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The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.s.) Paperback – Illustrated, June 7, 2011

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,878 ratings

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“A delightful and fascinating book filled with insight and wit, which will make you think twice and cheer up.” — Steven Pinker

In a bold and provocative interpretation of economic history, Matt Ridley, the New York Times-bestselling author of Genome and The Red Queen, makes the case for an economics of hope, arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and change—what Ridley calls cultural evolution—will inevitably increase human prosperity. Fans of the works of Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel), Niall Ferguson (The Ascent of Money), and Thomas Friedman (The World Is Flat) will find much to ponder and enjoy in The Rational Optimist.

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.

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.

Review

“The chapters tracing the human story from 50,000 years ago through the seventeenth century are themselves worth the price of admission, with vivid storytelling illuminating the huge role of markets and trade in material progress…Read The Rational Optimist for its fascinating history of trade and economics.” — New York Times Book Review

“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 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 fast-moving, intelligent description of why human life has so consistently improved over the course of history, and a wonderful overview of how human civilizations move forward.” — John Tierney, New York Times

“Chock-full of in-your-face challenges to conventional wisdom…Ridley is a sworn enemy of Cassandras and Chicken Littles. In The Rational Optimist, he covers 200,000 years of human history to make a compelling case that over the millennia poverty declined, disease retreated, violence atrophied, freedom grew and happiness increased.” — The Oregonian (Portland)

“A delightful and fascinating book filled with insight and wit, which will make you think twice and cheer up.” — Steven Pinker

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

“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

“Invigorating…For Mr. Ridley, the market for ideas needs to be as open as possible in order to breed ingenuity from collaboration.” — Trevor Butterworth, Wall Street Journal

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

“This inspiring book, a glorious defense of our species…is a devastating rebuke to humanity’s self-haters.” — Sunday Times (London)

“Original, clever and …controversial” — The Guardian

“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

“A mesmerizing book.” — Los Angeles Times

“Dr. Ridley provides a grand unified theory of history from the Stone Age to the better age awaiting us in 2010. It’s an audacious task, but he has the intellectual breadth for it.” — New York Times

“Ridley’s dazzling, insightful and entertaining book on the unstoppable march of innovation is a refresher course in human history...Great ideas spring up unexpectedly from every direction, with each new one naturally coordinating with others...” — New York Post

“Without sounding like a cockeyed optimist, 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 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

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 author of books that have sold well over a million copies in 32 languages: THE RED QUEEN, THE ORIGINS OF VIRTUE, GENOME, NATURE VIA NURTURE, FRANCIS CRICK, THE RATIONAL OPTIMIST, THE EVOLUTION OF EVERYTHING, and HOW INNOVATION WORKS. In his bestseller GENOME and in his biography of Francis Crick, he showed an ability to translate the details of genomic discoveries into understandable and exciting stories. During the current pandemic, he has written essays for the Wall Street Journal and The Spectator about the origin and genomics of the virus. His most recent WSJ piece appeared on January 16, 2021. He is a member of the House of Lords in the UK. 


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  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (June 7, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061452068
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061452062
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.08 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,878 ratings
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Matt Ridley's books have been shortlisted for six literary awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (for Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters). His most recent book, The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture, won the award for the best science book published in 2003 from the National Academies of Science. He has been a scientist, a journalist, and a national newspaper columnist, and is the chairman of the International Centre for Life, in Newcastle, England. Matt Ridley is also a visiting professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York.

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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2010
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Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2011
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ENRIQUE BARRANCO OJEDA
5.0 out of 5 stars llego antes de lo estimado
Reviewed in Mexico on November 15, 2022
emilio
5.0 out of 5 stars Lectura obligatoria para entender el mundo en que vivimos.
Reviewed in Spain on December 4, 2023
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emilio
5.0 out of 5 stars Lectura obligatoria para entender el mundo en que vivimos.
Reviewed in Spain on December 4, 2023
El libro que los estatistas, totalitarios, activistas climáticos, ingenieros sociales y agoreros varios no quieren que leas.
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5.0 out of 5 stars great book that creates hope for humanity and its future
Reviewed in India on October 8, 2023
cat47
5.0 out of 5 stars Une vraie pépite, à savourer sans modération
Reviewed in France on December 23, 2019
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Juan
1.0 out of 5 stars Poor print quality
Reviewed in Singapore on June 1, 2022
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