Megatrends 2000: Ten New Directions for the 1990's

In this sequel to their 1982 bestseller, Megatrends , Naisbitt and Aburdene use solid and startling statistics to identify 10 dominant socio-economic trends for the 1990s. Among these, they foresee a booming global economy, with the ``Pacific Rim'' of Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore rivaling a single-market ``Europe 1992.'' Socialized industry and government welfare services will be largely replaced, they argue, by private enterprise. Meanwhile, women worldwide will achieve parity with men as leaders in the professions. The authors also predict a strong resurgence in the arts, national/ethnic culture, and religion, as the millennium nears. They envision as well epic developments and dangers in biochemical science--test-tube chickens, clones of endangered species, killer-disease vaccines. The authors' figures frequently upset conventional wisdom--more U.S. goods ($37.7 billion) were sold to Japan in 1988, they maintain, than to Germany, France and Italy combined. Major ad/promo; BOMC alternate; author tour . (Jan.)