Microtrends
The Small Forces Behind Tommorrow's Big Changes

by Mark J. Penn with E. Kinney Zalesne

If you are a numbers person this is the book for you! This is also a fantastic book for demographic researchers and anyone with a curious mind. Author Mark Penn is a pollster and strategist, and 2000 campaign advisor to Hillary Clinton. Based on what I've read, he is an asset to any campaign.

For many people, the thought of reading material that details statistics seems daunting. I too thought that when I first opened the book, but I quickly changed my mind.

Microtrends is not about the largely known trends presented by the news media every day, but more about the undercurrents that are changing the face of our nation. "This book is about the power of numbers and how they drive America and the world", Penn says. In it, he highlights 75 sub-cultures that are at work in America , quietly swinging beliefs that were once taken for granted. Penn has certainly done his research. The results are extremely enlightening to read and although the book is packed with detailed information, it is not written for mathematicians.

I enjoyed thumbing through the book and re-reading individual chapters on special interest groups. It is definitely a great book for entrepreneurs seeking to gather information on underlying trends that will produce shifts in the future of many businesses. In his conclusion, Penn summarizes all the facts and figures by stating that the nation as a whole is changing, and that there is a big difference between what people think and what the numbers reflect. This is a keeper for the bookshelf to refer to over and over again. I highly recommend it for American voters who want to see where the election is headed.