THIRD THURSDAY BOOK CLUB

The book club is open to all, and meets as usual on the third Thursday, July 17 at 7:30.
This month we are reading “The Meaning of the 21st Century” by James Martin. It is subtitled, “A Vital Blueprint For Ensuring Our Future.” It is an important book, persuasive, clear and readable—and a great book for discussion. Do we agree with his conclusions?

According to James Martin—known as “the guru of the Information Age”—humanity is at a crucial turning point. We are facing a profound transition, unique in human history; as a species, we are “traveling at breakneck speed into an era of extremes—extremes of wealth and poverty, extremes in technology, extremes in weapons, extremes of globalism.” If we succeed in finding ways to support massive gains in population combined with dizzying technological progress, we have a magnificent future ahead of us. If we fail, we may well be headed for a new Dark Age.

In this provocative and prophetic book, Martin argues that we can use our intelligence and technology to transform the world rather than destroy it. Drawing on decades of experience as one of the world’s most widely respected authorities on technology’s impact on our lives, Martin outlines specific, achievable solutions for solving a wide array of problems, from repairing ocean ecosystems to lowering the birthrate to coping with advances in nanotechnology. The result is a ringing—and readable—call to arms and a pragmatic blueprint for change.