THE WORLD (AND BOOK) OF THE FUTURE: BACKSTORY DETAILS

Now that Usborne is republishing my old hardback, itself a bindup version of three separate titles, I've been asked to add some personal details on the series, and indeed 'The Book.'

To answer one query, I worked with the sadly late Kenneth ('Ken') Gatland to create the titles, but the editorial direction, page visuals for illustration briefings, and the words were mine. Ken and I worked on the ideas and flat plans together, and he approved all, tweaked where needed, and added supplementary chunks of text as necessary. Reasonably enough, we applied our bylines in alphabetical order.

The World of the Future was among my first titles, and the series remains close to my heart, especially seeing how many predictions have come true (though some have not, of course). Perhaps my favourite, at least from the perspective of today, is that our '2001 House of the Future' illustration is coming true at last!

Mind you, I agree with the British charity CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England) which has recently launched a 'solar on every roof' crusade.