Futuretrack 5 repudiates the traditional English class system by projecting an exaggerated version of it into the future. Social and economic class are important aspects of British life, and Westall's criticisms have great validity. Futuretrack 5 underscores the contemporary social concerns of England. American readers may not be as class-conscious, but they will still find reflections of their society in the novel.

Women and nonwhites seem to populate singularly the Unnem class, while the Tech and Est positions of power are dominated by white males. The crises provided by educational opportunities or the lack of them certainly exist here as well. We already have a schism between blue-collar and white-collar jobs, the latter having greater prestige. Also, concepts of ghettoization and upperclass dominance are familiar to all Americans. While the particulars of Westall's satire may be lost on some North American readers, the critiques of segregation and class...