All reviews are written by members of The H2G2 Bookworm's Club. We hope this review is helpful and that we'll see you airing your views at the Club soon.

I promised myself that I'd never review a Douglas Adam's book. I mean, can you imagine the lynching I'd get if I said something less than favourable on here? But the BBC asked me to review their Book of the Future, and it wasn't until I read the back cover that I discovered that this ingenious book was the brainchild of DNA. Luckily, there is absolutely no chance of a lynching because I love the book. Suffice to say, the BBC aren't getting my copy back.

The Book of the Future started out with members of h2g2 contributing their predictions of what life would be like in 2020. This then expanded till the book had a website of it's own, and predictions flooded in. Celebrities got in on the act, among them Tara Palmer-Tompkinson, Michael Meacher and David Levy, while artists such as Jonathan Pugh and Robert Thompson contributed cartoons. The members then voted for the best, and the top 75, 'plus a few extra', became the Book of the Future.

The articles cover a wide range of topics, including food, entertainment, the government, religion, our looks and transport. Some take a satirical view, others are more poignant, and some just make you gasp. Please read with an open mind, a box of tissues and someone to read the many good bits too.

It would take forever to review each and every article, so I've picked my highlights. First up, the funnie's:

Our own Dr E Vibenstein writes a 2020 Top 10, featuring some very old favourites. At 7, The Rolling Stones, 'using controversial BTG (Beyond The Grave) technology... with overdubs by the only surviving member, the medical phenomenon that is Keith Richards.' Scarily, it seems a general consensus that the Beckham brother's will become popstars, although it hasn't been explained where they'll get their
talent for singing from...

Apologies for this next bit, for it seems that even in 17 years time we still won't be free from Harry Potter. In 'Harry Potter and the Mortgage Repayments of Doom' Dudley Dursley's an MP, and Draco plans to sell Hogwarts to Disneyland (wonder what Warner Brothers will say about that!) This article shows an interesting point, the Book of the Future is actually a book about the present. Everyone's heard
of Harry Potter, the Beckham's, even Jordan and the Congestion charge are mentioned. All are fragments of today, giving the book a fascinating new dimension.

As with any well-rounded book, you don't just laugh while reading it. Sometimes, there's nothing for it but to have a flipping good cry. Particularly sob-worthy is an 'out of the mouths of babes' moment. To quote Liam Seals, age 11:

I think that the world will never be peaceful, and that no countries will be able to make a peace treaty.
Because, to be honest, if this is what is happening now and there is no way of stopping it, what is there to be happy about in the future?

'My New Game' made me gasp. It makes an excellent short story, but the emotion encapsulated within it give it an all too realistic edge. It tells of a plain girl with glasses and a slight limp, who gets to transform herself into a gorgeous auburn-haired tiny-waisted secret agent through a virtual reality game. People become so engrossed in this game that the makers bring in a function that shuts the game down
after 3 hours. But so keen is the girl to escape that she overrides the function.

This highlights an issue known (unfortunately) to myself only to well; bullying. Which leads me to my own vision of the future. I'm not daft enough to believe that in just 17 years time, everyone on planet Earth will live in harmony and happiness, but maybe, just maybe, those who seek at a young age to destroy the confidence of those 'weaker' than them will be made to stop. I don't know how this will happen, I'm
certainly not advocating something like bringing back the cane, but something has to be done. I watch the news about Iraq and realise that I understand, on some level, what its inhabitants went through under Saddam's regime. Why can the government march in to save foreigners from torture, and yet leave its countries young to fend for themselves?

Finally, tempting though it may be to borrow a copy, please buy one. They are only £4.99, and 50p goes to Comic Relief. Help start as we mean to go on, by supporting those around us.

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