Book Description
WHO IS THE FUTURIST?
He once fired a man on Take Your Daughter to Work Day.
He once was asked by the New York Times to write an Op-Ed piece on the death of literacy in America and had his assistant ghostwrite it.
He once began his week ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange and ended it giving a speech about the future of greed to a group of seminary students.
He once wrote the introduction to a book he never read, Beehive Management: How Life in the Honeycomb Translates to Winning in the Workplace.
He once was an adviser for HeresWhatIDoMom.com, a company that made videos that explained people’s nebulous jobs to their confused parents.
He once took batting practice with the New York Mets, pretending not to notice the eight-year-old boy with leukemia from the Make-A-Wish Foundation whom the PR director let him cut in front of because he had a plane to catch.
He once gave a rousing motivational talk at the base of a spouting fountain before the West Coast sales force of an erectile dysfunction pharmaceutical maker.
Yates is a Futurist. Which is to say he makes a very good living flying around the world dispensing premonitory wisdom, aka prepackaged bullshit, to world governments, corporations, and global leadership conferences. He is an optimist by trade and a cynic by choice. He’s the kind of man who can give a lecture on successive days to a leading pesticide manufacturer and the Organic Farmers of America, and receive standing ovations at both.
But just as the American Empire is beginning to fray around the edges, so too is Yates’s carefully scripted existence. On the way to the Futureworld Conference in Johannesburg, he opens a handwritten note from his girlfriend, saying she’s left him for a sixth-grade history teacher. Then he witnesses a soccer riot in which a number of South Africans are killed, to the chagrin of the South African PR people at Futureworld. Sparked by a heroic devastation of his minibar and inspired by the rookie hooker sent to his hotel room courtesy of his hosts, Yates delivers a spectacularly career-ending speech at Futureworld, which leads to a sound beating, a meeting with some quasi-governmental creeps, and a hazy mission to go around the world answering the question: Why does everyone hate us?
Thus begins an absolutely original novel that is fueled by equal parts subversive satire, genuine physical fear, and heartfelt moral anguish. From the hideously ugly Greenlander nymphomaniacal artist to the gay male model spy to the British corporate magnate with a taste for South Pacific virgin sacrifice rituals, The Futurist manages to be wildly entertaining and deadly serious at the same time.
It’s the novel we all deserve.
Customer Reviews:
Briefly inventive, but overall disappointing.......2007-07-27
This should have been a very good book. If you read the blurb, read the plot, or even try to summarize it afterwards, it comes out as a good book.
But. The writing style is overly stylized and becomes taxing and dull about halfway through the book. The lack of character development and character insight is frustrating -- as Othmer adds more color and strangeness to his characters throughout the book, he makes them more superficial and unbelievable. And the storyline, such that it is, gets horrendously convoluted before leading everyone to the conclusion that they knew was coming all along.
Attention Carl Haisen fans--this one's for you!.......2007-07-07
James P. Othmer's The Futurist is a great find, and I look forward to future books by him.
The Futurist is for readers tired of the empty pomposity of our culture's "gurus" and pundits who dictate what's in and what's out with cynical precision and sensitivity to their own aggrandizement.
In style, The Futurist reminds me of several of Carl Haisen's character's and his unflattering portraits of the "dysfunctional successful."
Othmer hits the nail right on the head more often than not, and provides a great escape. If readers are lucky, The Futurist is but the first of an on-going series.
In my mind, this is two books that co-exist, one is great, one is blah.......2007-06-13
The Futurist is on one level a very compelling book. Yates, the protagonist here, carries on a hyper thought narrative where he breaks down our contemporary society in a precise and thoughtful manner. Sometimes this occurs in conversations with others ala 'My Dinner with Andre', and sometimes it is Yates himself ruminating for the reader. When you come across these passages that are bountiful throughout the book, the pages fly by as new ideas come forth.
However, it is apparant that Othmer does not have a masters grasp of the written word as of yet. The character Yates and the events that unfold while holding the story together become tedious. Yates is perhaps one of the least likeable characters that I have ever come across. Think about it for a moment. He is falling apart, his life is in a moral shambles. I guess as a reader I was supposed to feel a little sorry and somehow emphasise with him. However, while Othmer is fleshing out his tragic character, I couldn't help wish that I were in his shoes. Here is a guy that is capable of pulling in a seven figure sallary, he has interesting jobs pushed towards him from right to left, interesting women chase him around. He is encouraged to travel anywhere and has an unlimited expense account. Sounds like the perfect life to me. After a while I started to resent Yates' "me" attitude and really did not like him at all. The worst thing is that half of this book is made up of this and trust me, you really only need a few pages of it to have had enough
What made this book enjoyable was the almost stream of concious narrative on our worlds society. Questions of who we are and what it means to be alive today are engrossing and I wanted more.
So this book is a huge mixed bag.
Today's Catch-22?.......2007-04-16
Just as Joseph Heller (a first-time novelist at the time with an ad agency background) dissected war with Catch-22, Othmer (with his illustrious ad agency pedigree) breaks down the failure of the US of A in the world today.
The Futurist is America, the land that spun away from its past in 1776, but somewhere along the way, lost its noble vision. Othmer is calling us, in very funny ways, to return to our roots and rediscover what matters. Like Yates, the novel's hero, let's honor our forefathers and return to a faith in quality and integrity--or maybe none of us will have a future.
Some reviews have noted the end drags. I disagree. It makes perfect sense in the context of the whole novel. It's the right way for this novel--and this new and exciting voice--to end.
Well done!
come on, this is a really good book.......2007-04-02
As usual, some people just don't get it. This book is not to be read on a literal level. No, this is not a "realistic" novel, but there is plenty of realism in it just the same. Having just finished Imperial Life in the Emerald City (nonfiction), it wasn't hard to recognize all the details of Iraq and the Green Zone in "Ba'sar", both now and in the near future. Why do you think there is the whole scene in Greenland with the ice breaking away? Global warming maybe? There are plenty of lines that made me laugh, but it was a two-edged laugh, because they were so true. The corporate and government spin couldn't be better done. The book even starts with a nice piece of irony on the first page: the futurist's girlfriend has left him for a history teacher. The futurist is supposed to be finding out why everyone hates Americans and Westerners, and this is turned upside down in Fiji, where someone says, "What I wonder is why they hate us?" This book has many levels, and makes a lot of sense. It's certainly a good analysis of the present and a reminder that the near future is likely to be pretty scary.
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- Days of Future Past
- A Great Future History Collection
- Classic early short stories by Heinlein
- Old Copy
- Basic Early Heinlein
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The Green Hills Of Earth
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0671578537 |
Book Description
THE GREEN HILLS OF EARTH is a collection of short stories from one of the masters of science fiction who has held readers spellbound for over thirty years.
First published in 1951, this collection includes "Delilah and the Space-Rigger," "Space-Jockey," "The Long Watch," "Gentlemen Be Seated," "The Black Pits of Luna," "It's Great to Be Back," "We Also Walk Dogs," "Ordeal in Space," "The Green Hills of Earth" and "Logic of Empire."
Customer Reviews:
Days of Future Past.......2006-05-05
This volume contains 10 of Heinlein's Future History stories written during the 1940's.
The first, 'Delilah and the Space Rigger' (1949) concerns the arrival of women's liberation on a construction site in space.
'Space Jockey' (1947) describes the problems of long distance relationships.
'The Long Watch' (1948) sometimes being a hero means being in the wrong place at the right time
'Gentlemen, Be Seated' (1948) a journalist discovers what it takes to survive on the moon up close and personal
'The Black Pits of Luna' (1947) some children should be neither seen nor heard
'It's Great to be Back' (1946) a young couple learns that home is where the heart is
'-We Also Walk Dogs' (1941) a very enterprising group of business people tackle some very surprising problems
'Ordeal in Space' (1947) a grounded spaceman faces his demons aided by a most surprising ally
'The Green Hills of Earth' (1947) the life and times of the poet laureate of space
'Logic of Empire' (1941) two wealthy young businessmen investigate the colonial problem
These stories laid a very solid foundation to the Future History stories. Many of the characters and/or incidents described return in later stories in this series making this a good place for a newcomer to RAH's work to begin or provid background for anyone who has read the later stories.
A Great Future History Collection.......2005-05-15
This collection of Future History stories was first published in 1951, and it consists of 9 short stories and one novella which were originally published between March of 1941 and December of 1949. The collection itself was recognized by fans in the Astounding/Analog All-Time Polls in 1952 and 1956 where it ranked 8th and 17th respectively. The stories in this collection are chronological with respect to Heinlein's Future History. These are some of the classic stories from Heinlein's early writings. This is definitely a must read for anyone who likes Science Fiction.
"Delilah and the Space-Rigger" was originally published in "Bluebook" in December of 1949. It is the story of what happens when a woman, Gloria Brooks McNye, is hired as a replacement radio technician for what had been an all-male crew building a space station.
"Space Jockey" was first published in "The Saturday Evening Post" on April 26, 1947. It is the story of Jake Pemberton whose job (space pilot) is causing stress on his marriage.
"The Long Watch" was first published in "American Legion Magazine" in December of 1949. This is the story of Johnny Dahlquist, who tries to prevent Colonel Towers from staging a coup and taking control of the Moon and Earth. This is one of two stories from this collection that have been recognized by fans in the long term. It was recognized in 1971 on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll of Short Fiction where it tied for 30th. Then in 1999, it tied for 33rd on the Locus All-Time Poll for Short Stories.
"Gentlemen, Be Seated!" was first published in "Argosy" in May of 1948. This is the story of a journalist, Jack Arnold, who during a visit to Lunar City he goes to check out a mining operation when he is looking for a story. He is trapped in a tunnel when an accident isolates him and two others from the rest of the base.
"The Black Pits of Luna" was first published in "The Saturday Evening Post" on January 10, 1948. The story is about the Logan family who is visiting the Moon. The youngest son disappears when they are touring the surface of the Moon. It is written from the point of view of the elder of the two sons.
"It's Great To Be Back!" was first published in "The Saturday Evening Post" on July 26, 1947. It is the story of Allan and Josephine MacRae who are eager to return to Earth after spending a few years on the Moon. Once they get to Earth, they find things are not as good as they remembered.
"-We Also Walk Dogs" was first published in "Astounding" in July of 1941 under the pseudonym Anson MacDonald. In this story, General Services is offered a large contract to create a meeting environment on Earth for an important government meeting. The catch is how can they counter the effects of gravity for those attendees from lower density environments?
"Ordeal In Space" was first published in "Town & Country" in May of 1948. It is the story of a space hero who is suffering from acrophobia after an incident in space. He tries to create a simple life for himself on Earth, when a stray cat forces him to confront his fear.
"The Green Hills Of Earth" was first published in "The Saturday Evening Post" on February 8, 1947. It is the story of Rhysling, the Blind Singer of the Spaceways, who lost his sight saving a ship and then spends years bumming rides and singing his songs. He decides eventually to return to Earth, and then another incident results in his greatest work. This is one of the classic stories of Science Fiction. In 1971, it was tied for 2nd on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll for Short Fiction, and in 1999 it rated 10th on the 1999 Locus All-Time Poll for Short Stories.
"Logic of Empire" is the novella that was first published in "Astounding" in March of 1941. In this story, two wealthy friends argue about whether or not the working conditions on Venus could be considered slavery. When they wake up, they discover that after getting drunk, they have signed on for a work assignment on Venus to settle the bet.
Classic early short stories by Heinlein.......2002-11-15
Robert Heinlein was writing great science fiction before a lot of people even knew what it was. The Green Hills of Earth features ten early short stories from the 1940s; all of these stories are set in outer space, but these are more sociological and entertaining than technical in the way of hard science fiction. In "Delilah and the Space Rigger," the head of the space station construction project is horrified to discover that his new engineer is a woman. His fear of having one woman working among a crew of 200 men is never alleviated, but the modern-day Delilah makes good use of her undeniable engineering skills to win a victory of sorts in the end. "Space Jockey" is basically a story of a space pilot and his stay-at-home wife. It basically explores the issues of a traditional marriage in which the husband is away from home more than either partner would like for him to be. These two stories' treatment of women is far from sexist in my opinion. "The Long Watch" and "Gentlemen, Be Seated" are stories of bravery and heroism. In the first, a spaceman risks his radiation-vulnerable life to stop a military coup from taking place, while the second describes the heroism of three men trapped in a tunnel collapse in Luna City. "The Black Pits of Luna" is a story of a normal family whose youngest son (referred to lovingly as "the brat") wanders off by himself on a tour of the moon. The search for the little guy offers us some clues as to what sorts of qualities a space man should have (as well as the qualities of individuals who should never have been allowed on the moon to start with).
"It's Great to be Back" is enjoyable yet wholly predictable. After three years on the moon, a couple absolutely yearns to go back home to earth, only to find that their idea of home has changed immensely during their sojourn in Luna City. "-We Also Walk Dogs" is probably the most singular story in this collection. General Services basically serves any request made by its customers, offering a service borne of the old tradition of walking dogs for rich folks. Their commitment to do whatever job needs to be done is put to the ultimate test when a bureaucrat asks them to make hay with the laws of gravity in order to pave the way for an ultra-important international business meeting on earth. "Ordeal in Space" is another hero story-"Mr. Saunders" is a space hero who has become deathly afraid of heights as the result of a terribly frightening yet heroic ordeal above the earth. He is so afraid of heights that he can't even look up at the sky without getting queasy. When he reluctantly accepts a dinner invitation and ends up spending the night in an apartment 35 stories above the ground, the meowing of a kitten stuck out on the ledge challenges him to overcome his fears. As an acrophobic person myself, it was all I could do to get through some of Heinlein's realistic descriptions of the heights involved in this kitten rescue mission. "The Green Hills of Earth" is the story of the unofficial poet laureate of outer space, but I found it to be the only slightly disappointing story in the book. Finally, "Logic of Empire" rounds out the collection. Humphrey Wingate gets into a heated discussion about the reality of indentured servitude on Venus, refusing to see it as a modern form of chattel slavery. When his friend asks him to put his money where his mouth is, he has the great misfortune of being very drunk. Upon awakening, he finds himself on a ship bound for Venus, where he quickly develops a brand new standpoint on the subject of Venusian servitude.
These are all great stories which the passage of time has not hurt one iota. Set in a science fiction setting, they are all essentially stories of people and their interaction with one another. Any fan of Heinlein or science fiction in general is missing a rare treat if he/she overlooks The Green Hills of Earth.
Old Copy.......2002-10-15
I have an older copy of this book that my Grandpa gave me. I read and loved it. I re-read often.
Basic Early Heinlein.......2001-08-20
A great book typical of early Heinlein. Characters not too deeply rendered, but charming and engaging. Strong story line about people, not science. And Heinlein's libertarian philosophy underpinning the whole thing.
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The Green Hills Of Earth
Manufacturer: Pan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I73C4G |
Customer Reviews:
Lafferty's Masterpiece.......2007-02-23
R. A. Lafferty writes like Schrodinger theorizes. FOURTH MANSIONS is perhaps the greatest novel-length work by Lafferty. Lafferty gives the impression of a sort of bumbling, provincial rube, but underneath the strategic humility is a steel-trap mind and a terrifying erudition. Lafferty seems to know everything there is to know, and he'll mention it all offhandedly. He also casually and constantly throws off words that have me scrambling for the dictionary-- but they aren't pretentious, five dollar words, they're usually gorgeous, old, almost forgotten slang terms. Lafferty was an electrical engineer who started writing at a rather advanced age. I am convinced that in his technical work he must have been involved in some pretty otherworldly stuff-- maybe he took a couple rides with Otis T. Carr or something. Unbelievably brilliant, but if you don't know what you're looking at, or if you don't have a capacious American-style sense of humor, you might not get it.
"There is also the danger of serpents".......2002-11-23
An incidental remark about allegories reminded me of this little volume by R.A. Lafferty. In many ways, I think it is his finest, although all of his efforts are remarkable. Whatever your preference, 'Fourth Mansions' remains the most unusual of its genre, an allegory that refuses to take itself seriously.
When Freddy Foley, newspaperman and innocent, discovers that certain people seem to reappear at irregular intervals he insists on investigating and soon finds himself hip deep in a metaphysical odyssey. He discovers that there is not one, but four separate subcultures that share the world with humanity. The best of these are the badgers that guard the entrances of the human domain. The worst are the toads, the ones who sleep and are reborn. These are dedicated to keeping the world from evolving to the next level. Every time things get better they make sure they really get worse.
Then there are the snakes whose wild mental energy runs out of control. For them the rest of us are toys to play with, energy to use up. Finally, there are the unfledged falcons. Well intentioned, they are the premature warriors, champions of violent solutions. Best to worst they spell little good for Freddy, whose truth seeking will lead him to the tops of mountains and the cells of asylums. 'Goof gloriously,' the snakes order poor Freddy, and so he does.
Lafferty performs an unexpected deconstruction of the mythology of man's progress, and creates an entirely unique narrative for inner progress. Foley is Everyman (Foley = The Fool) on a journey towards a higher plane of being, impeded by creatures that symbolize his own weaknesses. The tale is told tongue-in-cheek, a burlesque parody of one pilgrim's progress. Filled with more mad characters than all of 'Canterbury Tales,' the reader is often left unsure whether to laugh or take notes.
Of course, this is the great flaw of allegory; it never loses the taint of lecture. Plot serves message unforgivingly. 'Fourth Mansions' is only partly fiction as we progress from lesson to lesson. The good news is that Lafferty refuses to fall into the trap of being tedious, and, instead, allows the allegory to parody itself. Still, this is unusual entertainment, and not meant for everyone. Full of mind games and obscure symbolism made garish, it is a child of the late 60's, although I think it's intent is more valid now then it was then. Nowadays I sometimes wonder if the toads have managed to win after all.
Fourth Mansions reveals Lafferty at the top of his form........1999-09-28
One of the quirkiest science fiction novels ever written, Fourth Mansions reveals Lafferty's story-telling prowess in novel-length form. This is the timeless tale of reporter Freddy Foley, in a way a strange sort of Everyman, on the trail of things that ought not to be known. And they will not be known if a shadowy group called the Returnees have their way. Foley's misadventures lead him to a tangled web of bored suburbanites who concoct a mindweave to snare unsupecting souls. When the weave takes on a life of its own, demanding ever bloodier sacrifice, Foley is drawn toward a meeting with destiny that will take him into the secret world of the Returnees. Along with Past Master, Arrive at Easterwine, and Annals of Klepsis, I rate this book among Lafferty's best, and reread it often to remind myself that no matter how odd the world gets, it doesn't get odder than Lafferty.
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Fourth Mansions
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HEQPFI |
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Fourth Mansions
R.A. Lafferty
Manufacturer: Star Books, London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000Q4LWCU |
Product Description
UK edition. Another peculiar Lafferty tale, described by Zelazny as "a psychedelic morality play". Great demonic toad cover art.
Book Description
A biblical and practical approach to church planting using cultural and experiential data to facilitate the founding of new churches in unreached areas of the world.
Books:
- The Grass Harp and The Tree of Night
- The Grizzard Sampler: A Collection of the Early Writings of Lewis Grizzard
- The Gully Dwarves (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 5)
- The Handicap Principle: A Missing Piece of Darwin's Puzzle
- The Horse in Harry's Room (I Can Read Book 1)
- The Journey to the West, Volume 3
- The Knife Thrower: and Other Stories
- The Last Carousel
- The Last Puritan: A Memoir in the Form of a Novel
- The Lemon Jelly Cake (Prairie State Books)
Books Index
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