July 20, 2019: Life in the 21st Century
 
Arthur C. Clarke
 
1986 by Macmillan
 
Futurists will welcome this book by the science fiction community's prolific dean whose 1963 classic Profiles of the Future defined possible futures, some of which already have come true. Clarke rejects any label as prophet; as per Profiles' subtitle, he deals with "limits of the possible." In July 20, 2019, he views a day in the life of the 21st century. The oversize, illustrated book forecasts how people are born, live, and die. We ride orbiting space stations, watch 60-year-old, 8-foot athletes, see that people have been replaced with computers and robots, view most aspects of life—schools, transportation, medicine, work, movies. These are astonishing but realistic perceptions by a master of the craft who as always writes with skill, wit, clarity, and remarkable intelligence.