Futurist author Alvin Toffler dies

Alvin Toffler, the US author and visionary known for several world best-sellers, including "Future Shock" and "The Third Wave," has died at his home in Los Angeles aged 87. Toffler's groundbreaking book "Future Shock," in which he examined social change, as well as several other books he co-authored with his wife Heidi, made him one of the most respected futurists of the modern era, with world leaders and moguls seeking his advice. Toffler accurately predicted economic and technological developments -- including cloning, personal computers the Internet -- as well as the social effects they helped bring about, including social alienation, the decline of the nuclear family and rising crime and drug use.