West of January

This certainly isn't going to help my standing as a non-geek, but I'd like to recommend a book.

Buzz recently loaned me his copy of Dave Duncan's West of January, and I have to say it was an enjoyable and somewhat enlightening read, particularly when it all wraps up at the end. If you've ever speculated on how we got where we are now, or where we may end up, this is a good start, or, at least, one of many, in figuring it out.