This book clearly deserves more than five stars for its power and effectiveness in identifying, explaining, and projecting many important trends in American society over the last 18 years.

I first read this book when it was published in 1982, and decided to reread it recently to understand more about the methods used by testing them with 20-20 hindsight.

The book built from the principle that the "most reliable way to anticipate the future is by understanding the present." Although the book relies a lot on that method (by examining current beginnings that could turn into mighty rivers), its real power comes from the long-term perspective of how an information society will be different from the prior industrial one.

The trends identified were:

(1) Becoming an information society after having been an industrial one

(2) From technology being forced into use, to technology being pulled into use where it is appealing to people

(3) From a predominantly national economy to one in the global marketplace

(4) From short term to long term perspectives

(5) From centralization to decentralization

(6) From getting help through institutions like government to self-help

(7) From representative to participative democracy

(8) From hierarchies to networking

(9) From a northeastern bias to a southwestern one

(10) From seeing things as "either/or" to having more choices.

The detail behind each of the trends is often more rewarding than the overall trend itself. You get specific examples that excite your imagination. "On the producer side [of multiple choices], it means there can be a market for just about anything."

Even if you read this book back in the 1980s, I suggest that you take another look at it now to reinforce your understanding of the fundamental trends that will continue to be important for decades to come. That's because "we are living in the time of parenthesis, the time between eras." "We are clinging to the known past in fear of the unknown future." "The computer will smash the pyramid [at the center of how everything is organized]."

After you have finished considering or reconsidering this book, I suggest that you think about where your life may be out of alignment with these trends. Do you live where job growth and quality of life will be best? Are you taking advantage of your potential as an individual?

Let irresistible trends ease your breakthrough gains!

Are you a conscious consumer? Or do you passively accept every technology trend that comes your way, believing the promises you hope it delivers? This book covers several areas on how we are rapidly moving ahead with technology without much thought to the consequences it has on our humanity- whether it is violence on screens, quick health "solutions", or stressed out lifestyles with a half dozen different contact numbers.

After reading this book, I don't think I will ever be able to look at the media and technology the same ever again. While I think a few of the issues were oversimplified, this book was also well researched and most importantly- it makes you think. Whether you agree with some of the main points or not, you will be thinking about this book long after you have finished digesting it. Think of it as a bit of balance to your ideas, to counteract with all of those commercials you've been reading and hearing your whole life.

John Naisbitt is very high touch in person. When he told me his next book would be about high tech, high touch--the most popular and shortest chapter in Megatrends--I was hoping for examples of how to achieve that balance. Alas I was mistaken. I came away from the read very sensitized to the encroachment of the technologically intoxicated zone. I chuckled at realizing our two biggest markets are consumer technology and escape from consumer technology. These are valuable lessons and well documented. There are a few personable moments in the book that point towards turning off the TV. But the reader needs to look elsewhere and inward for the antidote.

Megatrends author John Naisbitt's new book (co-written by daughter Nana Naisbitt and artist Douglas Philips) is a fat book of ideas that touches upon genetics, art, media violence, time sensibilities and even South Park. Unlike most futurists, the authors make judgment calls about future timelines and inclinations. However, they agree with other futurists that full immersion virtual reality is coming, although they add that it's probably not a good thing, especially for your kids. Their compelling discussion of the genetic revolution is wide-ranging and fair-handed. Their interesting take on media violence and video games seems more controversial, evidencing a distaste that echoes the genre's most hostile opponents. Their view of modern art, which touts body part art (i.e. Piss Christ and sliced cows) but ignores the computer-driven fruition of amateur filmmaking, also seems odd. You may find yourself arguing and fighting with this very stylish, well-written book, but we [...] promise you won't be bored.

The basic theme of this book reinforces my long-held belief that the next killer app in computing will be some new way to visually display relationships between information. A new discipline is also going to spring up and those good at it will be in great demand. That new area of study will be a knowledge distiller, someone expert in taking the enormous amount of information about a topic and reducing it down to a base form. We see the initial steps in this trend with the extraordinary success of the ". . For Dummies" series of books. Their appeal is based on the basic formula of making things as simple as possible but no simpler.
As Wurman points out, while there is an information explosion, the real problem is a malinformation (my term) explosion. In other words, information that does not inform. This is not just a reference to that which is inaccurate, but information that is correct but so malformed or obscure to be misleading. He also argues that a critical rethinking needs to be done concerning how we learn. The premise is that the rewards for asking the right questions need to be improved rather than the continued emphasis on answering questions. We also need to rediscover much of our inner child.
At some point in our lives, we "mature" to the state where we will do almost anything to avoid embarrassment. This trait leads us to ignore inconsistencies and sit in silence when we don't understand. The childlike innocence that causes us to ask "obvious" questions goes away, replaced by fear of failure, which leads to an aversion to risk. Without the willingness to take a chance, many new things are not attempted, which limits the options for us all.
This is a book that you must think deeply about. The world is changing rapidly, and the most successful people will be those who know how to cull knowledge down to the true essentials. There are an enormous number of ideas in the book that can be used to assist this process. If you value the future and want to have a significant part in creating it, then you should read this book. Proper implementation of some of the ideas presented here will change the way we do things in the future.

If you or someone you know CARES about the issue of communication, this book is a must read. If I was a millionaire, I might like to send copies of this book to all the documentation people in our computer software and consumer electronics industry. Wurman dares to stand up and point out the differences between "data" and "information".The way the text of this book is formatted even speaks volumes. He shows us how to do more with less and jump over hurdles that bar us from understanding

Found it difficult to put this down. Parts of the book are a bit slow and somewhat off topic, but most is spot on and Wurman offers some wonderful insight and obsevations that left me wondering why I had never thought of viewing things in a similar context.

For anyone designing web media/printed communications the advice and insight Wurman offers is well worth the price of admission. This is one I'll have the shelf with Tufte.

Dear Oh Dear... Another paganistic and beastly concoction disguised as spiritual awakening. Obviously influenced by the likes of A A Bailey, H P Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley and other Beastly doers of deception. Notice the 666 slightly camouflaged but still blatantly obvious on the front cover? I urge you to read this but to be analytical and on your guard as many of the buzzwords and phrases have alternative meanings. Good people DO NOT be fooled by this ungodly attempt at corrupting the hearts and minds of vulnerable people. May the true God (not some spirit of the earth or a LSD-trip) bless you all.

Have you noticed the symbol on the cover of the book? It is disguised cleverly. It is the mark of the beast 666. The same symbol as the Trilateral commission, and other organizations. Open your eyes people and see what you are reading. This is a perfect example of the War between God and Satan. Please study what this woman stands for before you read this book, so you will be more prepared to understad what is going on.

In my early 20s, this book set my mind on fire because it cleared away the doom-encrusted blindness of a prosaic protestant Christian (aka "dead spirituality") upbringing. Having read in the fields of perceptual door-cleansing for many years, I now see it as a good generalist overview with a lot of heart. I recommend it highly to anyone just starting their search.

A good book to put someone to sleep. It can be read in about a day, if that is what you are looking for. It barely predicts anything but it certainly points out some past precedents that have future implications.

A good book for Geography or Urban Planning Majors.

This book is the 1990 update to the blockbluster, Megatrends, by John Naisbitt from 1982. The date in the title of this book is a reference to the end point of the forecast period.

I had first read the book near the time when it came out. I decided to reread it now because I was interested in examining how accurate the forecasts turned out, and then to study how the correct forecasts had been developed. Content analysis has long been a Naisbitt forte, and I wanted to see another test of its strengths and potential weaknesses.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the themes had held up. These include:

(1) a global economic boom prompted by the information economy, freer trade, and a government bias towards economic expansion over political ideology.

(2) a rapid growth in participation in the fine and finer arts.

(3) the emergence of free markets in socialist economies. Here the progress has even been more rapid than most would have expected.

(4) increasing similarities in global lifestyles with increased cultural nationalism.

(5) privatization of the welfare state in the western democracies.

(6) economic and cultural influence of Pacific Rim countries and California greatly expand.

(7) women become much more important in leadership roles.

(8) biotechnology makes great progress and raises major ethical issues, while biology becomes a more common metaphor.

(9) religious revival led by fundamentalism and the desire for deep, personal experience.

(10) triumph of the individual in becoming free of institutional constraints to become more in charge of one's own destiny. "The new responsibility of society is to reward the initiatives of the individual."

The conclusion talks about the importance of overcoming the scourges of disease (such as AIDS) and global poverty.

As a result, I would have to give this book five stars for forecasting . . . realizing how chancy that business is by nature.

On the other hand, I found the book to be long and tedious to read. I gave it three stars for the quality and clarity of explanation of the key points. In many cases, examples drone on and on, but relatively few points were made or supported directly. Perhaps it is just my perspective, but the chapter on women in leadership seemed particularly weak from this point of view.

Equally of interest were the things that were not forecast: that communism would fall except in a revised form in China and Cuba; that the United States would become a more dominant economic and political power; that Japan would have a terrible decade; and that government power in the world would be curtailed at such a rapid rate. But few got these factors right, and they used different methods from Naisbitt and Aburdene. I suspect that is because content analysis should be slow to pick up on these kinds of changes, but power analysis works well as demonstrated by James Dale Davidson and Lord Rees-Moog in their excellent books using this method.

Where will we be in 2010? A continuation of these trends is likely, but what will be the new ones? You'll have to think about that for yourself.

After you have finished enjoying this book and thinking about what it means for your future, I suggest that you consider how you can expand your own individual potential. As the Army likes to say, "Be all that you can be."

Use the irresistible trends to your advantage for breakthrough gains!

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with a good many of the reviews written on here about this book. I first read this book in the mid 90's and am in the process of re-reading it today, and to a great degree many of the chapters are indeed still relevant. The strongest chapter in the book has to do with the rise of women in leadership positions. This was very forward looking in 1990 when it was written. At that particular time, there was only one female U.S. senator (Nancy Kassebaum), today there are 13 (including two each in California and Maine).
Admittedly, there are some areas where the authors got it somewhat wrong. For example, the renaissence in the arts has not occurred at the expense of sports to the degree that the authors had thought it would. And the age of Nanotechnology has not been as progressive as they predicted. However, these are trivial points in an otherwise fine collection.

this book was a major dissapointed for me, especially form someone with such a big reputation. On the basis of this , i shall NOT read his other material.it was quite obvious that mr. naisbitt had not researched the area properly and some of the very unique facts about asian busness culture. I sensed that his glossy rather superficial style would be the books undoing in the end and so i was right. since then , events in asia have proven him wrong, something i am not gloating about , but regret since this could have been avoided had naisbitt covered the subject with more depth. if you are looking for futurology boooks then , there are many better books than this - for a start try " the great reckoning " - james dale davidson and will. rees-mogg.

Naisbitt has done it again, this time turning his attention to Asia. His earlier book, Megatrends, attempts to set the agenda for international business in the next century. Now he aspires to do the same thing for Asia-watchers, or claim to be so. Not a critical enough piece of work though, and Naisbitt, despite his many interesting observations of the 'megatrends' influencing Asia in the so-called pacific Century, still fails to convince why Asia will lead the world economy and why it's so important to understand this continent.

In Megatrends Asia, Naisbitt does an excellent job in presenting the next eight major shifts taking place in Asia. His use of precise examples and interviews clarifies the points he is trying to express. For example, he sites specific countries and their new infrastructure projects. He presents specific statistics, like with Asian credit and the number of credit cards being issued. Acer Group is mentioned as an example of the rise in Asian brand names.

However, I do not believe Naisbitt give adequate defense to the negative issues surrounding these shifts and their impact on the region. He briefly mentions pollution, environment, human rights, but he does not put much emphasis on them. Overall, I think Naisbitt presented a positive and fairly accurate prediction of the future. But he (we) should not ignore the inevitable negatives surrounding these shift in Asia.END

Naisbitt has happened upon an important topic which could have been explored by a stronger intellect to make an important contribution to academics, policy makers, and managers understanding the emerging world structure. Unfortunately, Naisbitt lacks the intellectual firepower and personal gravitas to pull it off. As a previous reviewers suggests, he substitutes trite anecdotes in place of even the simplist forms of empiricism. His thinking is simplistic and demonstrates a profound lack of understanding of the true complexity of globalization, the working of international trade, and the development of intellectual property. This work is 'People' magazine journalism trying unsuccessfully to masquerade as public intellectualism. Obviously, I am advising against reading this book if your interest in the future of globalization is at all serious.

The first time, I read this book, I expected analytical contents and insights. But it give so much narration; no analysis and supportive evidence or data.

Three major points in Chapters 1-3 : (D.J. Smith)

(1)The bigger the world's economy, the more powerful its smallest players. As globalization occurs, people seek linkages which cater to smaller, more "tribal" concerns: language, culture and/or niche markets. (2)Individualism will prevail over government-run structure. The person can influence the direction of economic consumption and governance: both tribal and global concerns, not one or the other, can be addressed. (3)Technological driving forces: blending old and new technology allows ubiquitous, anytime access to everyone. This allows community groupings to develop based on desire to share certain knowledge, rather than in a predetermined or overtly mediated fashion. A mixed-use approach to education and technology will give fluidity and greater access to learners, educators and anyone who desires to know something; and do so in a manner appropriate to the moment; e.g. my laptop works well on a LAN (access to networks and the Internet is immediately available) but I'd be much happier to take a book to the beach (no batteries to run down, and no sheaf of printout to be blown away by the offshore breeze.) In either case above, I'd be learning something, and without the confines of the traditional classroom and across global domains.

Comments on Chapters 4-6: (F. Rendon)

Chap 4: New Rules: A Universal Code of Conduct for the 21st Century. The "new rules" are drawn from the smallest players. There is a trend toward greater corporate social responsibility; political leaders have been ousted because of unethical actions. Ethics will play a big part in the global economy. Integrity and the bottom line will coexist in Codes of Conduct. "The point is that as companies become more global, with factories, sales and marketing, and back-office operations in far-flung places, convincing socially conscious customers that they are not exploiting the disadvantaged, disturbing the environment, or destroying a country's cultura! l heritage will become critical to the success of their product." (p.226).

Chap 5: The Dragon Century: The Chinese Commonwealth-Gaining Power from its Parts. Deng Xiaoping developed China's economic reform in 1992--more an entrepreneurial capitalist business environment than the state controlled economy. By opening up to the global market, plethoras of foreign businesses have converged into China, with thousands and thousands of small operations. They even now have two stock markets. However, they depend upon outsiders for power generating equipment, technology, etc. Why is China able to grow economically whilst Russia just lumbers along? Using a metaphor, China has PC's rather than mainframe mentality.

Chap 6: Asia and Latin America: New Areas of Opportunity. America and Europe have mature economies. Japan will have moderate growth. The Pacific Rim and Latin America will have booming growth. Asia Pacific is destined to lead the global economy into the next century. (p. 336). David O'Rear, senior consultant and regional economist at the Economic Intelligence Unit in Hong Kong anticipates that Asia will overtake North America in 2018 and the European Community in 2022 in regards to economic growth. What's my point? There's great potential over there. The Pacific Rim countries must have vision of what their roles are in the new global economy.

Conclusion: All trends are in the direction of making the smallest player in the global economy more and more powerful. It is the new technology that is allowing companies to deconstruct, to radically decentralize, to push power and decision making down to the lowest possible point. The world's smallest companies and the larger ones that have reconstituted themselves as a collection of small companies will survive and flourish. (p. 357) The new rules of business and political conduct that are becoming universal are derived from expectations of local relationships and family practices. (p. 359).

This book--obviously, from the title--is trying to capitalize on the authors' previous bestseller "Megatrends," which was indeed full of fascinating and insightful information.

But "Megatrends for Women" does not appear to employ the content analysis methodology that made "Megatrends" so right on the money. Instead, this is made up almost entirely of anecdotes and quotes from various activists/advocates. In short, it's not an objective sociological study, it's personal politics.

As a woman who often writes on women's issues, I was hoping this book would provide substantiated evidence of social trends. It doesn't--and, unless you happen to agree with the authors' feminist point of view, it's a bit of a bore.

I was disappointed to see the world's religious traditions so dismissively trashed in this book. I thought that the civilized world learned about religious intolerance in the wake of the horrors of World War II. Perhaps the co-authors may wish to examine the trend of unimaginative journalists bashing organized religion.

I think that recent history boasts of women whose vision and leadership is enriched by the values and ethics of their religious traditions. Dorothy Day is an outstanding example of this trend.

It is an exciting time in history as women are continuing to emerge as compelling leaders in global society. Religious intolerance aside, Megatrends for Women is an interesting look at the remarkable trends shaping our world.

I really enjoyed this book. It made me think about what I am doing with my time, and how I can improve myself and the world around me. I was disappointed with the lack of African American input in the areas of business, politics, and religion. Also, whats going on in the South, from your book, NOTHING!! Women are a powerful force in this country, and the world. I think we should take it back!!!