important points that I came away with:
1) It's a mistake to simply resign oneself to whatever comes and view futurism as little more than science fiction. To do so is to forego the opportunity to shape the future.
2) Futuring is not about predicting specific events or future conditions - it's a way of framing an array of probable futures to help reach those that are desirable and be prepared for those that are not.
3) A multidisciplinary approach is essential. Complex interactions between various technologies, economic developments, geopolitical conditions, etc., must be taken into account to the extent possible.
In my job, I do a lot of research and writing that could be construed as futurist work. Customers typically have no problems with the first two points above, but the third one is a hard sell. People want to know what's likely to happen in their technology, their market, their area of operations, but often care little for other seemingly irrelevant activities. That's like driving a car with dim headlights, no mirrors, and no vision out the sides of the vehicle. Cornish's book is like a driver's education course that addresses those deficiencies.

Time's arrow points ever forward, the past irrevocably gone, the future only a guess. We temporal beings spend many of our present moments in thought about the future - predicting, planning, worrying. But few plans survive contact with reality. Is time spent thinking about the future time wasted? Should we just live for the present and let the future take care of itself?

Edward Cornish of the World Future Society makes a forceful case for future-oriented thinking, or "futuring", in this interesting book. More than predicting the future, his argument is that by thinking about it and planning for it, we gain power to change the future and make our dreams real.

The book covers a broad swath: prediction techniques and idea mapping, classification of trends and 'supertrends', the recent increase in the rate of change, and people's desires for stability. Cornish suggests areas where the techniques of the book may be helpful in the personal realm, as well as on the large scale. Perhaps the most inspiring chapter is historical - a discussion of the significant changes of the 20th century.

The past 100 years saw vastly more technological progress than any before. But the supreme optimism and belief in progress at the beginning of the century was transformed through wars, nuclear terror, and environmental degradation into strong doubts about progress, and the prevalence of much more pessimistic views about the future. Cornish makes a strong case that success, both individually and as a society, depends on having a positive vision of the future and striving to make it happen.

The book does not try to make its own predictions, rather showing how they are made and can be used. Some of Cornish's specific examples seem not as well thought out as one might expect - for example he lumps energy resources and the environment together in a degradation "supertrend", when they really need to be treated quite distinctly.

A long bibliography section gives brief summaries of well over a hundred books on the subject, only a few of which I had heard of before. An updated list and much more can be found on the World Future Society website at [...].

The Hollow Hope is written for the serious Court-watcher. It uses empirical data to deflate the notion that the Supreme Court influences significant social reform. However, it is written very clearly so even the novice who is serious about learning about judicial behavior and its impact on society can follow the arguments. Its first edition concentrated on Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Roe v. Wade (1973)and related women's movement issues. It's second edition includes chapters on Goodridge v. Dept of Public Health (2003), wherein Massachusetts Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, and related equality cases involving same-sex couples. This updated work does not change the overall deflating thesis of the Hollow Hope. However, the second edition was published before the recent California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. A key counter-factual to the Hollow Hope is that public opinion in California favoring same-sex marriage changed after the Supreme Court ruling, not before. However, as with all empirical data, this correlation and time sequence does not prove that the Court actually moved public opinion; it may have reflected an opinion trend already underway. Moreover, since Californians still have an opportunity in Novemnber 2008 to reverse their Supreme Court with a state constitutional amendment, the thesis of the Hollow Hope may once again be proven true. Nonetheless, my bet is that the California context will emerge as the counter-factual to the thesis of the Hollow Hope.

I hadn't read Rebecca Woolf's blog before I read this book. I immediately sought out more, more after wiping the tears from my eyes. Rebecca's eloquence inspires me so much. I haven't been this turned inside out by a memoir since Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions.

Girl's Gone Child, written by Rebecca Woolf, was one of the first blogs I ever read on a regular basis.

In some ways -- OK, LOTS of ways -- my life couldn't be more different than Rebecca's, but I connected with her writing instantly. It didn't matter that she was a 20-something and I was a 40-something. It didn't matter that she had been a "wild child" and I never was (though I always wanted to be!). Her stories about her motherhood and life experiences resonated with something in me -- she touched a place in me that was strong yet hesitant, opinionated yet ambivalent, a mother struggling to still be myself.

All that and more comes through in her memoir, Rockabye: From Wild to Child. While Rockabye is partly a story about her journey to and through unexpected motherhood in her early 20's, it's also a tale about how surviving her childhood shaped her as a woman and mother.

Nobody has an easy time in middle school or high school (unless you were the perky cheerleader with the perfect body). But Rebecca digs deep into her youth in an honest and compelling way that, for better or worse, pushed me to think hard about how my own school experiences and related trauma, more in the distant past than hers, still inform my life and my motherhood today.

Rebecca's writing is honest and raw in a way that makes you appreciate the honesty and openness she brings to her story, but also niggles the reader's brain to go a little deeper about who we are as people and parents, and why we are that way.

As Rebecca grappled with her decision about what choice to make about her unplanned pregnancy, she had an inner conversation with herself while waiting for her first doctor's appointment. That bold internal dialogue led to this truth:

You will never regret a decision you make with your heart.

When I read that, I started crying. Not because I was upset, because I knew she was so right. I struggle with life decisions all the time. I can't help it, I'm a Libra. But her words reminded me that if I can focus on making my decisions, big and small, with my heart -- as Rebecca does and shows us how to do in Rockabye -- I'll be OK.

I have to confess, I did get a few sneak peeks at some of the Rockabye chapters. I was lucky enough to be in Rebecca's online writing group for a while (I was not the most active or productive member, but she welcomed me anyway).

Rockabye is a journey of powerful self-discovery as she makes her way through becoming a mother to her son Archer (who is one of the cutest little boys on the planet, BTW). So when you're tempted to worry about whether you should look at yet another parenting magazine for motherhood advice, take a little advice from the pages of Rockabye, and look to your inner self.

Reading her book gave me another thing -- the good swift kick in the pants to write more about my own mothering experiences. Sure, there are a lot of stories out there, but all our experiences are unique and more of us should write about them and, as Rebecca reminds us, to embrace them, even on those days when we think we won't survive until our children's bedtimes.

Rebecca, thanks for taking me on this journey. You'll never know how much your book meant to me.

I read this book in one sitting, and my only complaint is that it wasn't longer! I stumbled across Rebecca's blog a few months ago - I'm hooked! Wonderful style and heart! She is very honest with the changes in her life and emotional world. Loved it!

I have been reading the authors blog for a few years now. I was very excited to finally read her book. It was a real journey. You are taken to highs and lows and lots of laughs along the way. I read this book in a matter of hours. I highly recommend this book. Especially to newer moms. She tells it like it is.

Awesome, great fast read that is very easy to relate to. The truthful heart warming tale of a new mother and her choices and battles.

Do yourself a "kindness" and read this book. I really enjoyed the CD which has three or four meditations that you can make a daily practice, without having to depend on the CD every time you want to meditate. I liked this book so much I gave it away! But, that is what you do with kindness, pass it on. If you like Sharon, please read her book, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. May you be happy and peaceful.

This is a book that will shine a light in the darkness. Salzberg has a wonderous gift in her ability to remind us of our own beauty. I find myself re-reading these pages often when I need to remember my own, and when I need to remember to have compassion for myself and others. Her words easily flow from the pages directly to my heart.

"Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth,
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.

~Naomi Shihab Nye

Sharon Salzberg presents kindness in a book about life lived with love and a CD to introduce kindness meditations. Through her work, you can learn how to bring more compassion into the world. She presents her ideas in six chapters:

Compassion in Action
Kindness Toward Ourselves
Overcoming Cruelty
How We See the World
Ethics and Kindness
The Intention of Kindness

Sharon Salzberg teaches us how to see the good inside us and to reflect on things we have done in the world that are positive and nurturing. She recommends spending 15-20 minutes a day on doing something to be kind to yourself. You can also repeat phrases like "May I live in safety," and "May I have mental happiness." She also shows how a natural sense of morality can be born from a sense of empathy and in understanding that hurting others will cause your own suffering.

How can we feel liberating joy?
What is an enlightened being?
Can you dedicate your life to kindness?
How can you become a bodhisattva?

While we all seem to move from unhappiness to happiness on a daily basis or a minute-by-minute cycle of life's ever changing circumstances, this book helps to bring us back to a more centered existence. Sharon Salzberg's teachings encourage you to live with an open heart and be a place of calm in the midst of the world's storms.

"Kindness is the foundation of unselfconscious generosity, natural inclusivity, and an unfeigned integrity. When we are devoted to the development of kindness, it becomes our ready response..." ~Sharon Salzberg

~The Rebecca Review