There is a famous saying rendered in the form of a curse: “May you live in an interesting age.”
We certainly are living in such times, and Hawai‘i is also experiencing it as well.
Given the myriad events in the last few years, most notably right now during this stay-at-home county and statewide order, it can be hard to see nothing but the turbulent storm we are riding through.
However, George Friedman, geopolitical forecaster and author of the bestselling books such as “The Next 100 Years” and “The Next Decade,” takes the long view, which pierces through the uncertainty ahead.
“The Storm Before the Calm: America’s Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond,” is an objective and impartial look at where we are now and what awaits us beyond these turbulent times. We can think of no better book to read than this right now, when the state of the country and our society is part of a worldwide existential crisis.
Threaded throughout his book is the notion that America endures cyclical changes, both economic and ideological, and he does an amazing job of describing these changes throughout the course of the country’s history.
The 2020s are a unique focal point where these two cycles converge, he posits, creating the cultural environment we are in today. Yet, what lay beyond, and how he presents we get there, is fascinating, and potentially hopeful.
While COVID-19 has shuttered libraries and all booksellers (like us) until further notice, you can explore “The Storm Before the Calm” either digitally or from an online outlet, including our bookstore’s website, which includes no-cost shipping to folks in Hawai‘i.
Seems like a perfect time to read a book, especially one that might give us a glimpse into the future that awaits us.
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Ed Justus is the owner of Talk Story Bookstore in Hanapepe. Yuriko and Ed Justus are Kalaheo residents. Talk Story Bookstore was open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 9 p.m. Fridays, before the pandemic.
