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 our time, and reaches back into the past to give a rational explanation for why we can -- and will -- overcome the challenges of the future, such as climate change and the population boom. Bold and controversial, it is a brilliantly confident assertion that the 21st century will be the best for humankind yet.

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By:   Matt Ridley
Imprint:   Harper Collins
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 197mm,  Width: 130mm
Weight:   321g
ISBN:  

9780007267125

ISBN 10:   0007267126
Pages:   464
Publication Date:   June 2011
Audience:   General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock at Abbey's Bookshop
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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 is the author of bestselling titles The Red Queen (1993), The Origins of Virtue (1996), Genome (1999) and Nature via Nurture (2003). His books have sold over half a million copies, been translated into 25 languages and been shortlisted for six literary prizes. In 2004 he won the National Academies Book Award from the US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine for Nature via Nurture. In 2007 Matt won the Davis Prize from the US History of Science Society for Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code. He is married to the neuroscientist Professor Anya Hurlbert.

'A book breathtaking in its sweep and scope!This inspiring book [is] a glorious defence of our species! a devastating rebuke to humanity's self-haters' Sunday Times 'As a work of bold historical positivity it is to be welcomed. At every point cheerfulness keeps breaking through' The Times 'Ridley's real target is those doomsayers who insist that everything is going from bad to worse and something must be done about it!he shows that such gloom-sayers have always been with us and have always been proved wrong! presents a challenge to those pessimists who are prepared to be rational' Observer 'Exhibits [Ridley's] characteristic virtues: trenchancy, fluency, wit and dazzling command of diverse material' Literary Review Reviews for Nature via Nurture: 'Nature via Nurture sets the modern terms for an ancient debate, and at the same time delivers a superb tutorial on contemporary genetics; the feedback loop that embraces genes and environment is generally not well understood. And yet this plasticity, this elegant mutuality, seems crucial if our new understanding of human nature is to inform public policy. These times need a book like this.' Ian McEwan 'Lucidly explains the most recent discoveries on what makes us what we are, and how we should think about these discoveries as we ponder who we want to be!A treat, written with insight, wisdom, and style.' Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate 'Bracingly intelligent, lucid, balanced -- witty, too. Nature via Nurture is a scrupulous and charming look at our modern understanding of genes and experience.' Oliver Sacks 'A real page-turner. What a superb writer he is, and he seems to get better and better.' Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene

'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