After Shock is an enticing collection of essays observing the 50 year anniversary of Future Shock by Alvin and Heidi Toffler.

Future Shock was first released in 1970. Much of the country was living in a state of uncertainty due to an unpredictable environment. Future Shock was a welcome distraction for many, as it contained a mix of both pessimistic and optimistic communications of shared experiences about adjusting to new conditions. In this socially contentious and uncertain time, it gave a clear and precise goal of focusing on the future.

I immensely enjoyed this collection known as After Shock. I especially like that it began with a personal note from Schroeter regarding how he was fascinated by all things “future" because of his dad's involvement with NASA's Joint Propulsion Laboratory and I did pause for a long while over Mead's essay as he wrote about electron tunneling.

Back in the '70s, it seemed Popular Electronics and transistors were everywhere as my dad re-built machines and used ham radio for global communications. When I wasn't hanging out with dad, I spent time with Mom at the local library. I read a little of everything but mostly concentrated on novels written by authors born in the 1800s. Their books spoke of huge scientific advancements, surrealism, alternate realities, some with advanced computer simulation. I enjoyed reading these as I witnessed diverse perspectives.

Each contributor in After Shock presented a diverse perspective and some of them personally knew the Toffler's.

Being that I love to read, and always have, I will state that I appreciate that Frank explains that the internet may be the greatest library ever made and that Mansharamani reminds us that that “The only difference between fiction and nonfiction is that fiction hasn’t happened yet."

In reading After Shock, readers can release pent up energy.

What we get right, what we get wrong, what alludes us at the time and what gives us a greater feeling of mutual support within diverse groups are clearly issues to consider in everyday life. But we also have an opportunity to look forward to the future. To contemplate how to apply what we've learned and to recognize that where we are heading depends largely on our perception and interpretation of facts.

We know humans have complex emotions. Yes, there are lingering difficulties and assumptions should always be evaluated. But change is inevitable and we have the capacity to explore and discover how things can be different.

I find I most identified with Keay pointing out "Our identity is inextricably linked to our computing technologies.", and Bodell asking the question, "Are we focused on the things that matter?"

I seem to recall the Toffler's wrote about the importance of imagination. Imagination centers are not a new concept. Perhaps if we all combined forces to imagine our future world was one worthy of imitation we'd figure out a way to all work together to forge a world where we are more at peace within ourselves and with all beings around us.

This book was provided by the generosity of John Schroeter for an honest review. ( )