Each chapter covers topics like transportation, health care, outer space and even the end of the world. The book is broken into little sections that are quick and concise but never lacking in detail or depth. Still, there’s a playful quality to much of the book, a nudge to the reader asking, “Can you believe this?” Milo doesn’t disrespect or condescend toward any of the ideas in the book, otherwise it might read like a smug cynic complaining about life without his jet pack. Alternately, the books is also sad, because many positive ideas, like the end of poverty and war, are as far from a reality today as is living on the moon. By simply stating the facts of some seriously held beliefs, like a woman being able to deliver a child without using her body, we can laugh at how far off the mark some of these ideas were. The flying car of the title is a fixture in many science fiction stories, but it’s also a genuine innovation that’s been in perpetual development almost since the first horseless buggy took to the road. That’s not to say fiction and reality don’t cross. Things like moving sidewalks and regrowing lost limbs weren’t just far out ideas dreamed up by writers, these were actual visions of the future.
Though it’s an interesting subject, exploring the already-imagined world of science fiction is much different than predictions based on innovations happening contemporaneously with the futurists Milo features. Early on, Milo notes his entire book could have taken the view of the future from popular culture, the premise being that shows like Star Trek and even The Jetsons have shown us fantastic, hopeful visions of the future in which automation and innovation brought peace and comfort to the world. Okay, so my crystal ball is good at vagary, but there are others who’ve made looking to the future a career, and author Paul Milo collects some of their wildest, not to mention completely incorrect, predictions in this fun, entertaining book. Even though the year is barely upon us, there are some things we can accurately predict will happen in 2010: the US will hold mid-term congressional elections, famous people will die and terrible things will happen all over the world. The transition between the end of a year and the beginning of the next is always the time for looking back and reflecting, and as the highlights of the year give way to the inevitable low-lights, talk of the future brings the hope the tragedies and failures of the year threaten to crush. She couldn’t believe it, she said, because it sounded so futuristic. An older coworker recently marveled at the arrival of 2010.
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