Butterflies is a tour-de-force of the millennial mind. The first of a new genre of fiction - classed as "informed fiction" - Butterflies blends hard reporting and real-life events and persons
with fictional characters and accounts of fraud, infidelity and moral complexity. Butterflies - so called because of the metamorphosis that society is undergoing culturally, globally,
spiritually and technologically takes you to an uncomfortable but compelling and well-reasoned place wherein you will discover a whole new way of seeing the world (or at least discover the way
that many of today’s members of society who are up-and-coming see it). The author constantly pushes to the very limit the conventional laws of narration and thinking in order break new
discoveries and crack long-unanswered questions such as how the economic structure of our world relates to our physical lives as well as our thoughts, dreams and fantasies, and in turn finds
fault with the very individuals whose word too often goes unquestioned.***By Diane Donovan in the Midwest Book Review:There’s no denying the challenge inherent in picking up such a book as
Butterflies: it’s not just a call to action: it’s a hard-hitting assessment of why society has become so complacent and content to accept ’facts’ without thinking and investigating, and it’s a
book that any thinking American should consider. For one thing, Butterflies comes from a leading journalist whose focus is on how such a mindset of complacency develops and is nurtured by
forces that would stand to benefit from sheep-like obedience and a lack of analytical abilities and critical thinking. For another, Butterflies documents as much as it presents arguments,
supporting its rationales while tackling such wide-ranging issues as sexuality, spirituality, and how an increasingly connected world promises much but often leads its participants away from
the direction of true engagement. What do Bitcoin, individual choice, institutional edicts, fictional approaches, and scientific advancement have to do with personal transformation and an
increasingly interconnected world replete with both opportunity and oppression? Daniel M. Harrison interviewed numerous professionals in the scientific, medical and general academic and
commercial fields and harvested their thoughts for Butterflies, blending statistical surveys and studies with discussions of mainstream thinking and its dangers. Don’t expect a dull read,
either. Harrison packs his account with metaphors, images, and bright discussions of the ’millennial mindset’ that make for vivid reading. Perhaps it’s his choice of language, which sets aside
the usual plodding nature of inquiry in favor of a lively, engaging approach packed with supercharged examples: "…the message that Satoshi was sending that day to the whole market along with
his source code for bitcoin’s currency was clear as the bright spring morning that lit up London’s four century old spiral towers as their steeples reflected and then disappeared in the
yellow-white sunlit glare of the River Thames. That message went something like this: If there’s a multi-trillion dollar bailout for the plutocracy going on right now, then here is a
multi-trillion dollar bailout for the people." Intellectual? You bet. Packed with hard science and difficult concepts? Absolutely. Tempered by human experience, fictional depictions, and
personal accounts? That’s one of its points. If journalism’s true purpose is to expose fraud, pinpoint evolutionary processes, and challenge readers to think about the bigger picture, then
Butterflies is the epitome of this process, and recommended for any who would don wings. If it’s a grounded, less passionate analysis that is desired, move on. Butterflies is for any who would
take these expansive worldviews and run with them - even fly. That’s its strength - and thus its appeal - to any who would break free from society’s comfort-oriented cocoon and soar.
