This book speculates about the important inventions, scientific discoveries, and political and social developments, which may occur during the coming millennium. It does this by presenting -- through the eyes of a fictitious author living in the year 3000 -- a list of the 100 men and women who have had the greatest impact on world history and on the everyday lives of individuals.

The hundred persons are ranked in order of their influence. The main section of the book consists of short biographies of those 100 persons, describing what each person accomplished, and why that person is so important.

Forty-five of the entries are actual historical personages. These include such well known figures as Jesus Christ, Confucius, Charles Darwin, Christopher Columbus, Albert Einstein, and George Washington.