Book description
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…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Rational Optimist as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
It’s fashionable to think doomsday is coming, so fashionable that young people’s mental health is being harmed by relentless negativism in education, politics, the media, and Hollywood.
Yet all previously predicted doomsdays did not happen!
Historically, optimists have proven right far more often than pessimists. In this book Ridley makes the case that a revival of intellectual respectability for optimism would be good for society. Pessimists think there is no hope. Optimists believe reforms will succeed and society can improve.
From Gregg's list on hope for the future.
If you love The Rational Optimist...
Aggressor
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Want books like The Rational Optimist?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Rational Optimist.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,277
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Rational Optimist, you might also like...
My Book Boyfriend
Lily loves her community garden. Rupert wants to bulldoze it. When feelings grow, will they blossom or turn to rubble?
"It literally had everything! - Bookworm Characters - Humor - Banter - Swoon-worthy lines." - Book Reviewer.
Everyday Medical Miracles
Frontiers of Women from the healthcare perspective. A compilation of 60 true short stories written by an extensive array of healthcare providers, physicians, and advanced practice providers.
All designed to give you, the reader, a glimpse into the day-to-day activities of all of us who provide your health care. Come…
