The gigantic upheavals of 2020 have proved him right. Rutger Bregman is poetic in his rejection of a Hobbesian view of our true natures. 'This important book is almost preternatural in its timing and argument. 'This necessary book widens the aperture of possibility for a better future, and radically' - David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth Humankind is masterful in its grasp of history, both ancient and modern' - Susan Cain, author of Quiet 'Rutger Bregman's extraordinary new book is a revelation. 'One of the most powerful books I have read for a long time, and a book I have absolutely no hesitation about saying everyone needs to read, and that it will change your life if you do so' - Matthew Taylor, RSA 'This book must be read by as many people as possible - only when people change their view of human nature will they begin to believe in the possibility of building a better world' - Grace Blakeley The coronavirus crisis has made it blindingly obvious' - The Irish Times Even a few months ago, might have seemed, as Bregman claims, "a radical idea". People have started to talk about this book: perhaps the moment of this entirely positive, heartening message is about to come' - Alexander McCall Smith, The Scotsman 'Bregman's book is something of a beacon at the moment, when many are looking for values to profess in our traumatised and altered society. Bold, entertaining and uplifting' - Spectator 'Bregman argues convincingly that what we teach and report about ourselves, we become. 'The notion that we already have the capacity to radically improve the world is both an exhilarating and a daunting one' - The New Statesman I whizzed through Humankind's 480 pages, engrossed' - The Financial Times RUTGER BREGMAN HUMANKIND FULL' Humankind displays gift for synthesising libraries full of academic research into spellbinding reads. Bregman's book is a thrilling read and it represents a necessary correction' - The Times 'Filled with compelling tales of human goodness. It makes a welcome change to read such a sustained and enjoyable tribute to our better natures' - The Observer There's a great deal of reassuring human decency to be taken from this bold and thought-provoking book. 'Here, we visit the blitz, Lord of the Flies - both the novel and a very different real-life version - a Siberian fox farm, an infamous New York murder and a host of discredited psychological studies. If Bregman is right, this book might just make the world a kinder place' - The Telegraph A superb read - brisk, accessible and full of great stories' - The Sunday Times 'An optimistic historian sifts through the past in his mission to prove that mankind might not be so bad. Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC ISBN: 9781408898932 Number of pages: 496 Weight: 878 g Dimensions: 234 x 153 mm MEDIA REVIEWS It is time for a new view of human nature. In this major book, international-bestselling author Rutger Bregman takes some of the world's most famous studies and events and reframes them, providing a new perspective on the last 200,000 years of human history.įrom the real-life Lord of the Flies to the cooperation seen in the aftermath of the Blitz, the hidden flaws in the Stanford Prison Experiment to the true story of the Kitty Genovese murder, Bregman shows how believing in human kindness and altruism can be a new way to think - and act as the foundation for achieving true change in our society. By thinking the worst of others, we bring out the worst in our politics and economics too. The instinct to cooperate rather than compete, trust rather than distrust, has an evolutionary basis going right back to the beginning of Homo sapiens. Humankind makes a new argument: that it is realistic, as well as revolutionary, to assume that people are good. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed by self-interest. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. It's a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. From 'the folk hero of Davos', Fox News antagonist and author of the international bestseller Utopia for Realists comes a radical history of our innate capacity for kindness.
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