The Ragged Edge of the World

Award winning journalist Eugene Linden is the author of books, articles and essays about science, technology and the environment. He has written a thought provoking, insightful book, "The Future in Plain Sight: Nine Clues to the Coming Instability" (1998).

In this book, Linden presents the thesis that rapid change is eminent and evident in climate conditions, the spread of infectious disease, volatile economic conditions, loss of biodiversity and other clues. The reader is then projected to 2050 as Linden presents the consequences of this instability. Somewhat of a doomsayer, the author's vision is not a pretty one: lethal plagues, deadly famine, catastrophic storms, economic collapse and more. But in the final analysis, some small hope is offered. "Over the millennia, humanity has proved to be an artful dodger of fate, a defier of limits, a surmounter of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and a master escape artist from traps laid by nature. Only the very brave or fool hardy would assert flatly that our resourceful species has finally exhausted its bag of tricks. Still, it is very late in the game."

Other books by Linden include "Apes, Men and Language" (1974), "The Alms Race: the Impact of American Voluntary Aid Abroad" (1976), "Affluence and Discontent: the Anatomy of Consumer Societies" (1979), and "Silent Partners: the Legacy of the Ape Language Experiments" (1986), a New York Times notable book.

Linden has been writing for Time magazine since 1987. Some of his award winning cover stories are "Doomed" (1995) exploring endangered tigers, "Megacities" (1993), dealing with overpopulation and "The World's Last Eden" (1992) about rain forest destruction. The author is a frequent guest on radio and television shows from Firing Line to Good Morning America and a contributor to a wide range of periodicals from The Wall Street Journal to National Geographic. .

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