TITLE:  The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves

AUTHOR:  Matt Ridley

DATE PUBLISHED:  2011

FORMAT:  Paperback

ISBN-13:  9780007267125

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DESCRIPTION:

"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. Though the world is far from perfect, necessities and luxuries alike are getting cheaper; population growth is slowing; Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people’s lives as never before. The pessimists who dominate public discourse insist that we will soon reach a turning point and things will start to get worse. But they have been saying this for two hundred years.

Yet Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. Prosperity comes from everybody working for everybody else. The habit of exchange and specialization—which started more than 100,000 years ago—has created a collective brain that sets human living standards on a rising trend. The mutual dependence, trust, and sharing that result are causes for hope, not despair.

This bold book covers the entire sweep of human history, from the Stone Age to the Internet, from the stagnation of the Ming empire to the invention of the steam engine, from the population explosion to the likely consequences of climate change. It ends with a confident assertion that thanks to the ceaseless capacity of the human race for innovative change, and despite inevitable disasters along the way, the twenty-first century will see both human prosperity and natural biodiversity enhanced. Acute, refreshing, and revelatory, The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better. "

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REVIEW:

The Rational Optimist takes a look at human history from the Stone Age to the present (2010) and how prosperity evolves.  This is an interesting look at how everything is not doom and gloom and that things will (probably) get better (unless government interferes too much).

PS:  Farming is not fun and idyllic - it's hard work!  And the world is definitely better with a modern functioning sewage system than without one.

Zowza!!! (I saw this word in a book I read this week, sorry I can't remember which to give credit to, but I love it!!

I loved this book!!!

It was filled with so many great characters. There were so many times that I just wanted to haul off and slap a couple of them. They grated my nerves so much, especially Lorraine. That was, of course, before I started shedding tears for those very same people. 

The story was amazing, the writing was amazing and I'm still crying over it. Even after I took a break before writing this review. A story that was fraught with emotions and surprises that I never saw coming.

An excellent read that I thought was this author's best one yet! I will always say "yes, please" to Amy Reichert's books.

Thanks to Gallery, Threshold and Pocket Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Two pre-order promotions for the re-issues of Saving Spirit Bear – What Price Success? and Loving the Terrorist – Beyond Eagleridge Bluffs, plus the Kindle Scout nomination promotion for The Widower, and, don’t forget, the corresponding blogs and tweets – it’s been a busy three months.

What do I have to show for it? One sale.

Ever the optimist I have uploaded The Widower to both Smashwords and Amazon as a pre-order which will be released March 6, 2016. That gives you plenty of time after paying your Holiday bills to save up 99¢ for this e-book.

I’m not sure about the wisdom of such a long pre-order period but since when did wisdom factor into anything I do regarding writing?

If you don’t think you can afford it (and, let’s face it, you haven’t before) you might want to click enter on the widgets in the previous blog or visit these sites and enter my Goodreads giveaway for two each of the above mentioned books as paperbacks.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/164880-saving-spirit-bear

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27032523-loving-the-terrorist

Contest ends January 8, 2016

I haven’t tried Goodreads before because their giveaways are only for actual books and I’ve been too cheap to offer up the books and pay the postage – which is like adding insult to injury in my opinion.

What’s changed? Did I suddenly come into a windfall?

Goodreads claims they’re the largest site for readers and book recommendations and that 40,000 people enter their giveaways everyday.

Four books x 40,000 views x 30 days … let’s just say I’m curious as to how many people actually request my books.

Watch for my year end blog coming soon entitled A Year of Futility.

Stay Calm, Be Brave, Watch for the Signs.

I know that Jon Stewart is a relatively private man.  Apart from the occasional hosting gig or book, he doesn't make himself well known once he leaves his show.  However, when I pick up a biography, I really do expect to learn something new about a person.  I felt like this particular bio regurgitated information found in previous biographies.  It also focused heavily on the Daily Show, while somewhat briefly addressing all of the steps it took to get to that point.  I guess I was disappointed in not seeing a little more 'behind the scenes'.

I received a free copy of this book via Goodreads First Reads.

The life and times of Jon Stewart are more than the last fifteen years of helming The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as author Lisa Rogak writes. The unlikely rise of the short wise-cracking Jewish kid from Jersey rising to become one of the most influential, and comedic, voices of political commentary is a told expertly and without bias.

Given Stewart’s impact the last fifteen years, Rogak could have easily just given a brief synopsis of his life prior to January 1999 instead she spent the a third of the book detailing Stewart’s childhood, collegiate years, and life before and after deciding to go into comedy. Rogak gives the reader as glimpse to Stewart as a young man that will affect how he helmed The Daily Show, including the triumphs and the many failures that he experienced throughout the 1980s and 90s.

Once Rogak gets to Stewart’s tenure on The Daily Show, instead of just detailing the next decade and a half, she shows how Stewart made the show more in his style and how he was hands on than previous host Craig Kilborn. Throughout the last two-thirds of the book, Rogak tackles The Daily Show years not strictly chronologically but as a mixture of chronology and themes. This approached allowed Rogak to give the reader a fuller understand of Stewart and The Daily Show as a whole.

Rogak was very evenhanded in her approach to the overall view of Stewart, mixing praise and criticism from critics and how the viewing audience has seen Stewart. Triumphs and embarrassments are told in their detail as well has controversies surrounding the show from his interview style, to the lack of female writers, and his liberal bias. And as Stewart seems on the verge of a major shakeup in his professional life, Rogak writes about his possible transition to films as director not actor.

Given Jon Stewart’s continued presence within media, Lisa Rogak did an wonderful job in writing about his life and career. Although it is hard for an author not to have some bias for their subject, Rogak is able to give a balanced portrayal of Stewart in her book from accomplishments to stumbles. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the host of The Daily Show.