I was in a thrift store today and picked up “The Third Wave” by Alvin Toffler. I believe it was recomended to me around the time I was in 7-9th grade. I love Toffler’s prose and just wish he could try his hand at fiction before he passes.
That being said::
The book came out in 1980.
I was born in 1982.
This brings up a few interesting questions:
1.Is Third Wave still relevant today? Or Is Toffler talking about things that we already expereience? *
For the most part, does Toffler present his argument in general terms, or in 1980’s terms? (I can’t honestly say I ‘remember’ the USSR personaly, but I do know it’s were Russia is now. -for the most part.) -Will I be able to understand most of what he says? – Is the book too old?
Am I too far apart from his target audience, for when he wrote the book? Will I miss certain epiphanies that he distributes, simply because I take certain things for granted, that he didnt have when he was 26? -Am I too much a product already of the Third Wave to remove myself out of the moment to understand his context? --Am I too young?
As I understand the chapter (That I skimmed) on Blip Culture and “demassification” of the media, I believe that we are already in the blip culture, Thanks in equal measure to Fox News and MSNBC.
Aside from these “real” questions, if someone after me wants to criticize this near 30 year old work, feel free to.
It would be amazing if this were accompanied with even a hint of explanation as to what these terms mean. I don’t think that this book is as widely known as you presume.
Hold that thought. I’ve ordered it (from Alibris, $1.99 in hardback, plus shipping–I’ll have to find some additional books to order to make the shipping worth while). I’ll get back to you shortly.
You’re welcome or I’m sorry, as the case may be. I’ve become addicted, but it’s a cheaper habit than, say, cocaine. My current order is 23 books, which came to $50, which means free shipping. A recent Heinlein thread inspired me to go nuts, and then I had to get some Niven (Larry) and then some Zelazny. I figure that will keep me busy for a few months.
I think they may be more widely known than you presume. Toffler had a small revival in the mid-90s when the internet started becoming ubiquitous. I know that I’m not the only second-generation “Third Wave” reader out there by a long shot.
Thanks for the reminder. I read this years ago, and have occasionally spotted it on the shelf and felt like I ought to take another look at it. This is a good spur.
For a criticism of Toffler and other similar theorists I recommend Paschal Preston’s* ‘Reshaping Communications : Technology, Information and Social Change’* (2001)
There’s no way to tell that. Toffler’s Waves are apparently constantly compressing…Wave 1 lasted thousands of years, Wave 2 hundreds. I think we’re still smack in the middle of Wave 3…we’re only about 2 decades into it (if we consider the popularization of the microcomputer to be the start of it), and we don’t really know how long it will last. Toffler wrote at the very end of the 2nd Wave…the clues were there for him to predict the 3rd. I don’t think the mechanisms of the 4th Wave are around yet, so predicting what it will be about is a game worthy of the folks in the 30s who predicted flying cars and moving sidewalks in every city.
I remember reading this book when it came out in the early 80s. Remember he was writing this in the 70s. My recollection is that he hit the nail on the head with communications and home “cottage” businesses.
