The Rational Optimist
How Prosperity Evolves
$23.20
- Paperback
464 pages
- Release Date
7 June 2011
Summary
Shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction 2011.
Life is on the up.
We are wealthier, healthier, happier, kinder, cleaner, more peaceful, more equal and longer-lived than any previous generation. Thanks to the unique human habits of exchange and specialisation, our species has found innovative solutions to every obstacle it has faced so far.
In ‘The Rational Optimist’, acclaimed science writer Matt Ridley comprehensively refutes the doom-mongers of ou…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780007267125 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0007267126 |
| Author: | Matt Ridley |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Imprint: | Fourth Estate Ltd |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 464 |
| Release Date: | 7 June 2011 |
| Weight: | 310g |
| Dimensions: | 198mm x 129mm x 29mm |
| Series: | Fourth Estate |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
‘A triumphant blast on the vuvuzela of common sense’ Boris Johnson
‘A glorious defence of our species… a devastating rebuke to humanity’s self-haters’ Sunday Times
‘No other book has argued with such brilliance against the automatic pessimism that prevails’ Ian McEwan
‘His theory is, in a way, the glorious offspring that would result if Charles Darwin’s ideas were mated with those of Adam Smith’ The Economist
‘Original, clever and controversial’ Guardian
‘As a work of bold historical positivity it is to be welcomed. At every point cheerfulness keeps breaking through’ The Times
About The Author
Matt Ridley
Matt Ridley received his BA and D Phil at Oxford researching the evolution of behaviour. He has been science editor, Washington correspondent and American editor of The Economist. He has a regular column in the Daily Telegraph. He is also the author of The Red Queen (1993), The Origins of Virtue (1996) and Genome (1999). Matt Ridley is currently the chairman of The International Centre for Life.
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