Alvin Toffler | |
|---|---|
 Toffler in 2006 | |
| Born | Alvin Eugene Toffler October 4, 1928 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | June 27, 2016 (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary, Westwood, Los Angeles |
| Occupation |
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| Alma mater | New York University (BA) |
| Notable works | |
| Notable awards | |
| Spouse |
Heidi Farrell (m. 1950) |
| Children | 1 |
Alvin Eugene Toffler[1] (October 4, 1928 – June 27, 2016) was an American writer, futurist, and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on their effects on cultures worldwide. He is regarded as one of the world's outstanding futurists.[2]
Toffler was an associate editor of Fortune magazine. In his early works he focused on technology and its impact, which he termed "information overload". In 1970, his first major book about the future, Future Shock, became a worldwide best-seller and has sold over 6 million copies.
He and his wife Heidi Toffler (1929–2019), who collaborated with him for most of his writings, moved on to examining the reaction to changes in society with another best-selling book, The Third Wave, in 1980. In it, he foresaw such technological advances as cloning, personal computers, the Internet, cable television and mobile communication. His later focus, via their other best-seller, Powershift, (1990), was on the increasing power of 21st-century military hardware and the proliferation of new technologies.
He founded Toffler Associates, a management consulting company, and was a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, visiting professor at Cornell University, faculty member of the New School for Social Research, a White House correspondent, and a business consultant.[3] Toffler's ideas and writings were a significant influence on the thinking of business and government leaders worldwide, including China's Zhao Ziyang, and AOL founder Steve Case.[4]
- ^ Henry, David. "Alvin Toffler, author of best-selling 'Future Shock' and 'The Third Wave,' dies at 87". Washington Post. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ^ Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 672. ISBN 978-0415862875.
- ^ "Alvin Toffler Speaker Biography" Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Milken Institute, 2003.
- ^ Gewirtz, Julian (February 2018). "The Futurists of Beijing: Alvin Toffler, Zhao Ziyang, and China's "New Technological Revolution," 1979–1991". The Journal of Asian Studies. 78 (1): 115–140. doi:10.1017/S0021911818002619. ISSN 0021-9118.