1984, Brave New World, and The Handmaid's Tale are today's best-known dystopian novels. They represent a fast-growing genre that includes literally thousands of books that portray a future none of us would want to live in. In Hell on Earth, author and book critic Mal Warwick surveys 62 such novels-books that pose difficult questions about the society we are shaping together. Dystopian fiction reflects the world as it is and imagines what the future might hold. In an age of eroding civil liberties, a widening gap between rich and poor, unending conflict abroad, the increasing impact of climate change, and the ever-present threat of pandemic and nuclear holocaust, dystopian novels are relevant as never before.
Author Biography:
Mal Warwick reviews books three to five times weekly on his blog, Mal Warwick on Books. His reading encompasses science fiction, mysteries & thrillers, and nonfiction books about history, science, and current affairs as well as selected trade fiction. Mal is the author of 20 previous books and is a principal in two businesses, a fundraising agency for nonprofits named Mal Warwick Donordigital, which he founded in 1979, and the One World Play Project, manufacturers of a virtually indestructible soccer ball used by 50 million children in 175 countries. Mal's previous books include The Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services for Three Billion New Customers and the best-selling fundraising text, How to Write Successful Fundraising Appeals, Third Edition. Until 2010, Mal focused on the nonprofit sector as an author, consultant, and public speaker on marketing and fundraising for nonprofit organizations. He is the founder of Mal Warwick Donordigital, which maintains offices in Berkeley, California and Washington, DC. The firm has served nonprofit organizations nationwide since 1979. MWD is a Founding B Corporation and is now employee-owned. Mal remains as chair of the board. A serial entrepreneur, Mal has been active in promoting social and environmental responsibility in the business community nationwide for more than two decades. He is the co-author of Values-Driven Business: How to Change the World, Make Money, and Have Fun with Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's. Along with Cohen and others, Mal was a co-founder of Business for Social Responsibility in 1992 and served on its board during its inaugural year. In 2001, after more than a decade as an active member of Social Venture Network, he began a six-year stretch (2001-7) on its board, serving as Chair for four years. He also was a member of the Founding Advisory Board of the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2002-3. Among the hundreds of nonprofits Mal and his colleagues served over the years are many of the nation's largest and most distinguished charities as well as six Democratic Presidential candidates and scores of small, local, and regional organizations. Collectively, Mal and his associates have been responsible for raising close to one billion dollars-largely in the form of small gifts, all of them from individuals.
