The Day It Finally Happens
by Mike Pearl
Published by Hodder & Stoughton www.hodder.co.uk

Mike Pearl – Vice columnist and anxiety disorder sufferer – worries about the future. To help quantify that worry, he’s sought advice from a selection of experts on exactly how much he should be worried about a variety of potential futures.

Pearl sets the scene for each scenario with a little fictional version of the proposed future then gives it a worry and probability rating before delving into the nitty gritty of expert opinion on the hows and whys. With an enviably easy writing style he draws you in and takes you on a tour of optimism and existential dread while pointing out silver linings and unexpected clouds en route.

Humans, Pearl suggests, don’t really believe in the future. We didn’t believe in this one after all which is why we’re in such a mess right now. You probably won’t believe all the futures explored here but you’ll definitely be better prepared to worry about the ones you do.