Future shock

New York: Random House, 1970. FIRST EDITION. Publisher’s cloth, original dust jacket; interior in excellent condition. Author’s inscription in black marker on first flyleaf. First American edition of a seminal futurist text. For Future shock, the Tofflers initially wrote an article entitled “The Future as a Way of Life” in Horizon magazine in 1965 to try to explain the disorientation people experience in the face of a rapidly changing culture. The book further developed the phenomenon. The simplest definition of “future shock” is a psychological reaction to “too much change in too short period of time.” In the course of the book, Toffler creates a model of civilization based on three different stages of development: agrarian, industrial, and post-industrial. These stages in turn shape perceptions regarding technology, social patterns, information patterns and power patterns. The Tofflers also attempt to use this model to explain the current state of “information overload” arguing that the world was entering new phase as a “super industrial society.” The book was a world-wide bestseller with over six million copies sold and even inspiring a documentary film.

Toffler (1928–2016) was an American futurist, businessman, and author. He wrote primarily on modern technology and the effects on global culture. He collaborated with his wife, Heidi, on the majority of his writings.