2011: Trendspotting for the next decade

Richard Laermer recently published 2011: Trendspotting for the next decade, a business book which he calls an exploration of trends that will affect our lives. It is available on Amazon and has an eyecatching cover.

Richard is a very bright guy, CEO of a PR firm and writes a fine blog.

His PR agency sent me a copy of this new book to review. I read the book over several days, first by reading 15 chapters chosen at random and then from start to finish. He covers a lot of ground but his new book does not measure up to his blog.

The book is a loose collection of observations and anecdotes that goes on far too long. At 295 pages there is something there for everyone. The problem I had was finding something new I could use amongst all of the extraneous comments.

The book would read better if one third of the chatter were excised from the book. This book is like an endless buffet of morsels of gossip, drive-by insights, and personal anecdotes that reflect years of experience. All of these are entertaining, but I left the table overloaded with minutiae and still hungry for basic information that I had not already seen on the Internet.

If you are not a blogger or a trend junkie and are looking for an amusing read, this may be just what you are looking for to while away the hours on your next plane flight.

If you want to get a sense of Richard at his best, read his blog.