Geography, borders, time zones--all are rapidly becoming irrelevant to the way we conduct our business and personal lives, courtesy of the communications revolution. According to renowned Economist journalist Frances Cairncross, this death of distance will be the single most important economic force shaping all of society over the next half century. In her remarkably prophetic new book, Cairncross provides a trendspotter's guide to thriving in the new millennium.

Friends, colleagues, and customers could easily be anywhere--around the corner or around the world--and the new ways of communicating will effectively wipe out distance as a cost factor, indeed as a perceptible concept from our lives. Cairncross helps us to recognize the patterns and seize the opportunities in these early days of the death of distance. She describes the ways, now only dimly imaginable, that telecommunications and our altered perception of distance will transform relationships between countries and citizens, companies and employees, parents and children.

Cairncross writes eloquently and convincingly about the cataclysmic changes sweeping across communications, and about the ways those consequences will tilt the balance between large and small, rich and poor, as they influence where companies locate, what kind of work people do, how governments raise revenue, which businesses succeed, how cities develop, and more.

Among the most striking trends: --A flourishing market for citizens. Greater freedom to locate anywhere and earn a living will hinder taxation, forcing countries to bid down tax rates to attract high-income earners and profitable companies. --The strengthening of communities of culture. Electronic communications will reinforce less widespread languages and cultures, not replace them. --The continuing rise of the English language. The global role of English as a second language will strengthen as it becomes the standard for communicating in business and commerce. --The emergence of a three-shift world. Time zones will matter more than distance in determining where companies locate. --The growing inversion of home and office. As more people work from home or from purpose-built small offices, the line between work and home life will blur. --The new irrelevance of size. Small companies will be able to offer services that once only giants could provide.

With examples from every corner of the globe, this book is journalism at its best: at once a sharp, perceptive biography of the communications industry and an eye-opening look at life after distance, for us and generations to come.

Frances Cairncross is a senior editor at The Economist. She is the author of Costing the Earth (HBS Press), and the winner of the first Reuter's - Alp Action media award.