A CLEAR IMAGE OF THE FUTURE

A powerful new vision of the future has just been reported by the man often called “The Next Carl Sagan.” With the publication of My Stepdaughter’s Watch, scientist, futurist, and author Dr. Jack Bacon has released a provocative and dazzling survey of the technologies that will redefine society in the coming generation. Bacon captures a lifetime of work in high technology and worldwide travel to new scientific centers in this astounding, upbeat, and very readable explanation of the tools that are about to change society forever.

Bacon should know, for he is an established expert on technology and social change. In his previous book, My Grandfathers’ Clock, he captured the steady rise of mankind out of the dark ages into the space age, one life at a time as seen through the eyes of twenty-eight real generations of fathers and sons. Now he presents the chapter that is the most intriguing of all: the story of the next generation. He passes his vision on to his teenage daughter as she begins her watch at the helm of society. She steps into adult life as her world achieves the permanent occupation of the cosmos, the final comprehension of the DNA code, infinite global access to the recorded knowledge of mankind, global commerce, nanotechnology, cloning, digital money, and other unprecedented technological and social leaps. These are just the tools that she and her generation will use to achieve even more astounding things.

Every part of the book conveys a deep understanding and personal relevance of the forces that are about to shape the world. (The personal touch extends to the cover, which features Bacon’s real-life stepdaughter Crystal, a student and international fashion model.) Building from his vast experience in advanced technologies such as nuclear fusion, artificial intelligence, and human space flight, Bacon weaves a comprehensive and integrated picture of the future. That vision incorporates perspectives gleaned from experts around the world in education, economics, transportation, nanotechnology, genetics, cloning, computing, augmented reality, and other topics. Not just the “what”, but the “how”, the “who”, the “when”, the “why”, and sometimes, the “why not?” are explored.

It’s not just the industrial world that draws Bacon’s gaze. Economic and educational prospects for the Third World permeate the book, as society wrestles with the widening gap between the technological “haves” and “have nots.”

Few people have the gift to accurately describe technical topics in such an enjoyable way—especially such a wide range of them. With My Stepdaughter’s Watch, Jack Bacon conveys in print the clear and passionate perspectives and the deeply human style that have put him in such high demand as a public spokesman and educator.

Author Profile:

Dr. Jack Bacon has often been called “The Next Carl Sagan”. He has an extensive background as an educator, engineer, and worldwide motivational speaker on human spaceflight, education, energy, and other topics. A graduate of Caltech and of the University of Rochester, he is a NASA engineer working on the design, assembly, and operation of the International Space Station—the most complicated and expensive undertaking in human history. Dr. Bacon is a fellow of the Explorers Club, an AIAA distinguished lecturer, a private motivational speaker, and a champion of numerous educational causes. He has been featured in dozens of TV and radio interviews around the word, including the recent “Countdown to Your Future” video by the Texas Education Association, to be shown to over 1.4 million students in 2003. He has presented to hundreds of live audiences across the US, as well as in Australia, Canada, Continental Europe, England, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, and Russia. He is one of the world's leading authorities on mankind's technological history and on our ultimate destiny together on Earth, in orbit, and out among the stars.

My Stepdaughter’s Watch is available from:

Normandy House Publishers

P.O. Box 59-1066

Houston, TX 77259-1066

Toll Free: (866) 447-4622

(www.normandyhousepublishers.com).

Note editors:

A copy of this release, digital images of the book cover and of the author, and additional information are also available at www.normandyhousepublishers.com

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