I found Albert Brooks' appearance on The Daily Show online at the time of the book's release. Brooks claimed that this is a very realistic version of the future, one that he thought could really happen. He's right and his future is very well thought out. As Brooks says, there are no flying ships here, but the world's current problems have been made exponentially worse. Throw in an earthquake and young people killing old fogies and you're in Albert's version of the future. 
 This book is smart but is also a very easy read. No big words and probably a book that you could read on the beach. It is also injected with Brooks' sharp sense of humor at times. 
 Nothing groundbreaking, but a fun read nonetheless.