(Knoxville, TN) Knox County Public Library is pleased to welcome Dean Rice, Knox County Chief of Staff, for a look at the future as discussed in the book The Next 100 Years: A forecast for the 21st century by George Friedman in Knox County Public Library’s Book Sandwiched In, Wednesday, June 18, 12:00 p.m. in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium, at 601 South Gay Street.
 
“Clearly, predicting events over a century is next to impossible; however, Friedman builds strong, logical cases for the shifts and changes he believes lie ahead," Rice says.
 
In The Next 100 Years, Friedman offers a lucid, highly readable forecast of the changes we can expect around the world during the twenty-first century. He explains where and why future wars will erupt (and how they will be fought), which nations will gain and lose economic and political power, and how new technologies and cultural trends will alter the way we live in the new century.
 
"The Next Hundred Years is an extremely thought provoking look at geopolitical shifts that, if realized,” Rice said, “will profoundly impact the world our children and grandchildren live in.”
Friedman is in the business of predicting: he isCEO of Strategic Forecasting, Inc., a private intelligence agency whose clients include foreign government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. Among his predictions are that the United States will dominate the coming century, putting Islamic terrorist threats in check, overcoming a resurgent Russia, and eventually gaining influence over space-based missile systems. There will be armed border clashes with Mexico, and space war pitting Japan and Turkey against the United States and allies.
 
“Anyone who follows the current events unfolding in Ukraine and Russia will find this book absolutely fascinating,” Rice said.
 
In addition to serving as Chief of Staff for Knox County, Rice is an adjunct faculty member with UT’s College of Communication and Information Science, where he also earned a degree in communication studies. He served as Legislative/Policy Aid on issues of energy, federal budget, and national defense for members of the U.S. House and Senate during the mid to late 1990s. He was the 2013 recipient of both the Society of Universal Dialogue’s Atlantic Institute "Peace Award" and the Distinguished Alumnus, School of Communication Studies. He recently co-authored a opinion piece for CNN on the Ukrainian crisis and global security.
 
The public is invited to join the conversation. Bring your favorite sandwich or pick up something from a downtown restaurant. Soft drinks and bottled water will be available for 50 cents. Copies of the books are available at the Library if you'd like to read one before the program.
 
On July 16, Dr. Ed Caudill, will discuss The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone.
 
On August 20, Alvin Nance, Executive Director/CEO at Knoxville's Community Development Corporation, will discuss The American Way of Poverty: How the other half still lives by Sasha Abramsky.
 
On September 17, Erin Gill, Director, Knoxville Policy/Redevelopment/Sustainability Department, will discuss Climate Casino by William D. Nordaus