Book excerpt: This anthology's essays forecast future developments in areas from social media to religion. Daniel Franklin, executive editor and business affairs editor of The Economist, and John Andrews, a writer for the magazine for 30 years, compiled and edited this volume. Since all 20 writers contribute to The Economist, they share a lucid style and a generally aligned conceptual framework. No one can promise accurate predictions, but these reporters share deeply informed insights about forces that will affect the world by 2050. The result is a useful, intriguing mosaic of the near future. The writers clearly explain complex concepts as their shared references let one essay build synergistically on the next. Readers who already know the contents of one essay will turn the page to remark on how startling the next one is. getAbstract recommends this collection to futurists, long-term planners, and readers interested in social analysis and forecasting.