THE TOMORROW FILE - Parts 1 and 2

THE TOMORROW FILE - Parts 1 and 2

Customer Reviews

The Tomorrow File

18 Reviews 5 star:  (12) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (0) 1 star:  (1)

Average Customer Review 4.4 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews) Share your thoughts with other customers Create your own review

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Showing 1-10 of 18 reviews: 4.4 average star rating

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars a terriffic read, January 28, 2006 By  Joseph T. Colagreco "cojaysea" (okayama japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) a mostly unknown gem from 1973 by the author who became known for THE FIRST DEADLY SIN and THE MCNALLY CAPERS . when i read this novel back in 75 ( the first paperback edition) i did not want to see the year 2000! SANDERS' look at the immediate future is horrifying. predicting the future is always risky business but SANDERS fills his futuristic tale with the most incredible plot twists and memorable caracters. welcome to a world where many people are born in a test tube with genetic ratings ( those who were born naturally are known as OBSOS for obsolete) the dept. of health and welfare is now known as the dept. of public happiness or the dept. of bliss. almost all drugs are legal. people drink vodka and smack and smoke marijuana as readily as we drink vodka and tonic. pot is legal and sold by the government . one brand is called BOLD. when you have sex with someone that person is known as a 'user". if you enjoyed the sex then it was "profitable".( martha and i used each other last night , it was quite a profit". money is called LOVE. ( sorry nick but theres no love in this project lets move on to something else) . food and drink as we know it is almost all genetically engineered from petro or oil.people eat "petroveal" and "propeas" and drink wine that tastes like fuel. occassionally you can find a real bottle of wine made from REAL grapes that will cost a fortune.( what do you want to eat tonight nick, fake italian or fake french?) an artificially inseminated male with a grade a genetic rating is catogorized as a AINMA-A. the government controlls all genetic ratings and if you dont have an A rating you cant have children. the united states is a huge corporation heading towards leading a corporate world. known now as simply THE US ( the u.s. of america was dropped ) any nation can join the US. costa rica and purto rico where the first to join. england is thinking of joining the us at the time of writing. medical and genetic engineering are racing ahead with startling and frightening rapidity. the govt. absolutley rules everything. nicolas bennington flair is the main carachter whos job among other things is to protect and keep alive a dying obso social genius named hyman lewishon. he comes up with the most frightening and horrifying idea i think ive ever read in any sci fi or social fiction tale that i wont even hint at to avoid spoiling it for those who havent read it yet. his friend and user is paul bumford . also his understudy . they work directly for angela lee berri, the director of the dept. of bliss. the reader is taken on a ride with so many plot twists and turns and surprises through the machinations of corporate power and political leaders that after a while nothing is as it seems. who is screwing who?? right up to the final line of the book the suspense is just incredible. a tale of futuristic social and governmental workings that is sometimes funny,always frightening and endlessly fascinating. SANDERS imagination must have been working overtime on this one. never again did he rise to this level. never again did he write anything like it. the first part of the book is titled "X". the second part of the book is titled"Y". the third part is titled "Z", the final chapter ,only one paragraph long is titled "A". see what i mean about different? ive read this book 3 times and will probably read it again. dont miss this almost unknown gem. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars A visionary book, October 6, 2012 By  Gary Howie (Oxford, AL USA) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) Forget 1984! Forget Brave New World! THIS is the book that has most correctly predicted the future. Why this book isn't taught in high school literary classes is a puzzle to me. Lawrence Sanders is at the top of his game in his novel about a society that is ruled by science. I first read this book as a teen in 1977. Now, at 51, I am rereading it for the third time and it is still as entertaining as the first read. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful 4.0 out of 5 stars Good weekend read;plenty of present-day parallels., September 3, 1999 By A Customer This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) Sanders probably isn't writing sci-fi as much as he is using the future setting to avoid libel claims. The focus on youth, intelligence, and information as a source of power are no future stretch. Government's/industry's job is to keep people happy by carefully managing the flow and spin of information, to maximize the benefits,not to the public at large, but to the executives, politicians and bureaucrats. This is best accomplished in a society where most people don't give a rip, unless their own boat is rocked. For parallels,one need only look to the current impact on market indices or consumer confidence measures of a tiny tick in a government-produced labor or inflation statistic, or to the impact on our perception of public safety produced by a favorable crime statistic. Is Nick Flair that much different from Bill Gates/Clinton, in his early appreciation and clever use of the power that derives from control of information? I guess I read this as satire. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars A near future when kids get MUCH smarter, much younger., March 26, 1997 By A Customer This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) Sanders, in a change of pace, chillingly limns a future when fast maturation and blazing intelligence are available to young teens, gradually forcing the older leaders and movers of society into unwanted retirement. Excellent characterization, pace, and imaginative projections of current trends in computer science, media (think MTV election specials), and sports forcing for the Olympics make this a novel that you will think back on often, and wonder if you'll be replaced by a ten-year-old with a 200 IQ... Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 5.0 out of 5 stars Quirky But Fascinating, July 19, 2013 By  nelda buhrow - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Paperback) I read this book many years ago and found myself thinking of things in the book frequently. I ordered this book to re-read (a first for me). Then ordered it for my adult son. I now say to my family....put it in the TOMORROW FILE. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 5.0 out of 5 stars The future in one book, June 5, 2013 By  DDTJ "DDTJ" (ILLINOIS) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) I have read the tomorrow file dozens of times and it still scares me! This is truly tomorrow today! Genetics,government controlling our lives down to the DNA its all here! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 5.0 out of 5 stars The Tomorrow File, August 14, 2012 By  OnTimeAl - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Paperback) This book was written in 1975 and was a science fiction book about the future civilization that exists in 2000 and beyond. It is a fascinating to read it and see both the similarities and differences now that we are in 2012. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 5.0 out of 5 stars Prescient, June 2, 2012 By  Glen119833 - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) Eerily prescient for a book written in the 1960's. Humanity is now living many aspects of this book...and is well on it's way to realizing others. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 4.0 out of 5 stars I (almost) wish this had come true!, March 11, 2011 By  E. S. Charpentier (Brainerd, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) This novel, written in 1975, tells of a future set in 1998 that is a far cry from the reality of what 1998 was actually like. Sanders imagines that the biological revolution has resulted in genetic classifications based on whether one is 'natural,' produced by artificial insemination, artificial inovulation, cloned, or otherwise created without the necessity for sexual intercourse by one's parents. The 'objects' (people) of tomorrow eat food synthesized from petroleum and soybeans, enjoy unrestricted (either morally or legally) 'using' (sex) and an addictive soft drink called Smack. There is a pharmacological solution for everything, almost all with no side effects. The narrator begins the book as the Assistant Deputy Director of Research and Development for the Department of Bliss (a division of the US Government). He is involved in shaping the society of the future, which is entirely unfamiliar to the reader, as well as political intrigue , which sounds exactly like something that would happen today. The novel is divided into three 'books,' which I think, had they been sold separately and marketed as a trilogy, could have made both the author and the publisher quite a bit more 'love' (money). Each book has a distinct plot and climactic resolution, although the final resolution lacked in that not all of the loose ends were either tied up or revealed to the reader. It was a little difficult to get used to the jargon involved, especially as men and women are referred to as 'ems' and 'efs' respectively. I had to go back and read the first chapter again once I realized that. My only other complaint is that the summary on the back of the book has little to nothing to do with the actual contents of the book. DO NOT judge this book by it's back cover. Overall, an interesting work about futuristic society and the consequences thereof. I think the author is striving for 'cautionary tale,' but I don't think I'd mind living in that kind of world. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 3.0 out of 5 stars Readable but without a real climax or plot twist, February 16, 2009 By  Bryan Thompson "Bryan Thompson" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) I found this book readable and good enough if there is nothing else around. there seem to be no real climax or plot twists that are unforseen. There are a few points where the author clearly sees it as a plot twist or a surprise, but any reader with a basic ability of forshadowing would know what will happen 50 pages in. Decent enough but still somewhat of a bad rip-off of Brave New World andNineteen Eighty-Fourwith cheesy sex scenes thrown in. What I think is funny in science fiction books around this time is that they thought we would have much more advanced chemistry and biotechnology (most food in this world is made out of petroleum, virtually all the children are near geniuses) but computers are nowhere as advanced and something as complex as the internet was unthinkable. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment (1) Showing 11-18 of 18 reviews: 4.4 average star rating 5.0 out of 5 stars my all time favorite book, June 22, 2005 By  S. Gold "bookher" (minneapolis,mn) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) This is the only book that I've read 5plus times. It is truly amazing, especially in that it was published 4 years before I was born. Way ahead of it's time, I look forward to reading it again!!!! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 5.0 out of 5 stars Biological Time Bomb went off back n 1973, October 31, 2002 By  "tzia" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Paperback) To get full impact of The Tomorrow File, try digging up The Biological Time Bomb and comparing with Huxley's Brave New World and Brave New World Revsited.The read it again -- The Tomorrow File, that is. I first read The Tomorrow File and The Biological Time Bomb [sorry, can not recall that author's name] in 1973. MAYBE even 1972. And by 1991 when the paperback re-issue was added to a bookstore across the street that is no more, well, I was seeing evidence every day that folks reading it for the FIRST time in 1991 were already LEFT BEHIND on what's real in "sociology." Can't fault YOU, Larry. Or Aldous or Julian or even H.G. Welles and Upton Sinclair. You warned them hard enough. Not that any bodies with the good old "It Can't Happen Here" attitudes ever paid attention. Nicholas definitely pushed his luck too far. So far, even though thoroughly mind-diddled my own great love and I have stayed relatively free and happy with only the following chatter to show for going on 11 years... Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 4.0 out of 5 stars Realistic, innovative science fiction., September 27, 1998 By A Customer This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) A book far ahead of its time, quite uncharacteristic of Sanders but still innovative and compelling. Nick Flair, the protagonist, gives the reader a view of the future from a 1970's perspective. There is no supercomputer controlling the world, just the basic ingenuity of mankind. Think of it as Brave New World and 1984 produced for daytime TV. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book, apparently overlooked by all, March 27, 1998 By  K. Smith "Ken of Cambridge" (Cambridge, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) An amazing and chilling tale! Should be classified as Science Fiction and thus, it is unlike any other Sanders book - not a mystery or a sex-fest, though it has those elements in spades. Obviously, Sanders had fun with his premise, which (I think) is: What would happen if the Government set about to make its citizenry happy? And at any cost, including active manipulation of individual lives. Imagine Brave New World, with an entertaining mystery, modernized, and taken to the next degree.Sanders cleverly renames common terms, for example: Males are EM's, females are EF's, sex is "using." This extends to the government - the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has evolved into the "Department of Bliss." (Couldn't happen? - remember the Dept. of Defense used to be called the War Department.) Definitely will make you glad your government is as inept as it is - after reading TF, you will never ask again for a government that knows what it's doing! Ken Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 1 of 2 people found the following review helpful 4.0 out of 5 stars Addresses Bill Joy's questions before he asked, March 18, 2000 By  Len Delunas (Seattle) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) Several years ago this author suggested that our country will create a new branch of government - the scientific branch - for the purpose of identifying technolology that should not be pursued...and advising the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government to put that technology into the "tomorrow file" - essentially buried for a future time, when society might be better suited to absorb the consequences.Excellent concepts.Appropriate material to help consider Bill Joy's observations. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars What an introduction!, May 5, 2011 By  docster - See all my reviews This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) In 1981, a college palette handed me a copy "The Tomorrow File" and said, "I think you'd enjoy this." This was the only Sanders novel she'd read, and at the time, I'd never heard of the author. Over the years we've chuckled at how "The Tomorrow File" shaped our reading habits for decades -- we've both read all his books (including the Sanders-family-approved McNally books penned by Vincent Lardo after Sanders death). A novel of social-science fiction, the book is an darkly futuristic tale of governmental cabals and machinations, and led me to devour the volume in two sittings. I, like several other reviewers here, have read the book multiple times, and I've found something new each time. In fact, it's about time for another read.... Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment (1) 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars PRE-PSYBERPUNK, ORIGINAL DISTOPIAN BIOMEDICAL FUTURE GENRE. HACK WRITER'S RESEARCH PAYS OFF! OLD BOOK, YET PRESCIENT, October 21, 2005 By  Louis James "LUXXCORP" (Tampa, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Mass Market Paperback) The best book I've ever read 3 or 4 times. Let's keep it a secret until I'm finished the screenplay adaptation. Should I make it a mini-series for TV or a trilogy like The Matrix? SEXPIT7@SE7EN7SILICONSTRIP, "The Big Guava" Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment (1) 0 of 10 people found the following review helpful 1.0 out of 5 stars Hard to understand, October 1, 1997 By  Chris (williamwatson@sunco.com) (Florida) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Tomorrow File (Paperback) Lawrence Sanders is one of my favorite writers, the book, The Tomorrow File, is not worth TRYING to read. I finally gave up. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink Comment Comment (1)