Book Review:Al Gore Dreams of Electric Jeeps

Wall Street Jiournal ^ | January 29, 2013 | GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS

[lbryce]

There have always been two Al Gores. There is techno-enthusiast Al, who, during his 2000 run for president, proposed that an online network ("G-Bay") be used to auction off surplus government property. I found techno-enthusiast Al beguiling when I was researching manned Mars missions for his 1988 presidential campaign. But there is also Savonarola Al, who loudly denounces the excesses of modern capitalist society and demands repentance—though, given Mr. Gore's lucrative commercial dalliances (most recently, the sale of his Current TV network to the repressive, oil-rich Qatari regime), perhaps Jimmy Swaggart would be a closer clerical model than Savonarola.

Each of the two Als takes a star turn in "The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change." In the end, alas, Savonarola Al comes out on top.

Techno-enthusiast Al has a wide range of interests. He thus provides a survey of all sorts of forward-looking developments, ranging from robotics and nanotechnology to artificial intelligence and genetic engineering. Though the ground he covers will be familiar to readers of futurists like Ray Kurzweil and James Miller, there is value in having so much advanced thinking summarized for the general reader. And many of the problems that Mr. Gore identifies are, in fact, genuine problems.

Enlarge Image image image The Future

By Al Gore (Random House, 558 pages, $30)

For example, what he calls "robosourcing"—the devouring of jobs by machines—is likely to place considerable stress on employment markets. While such predictions have been made since the days of Ned Ludd, it is also true that we have seen plenty of labor-market disruptions since those days. And as machines grow ever more competent, the likelihood of drastic disruptions in the future looks much higher.

[lbryce]

I suppose Al Gore isn't quite yet finished with his dialogue with the American people, a scenario that lesser celebrity charlatans would not have survived yet another re-invention attempt of the Man who yearns for the limelight yet can't face thee music that America wants him to go away.

So, as hot as it might get, it's sort of like his credibility has indeed melted away. Reading the review of his book, he kind of reminds me of Thomas Friedman of the Times, another non-entity, has-been, espousing nelogistic gooblygook, to somehow get someone to pay attention or even read his column. (He's still got a column?)

Al Gore will never convince me that he actually dreams of electric Jeeeps, first of all because, electric vehicles mostly get their electric charge from burning fossil fuels, coal, so the electric mobility of the future was always more Al Gore hot gas, than anything else. He knows lot about hot gas, but still couldn't make a go of his proclivity for hot gas with his Current TV show with what's name from CNBC, on permanent hiatus. Even if electric jeeps were the clean energy of the future he's trying to get people to fall for, he'll always be a snake oil salesman to me when during the heyday of Global Warming and carbon footprints, he never gave a damn* about any of it, going from one exotic port of call to another in his dinosaur shaped carbon footprint, all four of them , in one of several gulfstream jets, among many numerous carbon generators he made such freely use of.

[blueunicorn6]

When I was a kid, I used to dream about Marcia and Jan Brady and me and a can of whipped cream. Gore dreams about electric jeeps? I like my old dreams better.....Marcia Marcia Marcia.

[cubreporter]

No matter how much I pity this man for his life going south after he LOST the election to GWB... I guess if he is going to be out there in the media...I might as well enjoy his comedy act.

[a fool in paradise]

A little known sci-fi author, Phillip K. Prick, once wrote a tale Do Wooden Men Dream of Electric Jeep?.

[a fool in paradise]

His DADDY Albert Gore Senior (a Southern Democrat who used to make the maid wait in the car while the Gores dined in restaurants) never got over losing a shot at the Presidential/VP ticket to Estes Kefauver TWICE.

Al Gore Junior has daddy issues. Just like Barry O'Bama.

[Revolting cat!]

Fair review, just finished reading it on paper. However, regarding the “erudition” mentioned therein. I recall that when Ivana Trump published a novel under her name, the media were instantly interested in who actually wrote it, and discovering that the author never read it herself. How come there is no such interest when Goron or Hitlery publish books? The last politician that I know of who wrote his own books and wrote them well was, HORROR! Richard Nixon. I don’t for a minute believe that Al baby wrote this tome, or that he is capable of any kind of “erudition”. Who wrote it?

[lbryce]

I heard of the author and knew the novel with a slightly skewed sounding title except for the cognitive dissonance the origin of which I couldn’t quite determine. Mr. Dick or his synonym, perhaps pseudonym as well, Mr. Prick, as you labeled him, achieved a certain notoriety ( I wont say fame as not to offend you.) when the movie it was based on is considered the number one best science fiction movie of all time, as you mught refer to as Glade Stunner, right behind Glade Stunner was Killer Klowns From Dimensia X, ironically based on a novel by someone named Geronimo Prick. (I wonder if there is a connection) But what i do know is that there is no love lost between you and Mr. Dick.

[a fool in paradise]

Phillip K. Dick wrote “Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep”, far better than than Prick’s story about Electric Jeep. < /sarc >

[lbryce]

I didn't get it at first. Thanks for taking the time to enlighten me. Prick as a surname, pen name or even a nickname for our prolific author, who is the second coming of Stephen King is eminently appropriate.

If I can make you be an even better mood, Al Gore would surely have been president, except for one very major consideration.

Say what you want about William Jefferson Clinton as being an egregiously flawed person but that's the price he paid for being history's greatest campaigner, so much so, he'd make you forget and even make you be his best buddy even after sleeping with your underage daughter.

The VP, once he was bestowed the Democratic nomination was determined to cut off all ties with Clinton lest he be tarnished by the horrific ill repute, sordidness Clinton had managed to get himself into with Monica Lewinsky his impeachment,oe ,much more. Gore didn't speak to Clinton during thee campaign, so frightened was he of being associated with Billy Boy. But pundits say that it was the reason Gore lost the election. Had Clinton been on the campaign team, which is something he was very anxious to do, Gore would have won the election hands down, wouldn't be writing any books about dreaming of jeeps, sheeps or trying to get a rub where the sun don't shine.

[Jeff Winston]

Do Al Gores Dream of Electric Jeep?