The Bottom Line
Pros
- Fascinating glimpse into Digital Earth Project
- Look into the soul of a visionary
Cons
- Sulky lead character
- Fuzzy details on project
- A little New-Agey for this hard-scientist
Description
- The book takes place in present-day Israel, focused on the leadership and top associates of the Global Dawn project
- The book begins with the seed of the idea, and watches it grow and develop.
- Much of the book reveals the birth pangs of the project, as leader Reuven struggles to balance home and project dreams.
Guide Review - Novel
Global Dawn is the story of Reuven Sover, the leader of the fictional Global Dawn project, which is loosely based on NASA's Digital Earth Project. Digital Earth is a visionary project developed from the writings of R. Buckminster Fuller and supported by many institutions and modern leaders, including former Vice President Al Gore.
The focus of the story is on the leader, as he fumbles his way through sacrificing his family and professional life to the dream of an international database of environmental and cultural information, to be available to everyone. During the course of the novel, Reuven's dreams struggle to get off the ground, and his personality both blocks and encourages the growth of the project.
The character of Reuven is well-realized, as are his family and associates. The project seems a bit fuzzy in its beginning stages--the plan is to include three-dimensional visualizations to help improve the environmental well-being of the planet, and toward the end there's definitely a New Age spin to the book that crosses into science fiction. But, the book, and the ideas in it do stir the imagination.
