Notable Literature

As has been the case throughout the history of the United States, the 21st and 22nd centuries saw the publication of numerous influential and popular literature, many of which played significant roles in the great social changes that characterized these eras, such as The Flood, World War III, and The Second Renaissance. From the late 21st century onward, a majority of books were published electronically. Here is a partial list of some of the most significant writings regarding state of the world from the early 21st century onward.

## Political Science and International relations

* **Skinning the Elephant: The Life and Death of the Republican Party** (Susan Tuttle, 2034)-- Describes the series of circumstances that led to the fracturing and ultimate demise of the Republican party, from the Reagan era to its fatal shaming as a result of the White Tide.
* **American Empire** (Stephen Michaels, 2031)-- A geopolitical text putting forth the notion that, due to the Flood, the United States has become an "unintentional empire" and must start behaving in a more mature fashion befitting of such a nation.
* **Tanning the Donkey: The Life and Death of the Democratic Party** (Sasha Megumi, 2034) -- Created in conjunction with 'Skinning the Elephant', the book describes the series of circumstances that led to the rise of competing factions and the ultimate fracturing of the Democrat party after the fall of the Republican party. The book describes the Clinton Era to the last pitch of Julian Castro in 2032.
* **A State of Merit** (Brandon Tran, 2037) -- A political manifesto that would be the basis of many post-flood policies that would define the early identity Conservative Party of the United States before the Lachman Era.
* **Sushi and Apple Pie**(Carla Anderson, 2087) -- An autobiography by ex-President Carla Anderson detailing her entry into politics, her complex feelings about World War III, and her role in rebuilding relationships with Japan. The title refers to her relationship with Heather Suzuki, a Japanese-American who was killed in the Thanksgiving Attacks. The book is widely considered a classic by young liberals and Japanophiles.
* **Third Manifest Destiny** (2130) -- This book outlines recent American acquisitions and predicts the creation of two future doctrines in relation to the first manifest destiny, which was conceived in 1845. The book describes the Second Manifest Destiny (which was currently ongoing) as the eventual American expansion and complete pacification of Earth, bringing forth new technologies that can improve the global population. While the Third Manifest Destiny (the author claims as the final Manifest Destiny) describes American expansion and exploration of outer space, along with the human race's pacification and assisted ascension of extraterrestrial species. Some claim the book to be the inspiration of US President Lionel Halvidar's policy to unite Earth.
* **Fukuyama's Black Box** (2159)-- (Dr. Václav Andor)-- Discusses the implications for the future of a completely American-dominated world with few, if any, rival powers. Andor's analysis focuses on the similarities between contemporary 22nd-century geopolitics and the theories of 20th century political scientist Francis Fukuyama, who famously (but incorrectly) predicted that the end of the Cold War would result in "the end of history," and a world dominated by a western neo-liberal government.

## History and Economics

* **Starbound** (Dr. Amelia Firenze, 2043) -- Describes the invention and evolution of early terran space travel along with several scenarios and short stories of possible events leading up to and the results from its invention. It was influential to the creation of one of the first versions of the space warp drive.
* **The Great Deluge** (Dr. Nate Valdez, 2033) -- A scientific and sociological analysis of the Flood ending with several proposals of various solutions. Many of these proposals would go on to be the basis of several goals of the Earth Working Group. The term 'Great Deluge' was also popularized by the book.
* **Generational Chaos** (Dr. Yazmin Bhattaru, 2071) -- An in depth breakdown of the phenomenon of economic and institutional cycles of American generations, and a prediction of two coming generational cycles that proved to be the most accurate predictions of the Second Depression and the Third Mexican-American War. Bhattaru offered several deviations from the Strauss–Howe generational theory and the Friedman generational theory, but most significantly was her thesis on how institutional cycles would last much longer as a result in the increase in human lifespans. Claiming the current cycle that began around 2020 would last 100 years, not the usual 80. And the next cycle would most likely last closer to 200 years.

## Science

* **Other People** (2048) -- Considered the most foundational work on non-human personhood. It rejected many ideas around personhood, particularly brain size, sentience, sapience, and environmental manipulation as singular qualifiers. The book summarized research into the sociology and neuroscience research of apes, cetaceans, cephalopods, corvids, elephants, and other organisms. It established an emergent theory of personhood that would go on to heavily influence NASA's First Contact protocols, animal rights movements, and the Non-Human Civil Rights Movement.
* **The Sagittarius Explosion** (2097) -- Lays out the theory that Sagittarius A\* or Sgr A\* was last active some ~550 million years ago, as that has been the furthest back complex multi-cellular life has been identified on any of the exoplanets humans have encountered. It is believed that Sgr A\* produced sufficient radiation that it effectively made it impossible for life to advance beyond the single celled stage in the deep oceans or under a planet's crust. A counterpoint has been pushed, arguing that Sgr A\*'s last cycle of activity may have actually been the trigger for life to advance beyond a single celled phase across the galaxy, by creating mutations at scales and speeds not previously attainable. The book's theories were hotly debated even after 30 years of interstellar exploration, but by the mid 2110s it had been widely accepted across the scientific community that Sgr A\*'s last cycle of activity is somehow connected to the nearly universal "state date" for advanced life in the Milky Way.
* **Inevitable Tetrapods** (University of New Virginia, 2113) -- A composition of various theories attempting to explain the commonality of tetrapod-esque (four-limbed) body plans on planets with complex animal-like life. It studies convergent evolution in complex alien life across the stars, particularly those that are coincidentally tetrapod-esque.
* **Future of Datasize**(Rick Esteban, 2028) -- A book analyzing the future of growth of the size of digital information beyond the Petabyte age of common computers. The book was known to popularize several terms for units of digital information beyond Yottabytes (1024^8 bytes) such as brontobyte (1024^9 bytes) or even Coperbytes  (1024^30 bytes)
* **The End of Civilization** (2148) -- (Prof. Mamoru White) -- Builds on the work of Robin Hanson in the early 21st century, specifically the "Hard Steps Model." White identifies several great filters/hard steps based on various studies of planets with dead civilizations or civilizations with histories of repeated destruction and rebirth. Also suggests that interstellar civilization is not an inherent guarantee of survivability. White concludes that humanity must be the first successful interstellar civilization.

## Philosophy

* **The Aerophany** -- A religious text published in the early days of human colonization of Mars, outlining humanity's place in the universe and laying the foundations for the religious traditions of the Aerophanic faiths. The book established the concept of gods as an act of collective thoughtform, and influenced the Fifth Great Awakening in its concepts on a post-theist religious structure.
* **The Crisis of Faith** -- An anthropological study of the origins of religious thought, both historically and on an individual basis. One of the most controversial books of the 2040s, the book offers a theory that depression and anxiety are the true origins of religion, rather than purported spiritual experiences, or the fear of death. The author argues that depression and anxiety stem from the fact that to live without a God or church is to place the full burden of one's destiny on the individual and those around them, whereas religion offers a guaranteed community and a protector figure that removes some of the sense of risk and personal responsibility from life.

* **Humanity's Garden** (Peter Shay, 2029)-- A treatise on Postnaturalism, which argued for humanity to directly intervene rather than simply setting aside protected areas when conserving endangered species and habitats.

* **Inventing the Afterlife** -- A pseudo-scientific treatise by futurist Daymond Ma outlining the concept of "Quantum Resurrection." Ma argues that as humans become more proficient with quantum entanglement technologies, specifically the chronoscope, it will become possible to resurrect every person who has ever lived by transporting their minds at the moment of death to the present, effectively creating a digital afterlife.

## Fiction

* **The Second Renaissance** (Sean McKnight, 2027) -- A novel taking the form of a future timeline, describing a possible future for the United States and the rest of the world along with Humanity's journey across the stars. It was famously known for accurately predicting the future.
* **Through a Dark Mirror (2160)** - An alternate future history novel set in a world where Lionel Halvidar dies during the Guardiolla Incident. The Union Party is never consolidated and Masie Luong and the "Independence Party" become a mainstream political movement that leads to Martian Independence in the 2120s. The Third Mexican War ends in the defeat of the United States and a new era of prolonged hostility between Mars and a Mexican empire over the Western Hemisphere of Earth lasts through the 24th Century.
* **The Day They Took My Parents Away** (Julio Suarez, 2092) -- A popular but controversial children's book telling the story of a fictional, anonymous, 4-year-old Hispanic girl who loses her mother and father in the Lachman deportations. While a bestseller, it was heavily criticized for its perceived "anti-American" stance, and many libraries in conservative states banned it.
* **The Brickhead Brothers Trilogy** (Corey Marshall, 2055-2063)-- A series of satirical comedy novels published by infamous political cartoonist Corey Marshall, featuring a pair of dim-witted young men who, through sheer ignorance, become involved in various famous contemporary events (the Third World War, the Refreeze, and first contact with the K'lerin). Later adapted into a trilogy of adult animated films.