Washoe County Library System

"For those who could read between the lines, the censored news out of China was terrifying. But the president insisted there was nothing to worry about. Fortunately, we are still a nation of skeptics. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios. Michael Lewis's taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was...

Examines trends and scientific and technological research to speculate what a typical day will be like for a child living in the year 2030.

"“This book will change your sense of how grand the sweep of human history could be, where you fit into it, and how much you could do to change it for the better. It's as simple, and as ambitious, as that.” —Ezra Klein An Oxford philosopher makes the case for “longtermism” — that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority of our time. The fate of the world is in our hands. Humanity’s written history spans only...

"The master geopolitical forecaster and New York Times bestselling author of The Next 100 Years focuses on the United States, predicting how the 2020s will bring dramatic upheaval and reshaping of American government, foreign policy, economics, and culture"--

"Relevant images match informative text in this introduction to forecasts. Intended for students in kindergarten through third grade"--Provided by publisher.

Counsels business leaders on how to identify clues to recognize important imminent trends and market developments, demonstrating how near-future business events emerge gradually from the fringes of society.

Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes--good and bad--are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees argues that humanity's prospects depend on our taking...

“Googles algorithms assume the worlds future is nothing more than the next moment in a random process. George Gilder shows how deep this assumption goes, what motivates people to make it, and why its wrong: the future depends on human action.” Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies and author of Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future. “If you want to be clued in to the unfolding future, then you have come...

Travelling across all forty-nine sub-Saharan countries, author Alex Perry meets entrepreneurs and warlords, professors and cocaine smugglers, presidents and jahidists. From the drug ports of Guinea-Bissau and the genocide crypts of Rwanda to the remaking of Lagos, Africa's biggest city, and a homestay with Barack Obama's family in western Kenya, Perry finds communities changing quickly, deeply and unevenly - but ultimately breaking free. The culmination...