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2040: A Fable
by Bruce Piasecki
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Overview


"A thoughtful and absorbing read, with a message to the world. Bruce Piasecki writes with energy and a vision." - Jay Parini, International Best-Selling Author of The Last Station.

Is it possible to define yourself in a world that is desperate to define you? And is ceaselessly getting better at it? 

2040: A Fable takes us forward into the near future, a world not too distant from ours, but weathered by years of The Virus, the steady beat of climate storms, and the ever-watching eyes of the Event Police. A world where technology and social media have evolved into scorecards, where your value is judged daily, and can be rewritten quickly. 

But in his quiet neighborhood of Saratoga Springs, George has established an oasis for himself from the chaos of the world outside. Surrounded by family and old friends, he is able to focus on his beloved books and old debates, and ignore the endless reports and gossip pinging from everyone’s devices. Until an unexpected dinner invitation leads to suspicions about a neighbor, and what that might mean about the State and its constant-surveillance culture. As George begins to question, he must challenge his own beliefs, especially when the neighborhood’s eyes turn on an eccentric uncle, who may be a risk to them all, or may be showing them a path forward. 

With 2040, Bruce Piasecki presents a thoughtful and entertaining fable that examines how we understand ourselves, what we owe to each other, and how to hold on to both in the face of life’s storms. 

Read more

Description


Set in Bruce Piasecki's actual neighborhood outside of this historic revolutionary town Saratoga Springs, New York, this Fable begins with the discovery that one of his family's neighbors are conspiratorialist, people of profound passion and misinformation. During a lovely dinner despite three years of The Virus, they dine together, and are intrigued by the neighbors Parrot, military equipment, and literary excellence. Suddenly, the neighbors leave for Maine; and the protagonist George develops his lifelong friends Winston and Abe, as they weather many insults from storms and other harms. Winston is a tax attorney; and Abe is a daily journalist, who had met George during their elite training in college. The seven book author Thaddeus Rutkowski does a fine introduction drawing the hilarious parallels between Bruce Piasecki's reflections on freedom and fate during their undergraduate years in the 1970s, and the lasting themes of this Fable. The endorsements for this Fable have arrived from Istanbul Turkey, Australia's northern regions, Ireland, Scotland and throughout the professions, from experts on white supremacy, social unrest, and philosophy. Much of the book is an exploration of the power of the works of Bob Dylan, Fellini, the Italian film legend, and a others like Chaucer and Milton, without being heavy or burdensome. In fact this book is about the need for freedom in a time of state surveillance. Structured in ten chapters, a Rabbi endorsing this book reflects on how sum of its lessons are fitting his religious and spiritual teachings; while others reading this book have commented on how much fun it is to read. One calls it a Kalie scope on family, love and friendship. Another reflects on how reading this book was a wild adventure. The best thing to take from creative writing like this Fable is a sense of freedom. In reflecting on the protagonists discovers both with and against his strong wife and daughter, and with his friends since college, the reader finds the writing informative, persuasive and full of delight. A homage to social justice, like the rest of Bruce Piasecki's work, some believe in their endorsements that this book will be even more worthy by 2040.
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About the author


Bruce Piasecki is the author of over a dozen books, including the New York Times and USA Today bestseller Doing More with Less: The New Way to Wealth. A homage to creative frugality and Ben Franklin, that DMWL book is now out in Spanish and Polish. Before DMWL, Bruce Piasecki wrote for Simon and Schuster; his title there, In Search of Environmental Excellence, was ranked by the Library of Congress as one of the top 100 books on Nature in the 20th century. In Search came out in editions by Quality Paperback Books and editions by Rodale; it was noted widely. During the last dozen books, Piasecki has tried his hand at biographies (Linda Coady, Eileen Fisher, "Giants of Social Investing"), creative memoir ("Missing Persons") and has written non-fiction Business and Society books that had him on book tours in Australia, Ireland, England, Scotland and other nations. His book World Inc, translated into a dozen foreign editions, won a book of the year in Japanese, and has been recognized as a major reflection on globalization and its discontents. Piasecki's management consulting firm has worked for Walmart in Africa across four years, for Toyota across decades, and now runs leadership councils of world experts for Merck, Walgreens Alliance Boots, and others. His leadership workshop series, the Corporate Affiliates Programs, has now enrolled over 300 of the Fortune 500 firms. At age 65, with the descent of Covid-19 before his family, friends, and firm, Bruce Piasecki wrote the fable 2040.
Read more

Book details

Genre:FICTION

Subgenre:Literary

Language:English

Pages:244

eBook ISBN:9781098374198

Paperback ISBN:9781098374181


Overview


"A thoughtful and absorbing read, with a message to the world. Bruce Piasecki writes with energy and a vision." - Jay Parini, International Best-Selling Author of The Last Station.

Is it possible to define yourself in a world that is desperate to define you? And is ceaselessly getting better at it? 

2040: A Fable takes us forward into the near future, a world not too distant from ours, but weathered by years of The Virus, the steady beat of climate storms, and the ever-watching eyes of the Event Police. A world where technology and social media have evolved into scorecards, where your value is judged daily, and can be rewritten quickly. 

But in his quiet neighborhood of Saratoga Springs, George has established an oasis for himself from the chaos of the world outside. Surrounded by family and old friends, he is able to focus on his beloved books and old debates, and ignore the endless reports and gossip pinging from everyone’s devices. Until an unexpected dinner invitation leads to suspicions about a neighbor, and what that might mean about the State and its constant-surveillance culture. As George begins to question, he must challenge his own beliefs, especially when the neighborhood’s eyes turn on an eccentric uncle, who may be a risk to them all, or may be showing them a path forward. 

With 2040, Bruce Piasecki presents a thoughtful and entertaining fable that examines how we understand ourselves, what we owe to each other, and how to hold on to both in the face of life’s storms. 

Read more

Description


Set in Bruce Piasecki's actual neighborhood outside of this historic revolutionary town Saratoga Springs, New York, this Fable begins with the discovery that one of his family's neighbors are conspiratorialist, people of profound passion and misinformation. During a lovely dinner despite three years of The Virus, they dine together, and are intrigued by the neighbors Parrot, military equipment, and literary excellence. Suddenly, the neighbors leave for Maine; and the protagonist George develops his lifelong friends Winston and Abe, as they weather many insults from storms and other harms. Winston is a tax attorney; and Abe is a daily journalist, who had met George during their elite training in college. The seven book author Thaddeus Rutkowski does a fine introduction drawing the hilarious parallels between Bruce Piasecki's reflections on freedom and fate during their undergraduate years in the 1970s, and the lasting themes of this Fable. The endorsements for this Fable have arrived from Istanbul Turkey, Australia's northern regions, Ireland, Scotland and throughout the professions, from experts on white supremacy, social unrest, and philosophy. Much of the book is an exploration of the power of the works of Bob Dylan, Fellini, the Italian film legend, and a others like Chaucer and Milton, without being heavy or burdensome. In fact this book is about the need for freedom in a time of state surveillance. Structured in ten chapters, a Rabbi endorsing this book reflects on how sum of its lessons are fitting his religious and spiritual teachings; while others reading this book have commented on how much fun it is to read. One calls it a Kalie scope on family, love and friendship. Another reflects on how reading this book was a wild adventure. The best thing to take from creative writing like this Fable is a sense of freedom. In reflecting on the protagonists discovers both with and against his strong wife and daughter, and with his friends since college, the reader finds the writing informative, persuasive and full of delight. A homage to social justice, like the rest of Bruce Piasecki's work, some believe in their endorsements that this book will be even more worthy by 2040.

Read more

About the author


Bruce Piasecki is the author of over a dozen books, including the New York Times and USA Today bestseller Doing More with Less: The New Way to Wealth. A homage to creative frugality and Ben Franklin, that DMWL book is now out in Spanish and Polish. Before DMWL, Bruce Piasecki wrote for Simon and Schuster; his title there, In Search of Environmental Excellence, was ranked by the Library of Congress as one of the top 100 books on Nature in the 20th century. In Search came out in editions by Quality Paperback Books and editions by Rodale; it was noted widely. During the last dozen books, Piasecki has tried his hand at biographies (Linda Coady, Eileen Fisher, "Giants of Social Investing"), creative memoir ("Missing Persons") and has written non-fiction Business and Society books that had him on book tours in Australia, Ireland, England, Scotland and other nations. His book World Inc, translated into a dozen foreign editions, won a book of the year in Japanese, and has been recognized as a major reflection on globalization and its discontents. Piasecki's management consulting firm has worked for Walmart in Africa across four years, for Toyota across decades, and now runs leadership councils of world experts for Merck, Walgreens Alliance Boots, and others. His leadership workshop series, the Corporate Affiliates Programs, has now enrolled over 300 of the Fortune 500 firms. At age 65, with the descent of Covid-19 before his family, friends, and firm, Bruce Piasecki wrote the fable 2040.
Read more

Book Reviews

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Bobby
Fun, entertaining and insightful What stood out about this book was how I was able to connect with the story. 2040 isn't my story, it's all of us. It's thoughtful and honest, and you walk away thinking about what is ahead of us? Where is our world going? I worry that this book won't fall onto peoples radar. It's a shame, because it could be a classic. Read more