10 books like Future Shock

By Alvin Toffler,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like Future Shock. Shepherd is a community of 8,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Range

By David Epstein,

Book cover of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

Angela Champ Author Of The Squiggly Line Career: How Changing Professions Can Advance a Career in Unexpected Ways

From the list on accelerating your career.

Who am I?

Although I’ve worked in many professions and industries, a common theme in all my jobs is that I love helping people succeed in their careers. I’ve started or sponsored employee networks that focused on professional development, I’m a certified coach that focuses on propelling a client’s career, and I am a conference keynote speaker on the topics of careers and leadership. Everyone deserves to have a great career that makes them want to jump out of bed on Monday morning and that provides a good living and lifestyle. I love to make that happen!

Angela's book list on accelerating your career

Discover why each book is one of Angela's favorite books.

Why did Angela love this book?

I love this book for its idea and evidence that generalists, and not specialists, are often the most successful.

With examples of how those who cross domains are the most impactful inventors, it gives great hope for those broad thinkers who explore diverse experiences and careers to develop skills. It’s validation for those who haven’t quite figured out what they want to be when they grow up, with the idea that “frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers.” 

A must-read for job seekers and for human resources professionals.

Range

By David Epstein,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Range as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Fascinating . . . If you're a generalist who has ever felt overshadowed by your specialist colleagues, this book is for you' - Bill Gates

The instant Sunday Times Top Ten and New York Times bestseller
Shortlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
A Financial Times Essential Reads

A powerful argument for how to succeed in any field: develop broad interests and skills while everyone around you is rushing to specialize.

From the '10,000 hours rule' to the power of Tiger parenting, we have been taught that success in any field requires early specialization and many…


Book cover of The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth

Tom Wheeler Author Of From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future

From the list on today’s roadmap to tomorrow.

Who am I?

I have been fortunate to have spent the last 40 years of my professional life dealing with new networks and new technology. From the early days of cable television and mobile communications to the development of digital video and the transmission of data over cable lines and satellite. It was a career topped off with the privilege of being the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with regulatory responsibly for approximately 1/6th of the American economy (on which the other 5/6s depended). 

Tom's book list on today’s roadmap to tomorrow

Discover why each book is one of Tom's favorite books.

Why did Tom love this book?

At a time when new technology has delivered us to a world of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, we have lost our shared understanding of just what facts and truth are.

Jonathan Rauch helps us recall the importance of facts and truth to the liberal democratic process. He challenges us to reinstate knowledge and truth. 

The Constitution of Knowledge

By Jonathan Rauch,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Constitution of Knowledge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Arming Americans to defend the truth from today's war on facts.

Disinformation. Trolling. Conspiracies. Social media pile-ons. Campus intolerance. On the surface, these recent additions to our daily vocabulary appear to have little in common. But together, they are driving an epistemic crisis: a multi-front challenge to America's ability to distinguish fact from fiction and elevate truth above falsehood.

In 2016 Russian trolls and bots nearly drowned the truth in a flood of fake news and conspiracy theories, and Donald Trump and his troll armies continued to do the same. Social media companies struggled to keep up with a flood…


Book cover of Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

Roger Highfield Author Of The Dance of Life: Symmetry, Cells and How We Become Human

From the list on what big data is and how it impacts us.

Who am I?

I’m the Science Director of the Science Museum Group, based at the Science Museum in London, and visiting professor at the Dunn School, University of Oxford, and Department of Chemistry, University College London. Every time I write a book I swear that it will be my last and yet I'm now working on my ninth, after earlier forays into the physics of Christmas and the love life of Albert Einstein. Working with Peter Coveney of UCL, we're exploring ideas about computation and complexity we tackled in our two earlier books, along with the revolutionary implications of creating digital twins of people from the colossal amount of patient data now flowing from labs worldwide.

Roger's book list on what big data is and how it impacts us

Discover why each book is one of Roger's favorite books.

Why did Roger love this book?

The more data the better? Not necessarily. Cathy O’Neil, an academic mathematician turned Wall Street quant turned data scientist, shows again and again how big data “threatens democracy." The ‘weapons of math destruction’ are models or algorithms that claim to quantify important human traits but can harm the poor, reinforce racism, and amplify inequality. Her glimpse of the dark side of big data shows how computers are only smart as the people who use them, the people who write their algorithms, the people who supply their data, and the people who curate all those data and algorithms. The old saw still holds true: garbage in, garbage out.

Weapons of Math Destruction

By Cathy O’Neil,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Weapons of Math Destruction as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A manual for the 21st-century citizen... accessible, refreshingly critical, relevant and urgent' - Financial Times

'Fascinating and deeply disturbing' - Yuval Noah Harari, Guardian Books of the Year

In this New York Times bestseller, Cathy O'Neil, one of the first champions of algorithmic accountability, sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life -- and threaten to rip apart our social fabric.

We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives - where we go to school, whether we get a loan, how much we pay for insurance - are being made…


The Demon-Haunted World

By Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan,

Book cover of The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

J.J. Dupuis Author Of Umboi Island

From the list on the mysterious through science and skepticism.

Who am I?

Since childhood, growing up in a family with spiritualist beliefs, I’ve been fascinated with mysterious phenomena. Once I became a little older, and my childhood love of zoos, museums, and dinosaurs became a broader love of science, I began to re-examine certain fantastic claims and beliefs with a skeptical lens. I became fascinated not only with the subject of certain beliefs, but the reason we as humans have these beliefs. The study of ghosts, monsters, or UFOs is really a study of the human condition and our belief systems. It’s the exploration of the human side that motivates the characters in my books and my continued interest in mysterious phenomena. 

J.J.'s book list on the mysterious through science and skepticism

Discover why each book is one of J.J.'s favorite books.

Why did J.J. love this book?

The Demon-Haunted World is really the bible of science-based skepticism, to use a somewhat ironic turn-of-phrase. It’s a text that helped form and shape the modern skeptic movement, reminding us that science isn’t some wet blanket thrown upon our fanciful beliefs, but a system that should bring us hope. The tone of the book is not as aggressive as Hitchens or Dawkins, but encourages skepticism and the embrace of the scientific method as only one of history’s premiere science communicators can. Through its exploration of science, pseudoscience, and the human struggle for knowledge, The Demon-Haunted World serves as a primer for anyone hoping to apply science and reason to a world that can seem mysterious and incomprehensible in its vastness. Personally, it has helped me distance myself from magical thinking and see the world more objectively.

The Demon-Haunted World

By Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Demon-Haunted World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A prescient warning of a future we now inhabit, where fake news stories and Internet conspiracy theories play to a disaffected American populace

“A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought.”—Los Angeles Times

How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the…


Atlas Shrugged

By Ayn Rand,

Book cover of Atlas Shrugged

Mark Burgess Author Of Slogans: The end of sympathy

From the list on a vision of a near future society in trouble.

Who am I?

I am a scientist and technologist, trained in theoretical quantum physics, who became an Emeritus Professor of Network Technology from Oslo’s metropolitan university. I’ve strenuously tried to communicate the wonder of science to students and industry throughout my career. I’m also a long-standing fan of science fiction who grew up with heroes in both fact and fiction. The idea of future society has haunted me my whole life. I’m an optimist, who looks to the darker tales as warnings of futures we hope to avoid. Read these tales with a determination for us all to do better.

Mark's book list on a vision of a near future society in trouble

Discover why each book is one of Mark's favorite books.

Why did Mark love this book?

This book was a forerunner and inspiration to the big society science fiction of the John Brunner era, and (like much of her writing) should properly be understood as an alternative reality science fiction, imitated by many writers including Brunner and Robert Silverberg.

Rand became a controversial figure because of the cult that grew up around her, promoting elitist ideas, and driven mainly by her husband. Yet Rand herself was a brilliant writer and thinker who wanted to be a philosopher. The writing is not only deeply intellectual, it was deeply character driven.

As a non-native English speaker, her writing style is rich and could be the envy of native writers. Perhaps too long, this book is nevertheless a must read for any science fiction fan. 

Atlas Shrugged

By Ayn Rand,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Atlas Shrugged as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Published in 1957, Atlas Shrugged was Ayn Rand's greatest achievement and last work of fiction. In this novel she dramatizes her unique philosophy through an intellectual mystery story that integrates ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, politics, economics, and sex. Set in a near-future U.S.A. whose economy is collapsing as a result of the mysterious disappearance of leading innovators and industrialists, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life-from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy...to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction...to the philosopher who becomes a pirate...to the woman who…


Book cover of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power

Mark Burgess Author Of Slogans: The end of sympathy

From the list on a vision of a near future society in trouble.

Who am I?

I am a scientist and technologist, trained in theoretical quantum physics, who became an Emeritus Professor of Network Technology from Oslo’s metropolitan university. I’ve strenuously tried to communicate the wonder of science to students and industry throughout my career. I’m also a long-standing fan of science fiction who grew up with heroes in both fact and fiction. The idea of future society has haunted me my whole life. I’m an optimist, who looks to the darker tales as warnings of futures we hope to avoid. Read these tales with a determination for us all to do better.

Mark's book list on a vision of a near future society in trouble

Discover why each book is one of Mark's favorite books.

Why did Mark love this book?

Surveillance capitalism is a social commentary about today.

The title refers to the Big Tech "social media" companies and how they use bug data to track and predict our thinking. They use this to predict out thinking and manipulate us into buying advertised products. This amazing piece of writing is reminiscent of the great social commentary of Alvin and Heidi Toffler.

There is no simple way to summarise it except to say that it is riveting first-class writing, on a subject that is surely close to all our hearts. Although this is a book very much about the present (as all science fiction is), we have to ask: is this the future of unsympathetic subliminal control that we’re heading for?

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

By Shoshana Zuboff,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Age of Surveillance Capitalism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE TOP 10 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Everyone needs to read this book as an act of digital self-defense.' -- Naomi Klein, Author of No Logo, the Shock Doctrine, This Changes Everything and No is Not Enough

The challenges to humanity posed by the digital future, the first detailed examination of the unprecedented form of power called "surveillance capitalism," and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control us.

The heady optimism of the Internet's early days is gone. Technologies that were meant to liberate us have deepened inequality and stoked divisions. Tech companies gather our information online and sell…


Tools and Weapons

By Brad Smith, Carol Ann Browne,

Book cover of Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age

Tom Wheeler Author Of From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future

From the list on today’s roadmap to tomorrow.

Who am I?

I have been fortunate to have spent the last 40 years of my professional life dealing with new networks and new technology. From the early days of cable television and mobile communications to the development of digital video and the transmission of data over cable lines and satellite. It was a career topped off with the privilege of being the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with regulatory responsibly for approximately 1/6th of the American economy (on which the other 5/6s depended). 

Tom's book list on today’s roadmap to tomorrow

Discover why each book is one of Tom's favorite books.

Why did Tom love this book?

Microsoft president Brad Smith’s thoughtful book is basically about responsibility in the digital age.

Smith takes an approach that is different from most corporate executive books in that he calls out the threats represented by digital technology his company is built on rather than trying to sugarcoat them.

Then he suggests responsible steps that everyone – individuals, public policy, and companies like his – should take to mitigate those threats.

Tools and Weapons

By Brad Smith, Carol Ann Browne,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Tools and Weapons as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times bestseller, now updated with new material on cyber attacks, digital sovereignty, and tech in a pandemic.

From Microsoft's president and one of the tech industry's broadest thinkers, a frank and thoughtful reckoning with how to balance enormous promise and existential risk as the digitization of everything accelerates.

"A colorful and insightful insiders' view of how technology is both empowering and threatening us. From privacy to cyberattacks, this timely book is a useful guide for how to navigate the digital future." -Walter Isaacson

Microsoft president Brad Smith operates by a simple core belief: When your technology changes…


Rare Breed

By Sunny Bonnell, Ashleigh Hansberger,

Book cover of Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different

Geoffrey Colon Author Of Disruptive Marketing: What Growth Hackers, Data Punks, and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us about Navigating the New Normal

From the list on disruptive marketers in the 21st century.

Who am I?

Ever since touching my first computer (the Apple IIC) in 1985, broadcasting a radio show in 1988, logging onto the world wide web in 1991, launching my first podcast in 2004 or producing the highly viewed YouTube show The Download in 2020 I've been interested in what Marshall McLuhan has dubbed, "The Medium is the Message." Not only how media and technology are used but how it intersects with humanity, education, entertainment, marketing and popular culture to drive word of mouth. To me, marketing isn't just about the technology or the quantified metrics but about how it shapes long lasting impressions on people and leads to sustained behavioral change.

Geoffrey's book list on disruptive marketers in the 21st century

Discover why each book is one of Geoffrey's favorite books.

Why did Geoffrey love this book?

If the Conceptual Age of marketing is here where imagination reigns supreme, will the same types of personalities in business from the Information Age be the ones to dominate? Nope. Authors Ashley and Sunny urge people to treat each one of our quirks as helpful virtues rather than harmful vices. Less logical and more emotional, things like fringe interests, strong personalities, and bold antics have their place in a creative and disruptive world. Applying your unique characteristics strategically could help you stand out, forge your path, and connect with others in ways that following rules just does not deliver. If you read this from the lens of a marketer, there are some great takeaways to apply to the personality of what brand it is you are trying to sell. Oh, and what profile am I of the 7 vices? A rebel of course.

Rare Breed

By Sunny Bonnell, Ashleigh Hansberger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rare Breed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An unconventional business book for the rebels and misfits--the Rare Breeds--who don't fit the traditional mold, offering an approach that's anything but business as usual.
What if your biggest weaknesses are actually your greatest strengths?

Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger, award-winning brand consultants and founders of Motto, bring their wisdom and insights to this radical "outside the box" business guide written specifically for the mavericks, oddballs, and visionaries they call Rare Breeds. While most advice guides encourage you to change your inherent characteristics to get the job, get the promotion, get the client, Bonnell and Hansberger identify a different approach:…


Here Comes Everybody

By Clay Shirky,

Book cover of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations

Geoffrey Colon Author Of Disruptive Marketing: What Growth Hackers, Data Punks, and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us about Navigating the New Normal

From the list on disruptive marketers in the 21st century.

Who am I?

Ever since touching my first computer (the Apple IIC) in 1985, broadcasting a radio show in 1988, logging onto the world wide web in 1991, launching my first podcast in 2004 or producing the highly viewed YouTube show The Download in 2020 I've been interested in what Marshall McLuhan has dubbed, "The Medium is the Message." Not only how media and technology are used but how it intersects with humanity, education, entertainment, marketing and popular culture to drive word of mouth. To me, marketing isn't just about the technology or the quantified metrics but about how it shapes long lasting impressions on people and leads to sustained behavioral change.

Geoffrey's book list on disruptive marketers in the 21st century

Discover why each book is one of Geoffrey's favorite books.

Why did Geoffrey love this book?

Shirky explained the fascination with how everyone becomes media long before TikTok was even a gleam in the eye of its founder Zhang Yiming. In this world that becomes louder, faster, and where attention is harder to come by we might think that it becomes every person for themselves. Not so. Communities become stronger and we enter the age of "We" rather than the age of "Me." A fascinating read on the power of organizations that don't rely on traditional organization hierarchies. If you want to know how good ideas spread in the 21st Century, this is a good book to read.

Here Comes Everybody

By Clay Shirky,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Here Comes Everybody as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“A fascinating survey of the digital age . . . An eye-opening paean to possibility.” —The Boston Globe

“Mr. Shirky writes cleanly and convincingly about the intersection of technological innovation and social change.” —New York Observer

An extraordinary exploration of how technology can empower social and political organizers

For the first time in history, the tools for cooperating on a global scale are not solely in the hands of governments or institutions. The spread of the internet and mobile phones are changing how people come together and get things done—and sparking a revolution that, as Clay Shirky shows, is changing…


Humankind

By Rutger Bregman, Erica Moore (translator), Elizabeth Manton (translator)

Book cover of Humankind: A Hopeful History

Linda Rising Ph.D. Author Of More Fearless Change: Strategies for Making Your Ideas Happen

From the list on talking to people who don’t agree with us.

Who am I?

I have been on this journey for decades. I have just celebrated my 81st birthday and I am still learning. What I have seen is that most problems are people problems. That’s hard for me as a technical person with a Ph.D. in computer science. I have learned a lot the hard way and books like these have helped me. The books that helped the most were Fearless Change and More Fearless Change, written with my good friend and writing partner, Mary Lynn Manns. They changed my life. I hope these books will change yours.

Linda's book list on talking to people who don’t agree with us

Discover why each book is one of Linda's favorite books.

Why did Linda love this book?

This wonderful book is the perfect ending to this list.

It is hopeful (as the title suggests) but it is also a good story about who we are as humans and what we believe about ourselves.

The big message is – we are basically good and care about others. I love that. It’s not just a feel-good text, it’s based on research, scientific evidence and a look at our history.

What we need right now to move forward in talking to our family, friends, colleagues, and fellow citizens – is hope. Enjoy!

Humankind

By Rutger Bregman, Erica Moore (translator), Elizabeth Manton (translator)

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Humankind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
A Guardian, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman and Daily Express Book of the Year

'Hugely, highly and happily recommended' Stephen Fry
'You should read Humankind. You'll learn a lot (I did) and you'll have good reason to feel better about the human race' Tim Harford
'Made me see humanity from a fresh perspective' Yuval Noah Harari

It's a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Dawkins, the roots of this belief have…


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