Reviews
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., 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..., 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., 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., A dose of just the kind of glass-half-full information we need right now…A powerful antidote to gloom-n-doom-mongering., 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., 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..., Invigorating For Mr. Ridley, the market for ideas needs to be as open as possible in order to breed ingenuity from collaboration., 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., This inspiring book, a glorious defense of our species…is a devastating rebuke to humanity's self-haters., ' 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), 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., “ 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.�, "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, This inspiring book, a glorious defense of our species is a devastating rebuke to humanity s self-haters., 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., “ 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.�, A dose of just the kind of glass-half-full information we need right now A powerful antidote to gloom-n-doom-mongering., 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., Invigorating…For Mr. Ridley, the market for ideas needs to be as open as possible in order to breed ingenuity from collaboration., 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., A delightful and fascinating book filled with insight and wit, which will make you think twice and cheer up., 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., 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., 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., 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., 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., 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., Ridley eloquently weaves together economics, archeology, history, and evolutionary theory…His words effortlessly turn complicated economic and scientific concepts into entertaining, digestible nuggets., Ridley eloquently weaves together economics, archeology, history, and evolutionary theory His words effortlessly turn complicated economic and scientific concepts into entertaining, digestible nuggets.
