Smith, F.E., Earl of Birkenhead
The World in 2030. Hodder & Stoughton, 1930. Org. black cloth, lettered in red; 8 plates after E. McKnight Kauffer protected with loose tissue guards. A surprising dalliance with futurism from Churchill's friend, lawyer and political adviser F.E. Smith, illustrated with striking modernist images. Birkenhead's contribution to the utopian genre contains a longer piece on war than might be expected. This essay contains some of the more prescient commentary, warning of the speed of mechanised advance outrunning supply lines (as would happen to Rommel) and predicting armies supported by air support to alleviate this. He also supports predictions of wireless controlled combat, which took sometime longer to become commonplace.

There are nine chapters in all, including industry, women, world polity, and everyday life. His book follows the usual pattern of prophets - startling accuracy mixed with error. To this is admixed Birkenhead's infamous chauvinism, so in one short passage he can accept the rise of women in the workforce, reject that they could ever do 'men's' work like riveting, and then state that they would never get the chance anyway because all such heavy industry will be mechanised. As is often the case with such writing the age which is most clearly illuminated is the one in which the prophet is writing. Still though, and despite the suggestions of plagarism from the work of JBS Haldane, this remains a surprising final statement from a fiery and brilliant, if frequently flawed, statesman.