Library Journal
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Here are Gore's (An Inconvenient Truth) latest attempts to identify and explain those factors shaping the world in the early 21st century. He opens with discussion on the emergence of a fully integrated global economy, along with a global communications grid, narrating the book himself. Gore moves to the new balance of economic, social, political, and military power, which differs radically from that of the 20th century. He then considers the rapid growth in population and unsustainable natural resource consumption driven by poor, short-term decisions followed by examinations of new biological and medical materials and technologies that allow us to restructure matter. He closes by examining the new balance between human activity and its effect on the environment of the planet. Gore buttresses his arguments with a vast range of information taken from nearly all disciplines. Though the picture appearing in this story is at times bleak, the author remains optimistic that humanity will make the necessary changes to ensure Earth's survival. VERDICT This is not an easy listen. It covers a lot of ground and assumes a level of prior knowledge on the part of the listener. In the end, though, it is worth the effort. Recommended to all listeners.--Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A tour de force of Big Picture thinking in which the former vice president gets his inner wonk on. Gore (Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, 2009, etc.) writes that this book had its origins in an on-the-road conversation about the drivers of global change--of all kinds, from economic to cultural to environmental. The author spent the next few years outlining, outlining and outlining again--and then thinking, gathering, sifting and writing a tome that he reckons is "data-driven and based on deep research and reporting--not speculation, alarmism, nave optimism, or blue-sky conjecture." It is all of the former, with a quarter of the book given over to notes, and none of the latter. One of the six drivers Gore enumerates is the emergence of a technologically driven "global mind" that tends toward the liberating and away from the repressive. At the same time, though, there has emerged a libertarian puritanism that insists on "the reallocation of decision-making power from democratic processes to market mechanisms," dismissing "the very notion that something called the public interest even existed." Sustainable energy sources have similarly emerged even as market mechanisms have pushed "fracking" of fossil fuel deposits, such that--it would not be a Gore book without, yes, alarming statistics--"in the United States an estimated 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid waste have been injected into more than 680,000 wells." Biomedicine has made extraordinary advances, and yet, because of "unhealthy corporate control of the public policy decision-making process," medical care is in complete disarray. And so on, the good with the bad. Which will prevail is the question; if for the good, Gore urges, we will need to see "a shift in consciousness powerful enough to change the current course of civilization." Provocative, smart, densely argued--and deserving of a wide audience and wider discussion.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Since exiting the political stage after the controversial presidential election of 2000, Al Gore has pursued a lucrative business career while continuing his series of works of environmental warning, which began with Earth in the Balance (1992). While less admonitory than An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Gore's green concerns persist in this new assembly of prognostications, which organize the author's vision of humanity's prospects into six categories. Those are economic globalization (which Gore tags as Earth, Inc. ), instantaneous communication ( the Global Mind ), international relations, demography and capitalism, human health and biotechnology, and natural resources and climate change ( the Edge ). Identifying trends in each area, Gore the polymath posits directions and destinations he sees as desirable and scolds what he regards as the impediment to their realization, namely, a corruption of American democracy by corporations, lobbyists, and campaign cash. Certainly a wide-ranging socioeconomic and scientific survey of humanity's next decades, Gore's palpably political imperative is the distinguishing trait of this contribution to futurology, a genre with a checkered past. Time will tell whether the author's predictions hold up. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Some of former vice president Al Gore's books have cracked best-seller lists, and though this title will not likely do so, Gore's high media profile will draw plenty of attention to his new book.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2010 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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With the former vice president's popularity at an all-time high following the success of An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore returns with a new look at how the world is changing before our eyes and where we're headed in the future. Although the book proves both interesting and informative, the performance leaves much to be desired. True to his stiff reputation, Gore's narration is dry and monotone. His reading lacks the eloquence and confidence of a professional narrator-he reads the entire audiobook without the slightest variation. Unfortunately, this fascinating and important book isn't done justice by this audio edition. A Random House hardcover. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.