Future Shock, The Third Wave, Powershift.

• Author: Bennett, James C.
• Position: Review

TITLE: Future Shock, The Third Wave, Powershift

PUBLISHER: Bantam Books

PUBLICATION DATE: 1970, 1980, 1990, respectively

LENGTH: 561 pages, 537 pages, 611 pages, respectively

PAPERBACK PRICE: $7.99 U.S./$9.99 Canada

AVAILABLE FROM: Your local bookstore or www.bantam.com

Alvin Toffler is considered one of the world's best known social thinkers, and many critics believe that his ideas have significantly influenced contemporary thought. The books that comprise Toffler's trilogy are truly classics and should be required reading for all information and knowledge managers. Their central subject is change -- a constant concern for any manager. Future Shock looks at the process of change; The Third Wave explores the directions of change; and Powershift examines the control of changes still to come. The books may be read independently or as a set.

When it was written in 1970, Future Shock provided serious insight into the future; it still has relevance in 1999. "This is a book about what happens to people when they are overwhelmed by change. It is about the ways in which we adapt -- or fail to adapt -- to the future," explains Toffler.

The book is organized into six main parts: The Death of Permanence, Transience, Novelty, Diversity, The Limits of Adaptability, and Strategies for Survival. Of special interest to information managers might be such segments as The Technological Engine, Knowledge as Fuel, Information Overload, and Taming Technology. Many of Toffler's perceptions and concerns in this book have proved accurate.

The Third Wave is Toffler's perception of the information age. According to Toffler, "The first wave of change -- the agricultural revolution -- took thousands of years to play itself out. The second wave -- the rise of industrial civilization -- took a mere 300 years. Today history is even more accelerative, and it is likely that the third wave will sweep across history and complete itself in a few decades." Toffler adds that the "dawn of this new civilization is the single most explosive fact of our lifetimes."

Toffler organized this book into four major parts. Of special interest to information managers are such topics as The Paper Blizzard, the Organization of the Future, and A Destiny to Create...