PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
"In 1972, Bob Rich had young children, and a Ph.D. thesis to write up. He was bored with the project, and kept himself awake during his library research by reading about unrelated topics. He wanted to be able to predict the future for his kids, and so drifted to futurology. No, not Nostradamus or astrology, but the use of existing trends to predict the future. The evidence was unmistakable. The coming world was horrendous. Resources then still plentiful such as cheap petroleum would become depleted, leading to hardships and even wars. This would lead to far more expensive, and environmentally more damaging methods of supply. Air and water would be polluted, so that cancers, asthma, allergies and other severe health problems would become epidemics. Increasing global mobility was bound to increase the rate at which new strains of diseases, and entirely new diseases would emerge, and even then, genetic engineering was a possibility, leading to the risk of releasing entirely new monster organisms. He was aware of research on the effects of crowding on mammals, and predicted the breakdown of the family, increasing stress-related diseases like strokes, heart attacks and digestive ulcers, wars of genocide based on unreasoning hatred, addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling and anything else with the slightest promise of easing distress. Horrendous weather events were guaranteed to become more frequent, and more severe. In other words, he predicted today's society. Some details were still to come. For example, this was over forty years before scientific evidence confirmed that we are in the sixth extinction event of earth. Species are dying out at more than 1000 times the ""background rate,"" and the numbers of many so-far not endangered species are plummeting. Of particular concern is the drop in insect and bird numbers, in part due to the climate catastrophe, in part to our insanity in bathing the entire planet in pesticides and other toxins. Destroy species at the base of a food chain, and the entire ecosystem disintegrates. And we are a part of nature, not apart from nature. Since that time, Bob has never stopped fighting for a saner world, on the grounds that, when the Cataclysm comes, he can at least say, ""It wasn't my fault."" You can read about his proposed solution to humanity's problems in his essay, How to Change the World (http: //wp.me/P3Xihq-5). Bob is the author of 18 books to date. You can inspect them all, and find lots of writing that is informative, challenging, inspiring - but never boring - at his blog, Bobbing Around (https: //bobrich18.wordpress.com/)."
"""As the title suggests, this is a book concerns a person waking from cry-o-genic sleep far into the future. You may think this concept has been explored unto the point where nothing more can be said. However, the sleeper is just a small part of this tale. It is the intro-ductory device that allows the author to show us his version of the future of mankind. This is a highly polished, well constructed work that gives the reader a glimpse into Bob Rich version of mankind's destiny. It is not a story high in action content-this is far more SF in the vein of Asimov where the ideas are all important than of Heinlein's militaristic aggressive style but with Asimov my favorite SF author I certainly wasn't complaining."" --Steve Mazey, The Eternal Night ""In this story, Rich has fleshed out well-rounded, very human characters. Though of a different time and place, Flora's new friends bear close likenesses to people we encounter in our everyday lives. Sleeper, Awake contains insightful messages about living in a world where racial boun-dar-ies are nonexistent; about relationships between family members, friends and lovers; and, most poignantly, perhaps, it's about Flora's soul-search-ing journey as she comes to a new understanding about the cycle of life and death. If you relish thoughtful, imaginative speculations about what our future may bring, you won't regret taking the time to read Sleeper, Awake by Dr. Bob Rich!"" --Jeanne Allen, Ivy Quill Reviews ""When beautiful, wealthy actress Flora Fielding had herself placed in suspended animation, she expected to be revived during the twenty-first century so that her breast cancer could be cured. Instead, she is shocked to find herself awakened almost fifteen hundred years later. Flora faces physical and mental challenges, but she is a somewhat passive protagonist because of her health. Abel, Kiril, and Tamás provide most of the action, and there are lots of thrills and chills as they and other male characters scale mountains, ride bulls, and navigate stormy seas. The women are strong and independent, loving and inspiring the men who may soon father their children. The story brims with fascinating, sometimes contro-versial theories about our present and future. Dr. Rich, who writes with compassion and irony, has fashioned a rather complicated plot, and the reader may occasionally feel as overwhelmed as Flora does upon awaken-ing. Still, the tale moves swiftly and is filled with charm, tenderness, and excitement. And the scenic descriptions are fabulous."" --Ilene Sirocca, Running River Reader ""Sleeper, Awake, a science fiction novel by Dr. Bob Rich, is a truly amazing experience. To step inside this novel is to step inside an almost alien, but totally believable, world. Dr. Rich designs the futuristic world of Sleeper, Awake with such compelling detail that one comes to the conclusion that this must indeed be the reality of our future earth. Despite its alien quality, the world of Sleeper, Awake is in many ways a vast improvement over the world today. I give this fascinating book 5 stars. --Marilyn Peake, author of The Fisherman's Son ""The author, through a descriptive narrative and well-developed charac-terization, shows a future where a great upheaval shifted the environment and altered landmasses. For example, a huge mountain formed where Chicago once existed. In his fluid writing style, Dr. Rich creates a world of the far future where hunger, war, and disease are but a faint memory in the consciousness of humanity. The world of Sleeper, Awake is a fascinating read. I give it all my fingers and toes up."" -- Michael L. Thal, EBooksNBytes"
