Book Review: Twenty-Thirty, the Real Story of What Happens to America

Image courtesy of: http://us.macmillan.com/2030/AlbertBrooks

In the interests of continued book reviews, I thought I would review another book that I recently read, by Albert Brooks.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the book is sent in the year 2030. A lot has changed in the good ‘ol US of A. Universal health insurance is in place (with high premiums – I’m sure the Tea Party uses this book in their rants), senior citizens are living longer and longer thanks to a cure for cancer (and many other diseases/ailments), which is causing strains between the younger generations who cannot find work because the older generation is working longer thanks to their extended lives. This leads to a domestic terrorism sub-plot, with a militant group of “youngs” taking extreme measures to eliminate the “olds.”

Of course, disaster has to strike – and it does – in the form of the “big one,” which destroys the city of Los Angeles. With the U.S. even more in debt than they are currently, there just isn’t enough money to rebuild the city. A beleaguered President Bernstein is forced to take drastic steps that changes the U.S. forever.

The back of the book jacket reads: “In 2030, the author’s all-too-believable imagining of where today’s challenges could lead us tomorrow makes gripping and thought-provoking reading.” I have to completely and utterly disagree. There was nothing particularly believable about this story and while I finished the book, it was not an enjoyable read.

First, the book has far too many characters. You jump around chapter to chapter, and in some cases, page to page, finding yourself in the house of someone new, or attending a meeting of the “youngs” where even more new people are introduced. It’s far too easy to forget about characters, only to have them return, forcing you to flip back and figure out who is who, how they are connected and why they are important.

Second, the book extrapolates a very real situation: the boom of seniors as healthcare improves which impacts government services like (in the US) Social Security, and takes it to an extreme that is almost unbelievable. It takes a simplistic view of the political implications, with no real discussions shown about concrete measures to create a balance between young and old, or to fix the economic crisis (so perhaps it is a touch realistic – government getting something done? Hilarious!)

Third, the book makes a broad assumption that Americans would be open to the extreme solution for repairing Los Angeles as it is presented in the book. It assumes that a people can be so battered, beaten and weary of problems, that it will give up part of its sovereignty to be saved.

The extremeness of the book makes it unbelievable. The interactions between the (too many) characters is superficial, dull and boring. I wouldn’t say I “regret” reading the book, but it wasn’t something I’d recommend picking up.

Update: Albert Brooks is Hank Scorpio

I just realized that Albert Brooks is on the Simpsons from time to time, including as my favourite super-villain ever, Hank Scorpio. I hope this doesn’t happen to me because of my review: