900 copies of this book were handed out at OSS '94 when the Tofflers were our keynote speakers, and it's hard to do anything other than praise a book with a chapter on "The Future of the Spy" built around OSS and my vision. With that disclosure, I will offer the observation that this book, which has gotten enormous attention within the U.S. military, is an excellent companion to Brigadier Simpkin's book, and the two, perhaps with General Scale's book, could be used to drive any graduate-level course on structuring a future warfighting and peacekeeping force.

Glenn Jones, founder of Jones Communications (one of the largest cable television providers and home of Knowledge TV) has penned a book that addresses the impending necessity of what he terms as "Free Market Fusion". To describe Free Market Fusion, Jones reviews the growing trends related to a movement from an industrial based economy, to an information based economy, to a knowledge based economy. He addresses the issue of displacement of the traditional college student (18-22 year old) with an older more technology savvy student and their necessity to update education throughout their lifespan. He also delineates issues facing public institutions and the overwhelming financial burden they will be facing to educate, not only the students within their communities, but also students located throughout the world. He also discusses impending teacher shortages and the role accreditation committees play in certifying higher education institutions. BIG IDEAS The idea is to deliver education to people, instead of people to education. His concept of Free Market Fusion synergizes the strongest aspects of the information providing public sector with the strongest aspects of the information providing private sector to meet the needs of the knowledge workers of the 21st century. The major components of any Free Market Fusion process are: 1.Identifying and evaluating potential Free Market Fusion opportunities 2.Creating an innovative solution 3.Identifying potential partners 4.Structuring the relationship 5.Undertaking the project

THREE IMPLICATIONS 1.Application of knowledge will be a critical success factor for the 21st century knowledge worker. 2.Public and private educational institutions will not be able to meet the needs of the 21st century knowledge worker. 3.Reducing the digital divide will become necessary to avoid class warfare in the 21st century.

"The principal characteristic of the knowledge revolution is that it allows us to dramatically extend the human mind by introducing a new model of learning" (p. xx). Thus begins Jones' call to entrepreneurs and educators to seize the opportunity of the Education Renaissance. In his 1997-revised book, Cyberschools, Jones provides an informative history of the distance learning movement, from its roots in correspondence courses to its current foundations in technology. He describes the role played by commercial television and the resulting passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 to advance educational television.

Jones' critical premise is that "earning a living in post-industrial, knowledge age society will require lifelong learning, training, and retraining at every level. For the vast majority, interrupting work life to study in a traditional university setting is out of the question" (p. 45). Virtual classrooms and libraries of the twenty-first century are described with visions of learning in cyberspace from around the world. Jones also speaks to the issue of the credibility of distance learning and offers solutions through accreditation agencies. Finally, Jones discusses his management process of a public/private partnership for the electronic delivery of education.

The biggest shortcoming of the book is its publication date, including ten-year-old statistics from 1992 with projections for 2000. However, Jones' theories and analysis are upheld and make Cyberschools an informative introduction for those interested or involved in distance learning.

In this highly-readable book, Glenn R. Jones addresses the ever-increasing demand for education at a time when funds for education are becoming increasingly scarce. He cites the increase in life-long learners, the number of students from other countries entering United State's school, and the push to increase primary literacy as reasons for this problem. Jones points out that higher education has "turned the corner" ion the use of technology in the lecture and as the lecture hall. Technologies like virtual universities, virtual libraries, TV, and The Internet are very cost effective and provide a variety of curricula to schools. Of major importance in the shift to technology is the shift away from institutions and teachers to the student. The results have been an increased availability of higher education at reduced cost. He describes a phenomenon he calls "Free Market Fusion, and challenges entrepreneurs to continue the trend for the better education of all.

While some of the comments and insights are interesting, I question the credibility of such a homogeneous group of contributors as we enter the business world of the 21st century.

A book about business priciples in the future should represent a diverse global workforce and customer base. This book, without a single female contributor, stands firmly planted in the past.

Rethinking the Future is a collection of interviews with experts who examine issues related to organizational change for the twenty-first century. The book contains a framework for creating the future in business, economics, and society in an environment of rapid change. The book has six sections with contributions from various writers as follows:

Rethinking Principles - Charles Handy, Stephen Covey Rethinking Competition - Michael Porter, CK Prahalad, Gary Hamel Rethinking Control & Complexity - Michael Hammer, Eli Goldblatt, Peter Senge Rethinking Leadership - Warren Bennis, John Kotter Rethinking Markets - Al Ries & Jack Trout, Philip Kotler Rethinking the World - John Naisbitt, Lester Thurow, Kevin Kelly

These thinkers present diverse views about key issues within their fields at the dawn of the 21st century. There are some common themes. Technology is viewed by all as the catalyst for the rapid rate of change. The widespread availability of technology has led to the democratization of information throughout the workplace. The world's leading nations in the east and the west are experiencing a shift to a knowledge-based economy requiring knowledge workers. These knowledge workers must be highly educated and possess technology skills. Another theme with strong consensus is the notion that the path to the future won't be found by implementing models and strategies that have been successful in the past.

Technology has facilitated the globalization of the world economy. This trend has forced business to rethink itself in terms of competition, markets, and trade. Convergence within and between industries will continue. This is evidenced by project or product based alliances. The goal of business is the satisfaction of customer needs. The informed customer is demanding a higher level of products, services, and satisfaction.

The 21st century leader has a responsibility to generate intellectual capital within the organization. The leader focuses the company on its purpose and principles. The leader's key obligation is to articulate vision and lead by example.

This selection is engaging reading. Gibson provides us with a wide lens to view many pictures of the future. He showcases a group of specialists from different fields. Rethinking the Future dispels the myth that the future can be easily predicted.

Melanie Tucker Pepperdine University Doctoral Student Educational Technology

Este debe ser uno de los libros más interesantes que he leido. Lo recomiendo tanto para alumnos de econonomía como para ejecutivos de areas similares. Concentra a grandes autores del area producción y economía, de los cuales destaco Goldratt. Realmente es excelente el libro.

This collection of sentences and catch phrases is VERY weak on technical details and VERY heavy on the diatribe. In several instances, it is down right incorrect when referencing history. This book may fit the needs of a poli. sci. type, but it is less than a dust collector when it comes to those working in the fields of IT/IW/IA. As a 2 decade professional in the field, take my recommendation and avoid this book if you are looking for anything beyond recycled political phrases related to IW.

This book tackles international computer system threats that face nations and corporations head on. It presents a theoretical framework for action and will be a valuable resource for the next decade.

Athena was also a serious topic in ancient times when she was the Greek god with a sword and shield, the one who thought up the first Trojan horse... a legacy that connects well with today's netwars.

The authors of each chapter address different issues. Most are from the perspective of military issues. Many use clear historic perspectives to show how one side or the other lost conflicts, for example, the use of smart networks by Mongols to defeat Muslims and by Ho Chi Minh against Lyndon Johnson. Other examples are drawn from the gulf war; the chief of which is that the next opponent will likely not be as dumb as Saddam.

Oddly there isn't much in the book about China and Russia, the cyber-bullies of today's world. Even if one did want to look up material on these countries the missing index prevents it. With a new abbreviation on every page it would also be helpful to have a Rosetta stone inside the back cover.

The example of the wild west is used and very applicable here. There are only isolated pockets of law and order. Good and bad guys are hard to distinguish. Outside occasional enclaves good guys can only trust their resources and a few friends. This high level discussion can be directly translated to domains, firewalls, and virtual private networks. It argues against lowest-bidder security implementations.

Computer network managers will understand diminishing role of government in the direction of commercial systems. This means less traditional compliance-driven security technology will be available. Corporate security, network administrators and infrastructure managers are out there on their own. "Street smart" information behavior will be necessary to survive.

Through the book the term "cyber" is overused. It almost never appears in serious government discussions or commercial security where the emphasis is on all aspects of network issues.

Security managers who want a superficial self improvement should skip this book. It is very concept-dense and filled with ideas which will cause the reader to stop and think about strategy. Few solution specifics are presented. Concepts in this book are suited for someone who is developing a strategic vision for protecting their organization from network attacks.

[adapted from a review published in Security Management. All rights reserved by the author]

In Athena's Camp is, in my eyes, one of the most important books in the area of security policy at the given momnent, alongside 'Sources of Conflict', which has been published by Rand, too. I used the book in a term paper I wrote for political sciences, in which I examined the coming threats in context with the momentary policy of the german government (as I am German and studying here). The book was of utmost importance to me in this case, as it is, as far as I know, the only book covering this topic on such a high level of quality at the moment. Further research also revealed to me, that the momentary german policy is utmost abysmal, and that, surprisingly, the German Green Party, Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen, would maintain the best policy in case of election (just for your information). To all students of political sciences worldwide who love researching the field of global and societal change through the information revolution, get it.

Since I had never read the previous three books maybe I was thrown into the deep-end on this one. I could read and comprehend everything they said, but the failure of the Tofflers to be speific of HOW this is going to happen plauged me throughout the book.
For instance, the book never delves into HOW specifically the third wave (information age for those who haven't read it) will affect families in a positive way. Instead it uses catch phrases like "empower the family" and "restore functions to the family" which mean....nothing. On top of that, numerous .../false assumptions cripple this book.
To say that "Naderites and Buchananites" are the same because they both think that NAFTA is wrong is false because Nader and Buchanan want to get rid of it for different reasons. Also when they say that NAFTA was a triumph for the 3rd wave and that the second wave (industrial age) is on a decline are also lies. The jobs for factory workers aren't simply going away - they're moving where labor is cheap and taxes are low.
Also, scare tactics and ... hurt this book for those who can see through it. The idea that American companies are being out-competed by samll businesses and foreign corporations and that is why companies are breaking up into smaller components, merging, and laying off workers are sheer lies. Keeping in mind that this book was wrote in the early to mid-ninties, and then looking at the stock market and the decline of small business, you can easily see why this was going on; Merge because two huge corperations working together can squash the copmetition, and layoff because that will bring your market value up.
Also the Toffler's idea that "it is knowledge, not cheap labor...that add value." - yeah well tell that to Nike. Their faulty logic that there isn't a majority class between upper, middle, and the lower classes are lies, as well as their idea that "You have 100 people chasing after the same bronze ring." - For me and others, while it would be nice, being a millionaire is not the only or main goal in life.

Oh and their deal about 'Socialism' is actually Communism...you think that they could decifer the two.

...then this might be an option, because it's just a rework and condensation of its predecessor. It also sports an intro written by Newt Gingrich; I have no idea why unless he was selected to provide an unintentional but effective example of outdated Second Wave power politics.

Toffler is a big thinker. His premise in this book as well as in his other books is that just as the agricultural first wave has given way to the second wave industrial age, that it in turn has yielded to the third knowledge revolution. He outlines the differences and prescribes the need for change.

In that men have difficulty adjusting to change (see "Who Moved My Cheese"), Toffler outlines how these clashes will be resolved. Just as companies in growth industries altenate between spurts of growth and plateaus of consolidation, societies experience the same disruptions. The Austrian school of economics would call it "creative destruction".

This book's core principles emanate from the mind of a visionary thinker. If you want a top-down view of the last couple of centuries it's worth the few hours of reading and thinking you'll have to invest.

Reading this book was rather like going into a 400 page Newsweek article. Even though the theory about "waves" can seem appealing, the authors fail to provide a theorical framework for the ideas they propose. Ok, so the wars of the future will be different.. so what?
There's no explanation within the book that tries at least to determine what the causes of the future wars will be. It leaves the door open for any "random" cause to ignite a war.
Anyway, I could say the anecdothic style of the book makes it easy to read, but if you're looking for a more in-depth text about wars and their future implications, forget about this one.

Published in 1993, the authors published this look into the future of warfare. Building on the paradigm introduced in their earlier books (Future Shock, The Third Wave, and Powershift), the authors argue that as the new "Third Wave" transforms society, so will it transform warfare. Throughout, the authors attempt to show how war has been transformed, and how it will continue to transform in the decades ahead.

I picked up this book in reaction to the recent attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. I was hoping that it would give me a better insight into modern military, and what modern warfare would be like. I think that the authors did a great job of showing just how different any present and future wars are likely to be.

My one complaint is that the authors focused almost exclusively on the militaries of the advanced societies. If you want to see how the "new" terrorists are also "Third Wave" organizations, I highly recommend Countering the New Terrorism, by Ian O. Lesser, et al.

That said, this is a fascinating book, with a thought-provoking message. I highly recommend you read it.

The Toffler's have written a very engaging book about the coming age of war in what they call the 'third wave'- or a post industrial society. Information, according to the Tofflers, will become the vital component of future conflicts in the way that territory and resources were in the second wave. The details and the theory that they construct are very interesting. The causes of this are a new form of wealth creation that is also information intensive (read Silicon valley and the computer industry/cell phones/ or services in general). I recommend reading this book before, with or after Robert Kaplan's vision of the future in "The Coming Anarchy". One aspect of the book that is rather surprising is that they managed to write an entire book on this subject without mentioning Microsoft or the Internet! Then I checked the publication date (1993), and was amazed by the fact that only 7 years ago these entities might not have merited such consideration. This alone helps confirm the Toffler's theories on an quickly changing world, and one in which information is becoming the hot commodity.

The waves are also amazingly close to an anthropolgical method of classification- domestic scale society (tribes bands and chiefdoms), political scale society (nation states) and commerical scale society (the emerging global system). I wonder how much interchange of ideas has gone on over the years between the Tofflers and the author of my text book! Very interesting.

I worry that their division of the planet into first, second and third wave societies may be a way of anesthetizing the fact that wealth and power are becoming more and more polarized. But this is the reality of our time, and whether or not it is pleasing, books such as this are attempting to make sense out of the present and the future. I will most likely consult this book again in the future when writing papers, or talking with friends about the future of conflict for some time to come.