Hollingworth's Global Over Development Inc. gives an account of risky business

An enlightening new book Global Over Development Inc., by Crawford Hollingworth, is a clever parody of a corporation's end of year report, which forces the reader to confront the darker truths behind world progress. The annual report of Global Over Development (GOD) Inc. is far from typical. Instead of portraying a flattering account of the year's business, GOD Inc.'s report presents a collection of facts that give a stark warning about the state of the world.

GOD Inc. is Hollingworth's fictional corporation. Chairman Peter Progress presides over seven core businesses whose CEOs are "Seven deadly characters with seven deadly sins". The corporation's satirical mission statement is clear, "The destruction of planet earth" achieved through everything from widening the gap between rich and poor to providing sex and drugs on a global level.

The motley crew of devious CEOs include Mr. X. Terminator at Global Exploitation Inc, Ms. X. Plicit at Sleazy Inc, Mr. X. Crement at World Trash Inc and Mr. I. Spy at Big Brother Inc.

The book is full of cartoon illustrations and humorous dialogue. However, in contrast to this almost childish format, its message is deadly serious. The CEOs boast about their achievements in creating a world of over consumption, sleaze, rubbish, exploitation, division and Big Brother-like surveillance, and we the readers assume the role of the unfortunate shareholders.

Hollingworth, a former global futures expert who abandoned a career in the corporate world, says "I wanted to bring together lots of cutting-edge facts about the impact of global over development to make the information accessible to the majority of people (not just the already informed minority)."

'Global Over Development Inc.' by Crawford Hollingworth is published by CreateSpace