Monday, March 07, 2005

That's right, I'm blogging about a book

Rediscovered 1892 Book That Predicted Bullet Trains and TV Can Now Be Read Free Online

Just because I blogged about it doesn't mean that I'm actually going to read it. I'll wait for the SciFi Original. :D
The book "Golf in the Year 2000; or, What We Are Coming To" made international news earlier this year when a collector paid more than $2,000 at auction for a rare first edition copy.

Although the book has been reprinted from time to time over the years, usually in facsimile form, no digital versions have been available until now. Steve Smith, a writer, editor and web site developer living near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has put the full text of the book online where it can be read for free. The web site is http://www.golf-in-the-year-2000.com.

"Golf in the Year 2000" was written by a 19th-century professional golfer named J. McCullough under the pen name "J.A.C.K." Little is known about McCullough, but the book is a curious blend of wry commentary on golf and the people who play it, and a vision of the future that is eerily accurate in many of its predictions. It foresees golf carts, bullet trains, digital watches and television--although the last is accomplished by a complicated arrangement of mirrors.

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