The RAND Corporation's Pardee Center published their list of "50 Books for Thinking About the Future Human Condition." (They admit that it's "a Wester-centric look at the future.") The list is divided into various themes and categories, like Global Governance, Health, Geographical Regions, Technology, Human Development, etc. It's a pretty amazing collection of titles. As the nerdy but true t-shirt says, "so many books, so little time." The following recommendations are from the "Wild Cards" category. I can vouch that the first book is fantastic.
Benyus, Janine, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, New York: Perennial, 2002. ISBN 0060533226
Kurzweil, Ray and Terry Grossman, Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever, Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale, 2004. ISBN 1-57954-954-3. Selected chapters also available online from http://www.fantastic-voyage.net/
Hostetler, John A., Amish Society, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8018-4442-8
