The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
The world is filled with the doomsayers, pessimists and narrow-minded thinkers. Standing away from this crowd, the renowned author Matt Ridley gives a fresh perspective about the evolutionary theory. Analyzing the human history from the stone age times to till the recent past, he presents a persuasive argument through his immensely popular top-seller “The Rational Optimist.”
Reviews
“Ridley eloquently weaves together economics, archeology, history, and evolutionary theory…His words effortlessly turn complicated economic and scientific concepts into entertaining, digestible nuggets.” -- Barrett Sheridan, Newsweek
A fabulous new book... I was so delighted, amused and uplifted by it that I bought a couple hundred copies and sent one to all my clients. -- Donald Luskin, Smart Money
“The Rational Optimist teems with challenging and original ideas…No other book has argued with such brilliance and historical breadth against the automatic pessimism that prevails in intellectual life.” -- Ian McEwan
“A superb book…Elegant, learned, and cogent…a far-reaching synthesis of economics and ecology, a triumphant new demarche in the understanding of wealth and poverty…Inspiring.” -- George Gilder, National Review
“A delightful and fascinating book filled with insight and wit, which will make you think twice and cheer up.” -- Steven Pinker
“This inspiring book, a glorious defense of our species…is a devastating rebuke to humanity’s self-haters.” -- Sunday Times (London)
“A very good book…a rich analysis…Ridley is a cogent and erudite social critic…He bolsters his argument with an impressive tour of evolutionary biology, economics, philosophy, world history.” -- Washington Post
“A mesmerizing book.” -- Los Angeles Times
“The Rational Optimist will give a reader solid reasons for believing that the human species will overcome its economic, political and environmental woes during this century.” -- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“A dose of just the kind of glass-half-full information we need right now…A powerful antidote to gloom-n-doom-mongering.” -- Washington Examiner
From the Back Cover
For two hundred years the pessimists have dominated public discourse, insisting that things will soon be getting much worse. But in fact, life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down all across the globe. Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people's lives as never before.
In his bold and bracing exploration into how human culture evolves positively through exchange and specialization, bestselling author Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. An astute, refreshing, and revelatory work that covers the entire sweep of human history—from the Stone Age to the Internet—The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.
About the Author
MATT RIDLEY is the award-winning, bestselling author of The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, and The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature. His books have sold more than one million copies in thirty languages worldwide. He has written for the Wall Street Journal and the Times of London as well as the Economist.
Compiled by
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Source : Amazon Book Reviews