Martha has pinned a printed note to the notice board for all Dragon to see. It reads thus:

Dear Fellow Dragons,

Subject: The Opening of a Monthly Book Club!

As Grand Wyrm it is my sincere hope to inspire study and provoke useful discussion on all aspects of the Great Work.

With this in mind I feel we may stimulate such activity through establishing a convivial regular book club!

The first book I wished to offer for group discussion was "Future Shock" by Alvin Toffler.

I hope we may find much to discuss in this work but I also hope our main focus should properly be upon what we, as Dragons, may learn from the book and what information and understanding can we incorporate in our own studies.

Other books I hope we can discuss later include:

* "Future Worlds" by Dr John Gribbin PhD
* "Concepts of Modern Art" edited by Mr Nikos Stangos MA
* "The Lunar Men" by Mrs Jenny Unglow OBE B.Litt
* "Chaos: making a new science" by Mr James Gleick BA

There are obviously many books and articles we could find useful and inspiring to read. I would, therefore, welcome book recommendations from fellow Dragons so we may include them in the roster of books.

I hope we may convene the inaugural meeting for discussion at 20:00 on October 1 at the local Chapter House.

Notes on the Text

Future Shock

 by Mr Alvin Toffler BA

This book was first published in 1970 by Alvin Toffler, a prize winning futurologist. His other books include "The Third Wave" (1980) and "The Powershift" (1990). Though each book stands alone they certainly operate as coherent theoretical trilogy.

With the benefit of three decades of hindsight we can test some of Mr Toffler's forecasts. In "Future Shock" he foresaw the break-up of the nuclear family, the beginnings of the genetic science revolution, the rise of the 'throw-away' society, the resurgence of an emphasis on education and the increased importance of knowledge in society.

Mr Toffler was born in 1928 and is a graduate of New York University. He has worked as an editor for "Fortune Magazine"; a visiting professor at Cornell University and served as an adviser for IBM Corporation, Xerox, AT&T and the Rockerfeller Brothers Fund.

During the 1960's Mr Toffler worked on a pioneering report for IBM to analyse the possible effects upon society of the improvements and increasing ubiquity of computing technology.

I believe his writings can offer strong insight into Change and I shall leave this note with Mr Toffler's words ~ an extract from the preface to "Powershift";

"...the central subject is change - what happens to people when their entire society abruptly transforms itself into something new and unexpected. Future Shock looks at the process of change - how change affects people and organisations. The Third Wave focuses on the directions of change - where today's changes are taking us. Powershift deals with the control of changes still to come - who will shape them and how."


Ipsa scientia potestas est

Grand Wyrm Martha Villiers
Scholar of Sanguine Terror



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