Intriguing is the best way to describe The Day It Finally Happens by Mike Pearl. This well researched and annotated book combines fact with fictional what if questions. Or maybe, just maybe, not so fictional. In fact each and every chapter seems impossible until Pearl explains how entirely possible each scenario is. Be prepared to be scared-or at least unsettled.
Topics Covered
Pearl covers a wide arrange of topics. There is literally a subject to peak anyone’s interest. He opens with a discussion of abolishing British Monarchy and ends with The Last Cemetery running out of space. I read the first two chapters in order before cheating the rest of the way through the book.
In this day of pandemic, the chapter on antibiotics no longer working drew my eye. (Much like the blue cousins to the coronavirus dancing across the cover.) Then I was off to coverage of super volcanoes and Internet outages. Perhaps Pearl had a purpose for his content order, but I quite enjoyed skipping from topic to topic. And I learned a lot.
Chapter Set-Up
Each of the chapters in The Day It Finally Happens begins with a set of scaled questions. The four queries are the perfect way to set the stage. First is “Likely in this century?” with a yay or nay answer. Then Pearl has a plausibility rating on a scale of 1 to 5. The last two questions are more open ended and entice the reader to delve into the scenario. From this point, the chapters were introduced in a variety of ways. But after each opening, Pearl explained how each “impossible phenomena” could become possible.
Interviews with experts in the field anchor the author’s arguments for each chapter. Plus, Pearl discusses a variety of technologies that currently exist. These revelations (at least for me) are of the shock and awe variety. The chapter on The Day Anyone Can Imitate Anyone Else Perfectly is downright eye-opening. Current technology far exceeds that imagined by George Orwell of Aldous Huxley.
The Day It Finally Happens Hooks and Keeps
The best part of The Day It Finally Happens is the wide variety of topics covered. There literally is something for everyone. This book has made my list of books to give at Christmas. In fact multiple copies may be given. Mike Pearl is a writer to keep an eye on.
Chapters on Saudi Arabian oil, slaughterhouses and the last human driven car will appeal to multiple family members. The research in each chapter will keep the reader hooked. If you are in search of an informative well written book that applies facts to the implausible, buy a copy of The Day It Finally Happens.
