Book cover of What We Owe the Future

Book description

Instant New York Times Bestseller

“This book will change your sense of how grand the sweep of human history could be, where you fit into it, and how much you could do to change it for the better. It's as simple, and as ambitious, as that.”
—Ezra Klein

An Oxford…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked What We Owe the Future as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

MacAskill asks us to think about what we can do today to improve the chances of a good life for sentient beings (humans, animals, and whatever else there might be) in the untold aeons to come.

I found this long-termist perspective truly breathtaking, while also feeling securely grounded in the wealth of empirical research and the careful step-by-step development of arguments he presents.

By no means uncontroversial, this tour-de-force offers actual practical guidelines. In doing so, it builds on previous works on "effective altruism" (by MacAskill himself and by Peter Singer), works that changed my life, not least by…

Future generations might be very much impacted by the actions we take today: with climate change, nuclear war, or the changes in global values. But we often don’t take their interests into account. 

In this book, Will argues that positively influencing the fate of future generations is a key moral priority of our time and that there are things we can do today to make them better off. This may be one of the most important books of our time.

If you love What We Owe the Future...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like What We Owe the Future?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like What We Owe the Future.

Browse books like What We Owe the Future

Book cover of The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't
Book cover of The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity
Book cover of Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work That Matters, and Make Smarter Choices about Giving Back

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like What We Owe the Future, you might also like...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of The Main Gate

The Main Gate by Yvonne Kjorlien,

Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.

Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…

5 book lists we think you will like!