Heidi Toffler played an integral part in the creation of pioneering futurist books with her husband, Alvin. The researcher and editor worked with Alvin on the pioneering “Future Shock,” and the books that followed. “Future Shock” was published in 1970 and sold millions, predicting the internet, telecommuting, and other technology advances. Alvin Toffler wanted Heidi to take credit for her work but she refused until she was credited as co-author on their 1993 book, “War and Anti-War: Survival at the Dawn of the 21st Century.”
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Died: Wednesday February 6, 2019. (Who else died on February 6?)
Details of death: Died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 89.
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Alvin Toffler on her contributions: “I don’t know where her brain ends and mine begins.” “She brings a kind of skepticism that saved me many times from saying foolish things. “She is very smart,” he added. “I write. But she’s the house critic who understands the ideas and how they should be structured. I asked her why she didn’t want a byline. She said she just didn’t care.” – Interview with New York Times in 2006
On not taking credit for her work: “The idea of having a byline didn’t really do anything for me.” “But each set of acknowledgments in each book was more effusive and fulsome. The feminist movement put a lot of pressure on me and said I was a very poor role model. “And then men would come up and say, ‘We just wanted to tell you we think you have such a wonderful husband for giving you all that credit’ — implying that I wasn’t doing any work. That finally pushed me over the edge.” – Interview with New York Times in 1993
Full obituary: New York Times
Related lives:
Alvin Toffler (1928 – 2016)
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929 – 2018), grand master of science fiction and fantasy
Authors who died in 2018 Gallery
