Books like 'The Rational Optimist'
Readers who enjoyed The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley & L.J. Ganser also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical psychological politics nautical personal-growth evolution technology pollution-climate-change singularity
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Orwell's Revenge: The 1984 Palimpsest by Peter Huber
Rated: 3.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMark Zuckerberg's ‘A Year of Books’ SelectionGeorge Orwell’s bleak visions of the future, one in which citizens are monitored through telescreens by an insidious Big Brother, has haunted our imagination long after the publication of 1984... -
![Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, Carlos Manuel Vesga]()
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, Carlos Manuel Vesga
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 55 ratings100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens...Categorized as:
evolution nautical personal-growth politics technology 21st-century adult ancient-civilization -
![A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough]()
A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSee the world. Then make it better.I am David Attenborough. At time of writing, I am 93 years old. I've had an extraordinary life. It's only now that I appreciate how extraordinary. As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion... -
![Cosmos by Carl Sagan, LeVar Burton]()
Cosmos by Carl Sagan, LeVar Burton
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsCosmos has 13 heavily illustrated chapters, corresponding to the 13 episodes of the Cosmos television series. In the book, Sagan explores 15 billion years of cosmic evolution and the development of science and civilization. Cosmos traces the origins of knowledge and the scientific method, mixing science and philosophy, and speculates to the future of science...Categorized as:
evolution personal-growth politics technology 20th-century adult ancient-civilization audiobook -
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![Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Annemie de Vries]()
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Annemie de Vries
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsFactfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong... -
![The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis]()
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFor those who could read between the lines, the censored news out of China was terrifying. But the president insisted there was nothing to worry about.Fortunately, we are still a nation of skeptics. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios... -
![The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee]()
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsSpanning the globe and several centuries, The Gene is the story of the quest to decipher the master-code that makes and defines humans, that governs our form and function.The story of the gene begins in an obscure Augustinian abbey in Moravia in 1856, where a monk stumbles on the idea of a ‘unit of heredity’... -
![Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman]()
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFrom the author of Utopia For Realists, a revolutionary argument that the innate goodness and cooperation of human beings has been the greatest factor in our successIf one basic principle has served as the bedrock of bestselling author Rutger Bregman's thinking, it is that every progressive idea -- whether it was the abolition of slavery, the advent of democracy, women's suffrage, or the...Categorized as:
evolution personal-growth politics 21st-century audiobook contemporary fiction historical -
![The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason]()
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsBeloved by millions, this timeless classic holds the key to all you desire and everything you wish to accomplish. This is the book that reveals the secret to personal wealth. Countless readers have been helped by the famous "Babylonian parables," hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on the subject of thrift, financial planning, and personal wealth...Categorized as:
personal-growth politics adult anthologies audiobook classics historical historical-fiction -
!["Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman]()
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsWinner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965, Richard Feynman was one of the world's greatest theoretical physicists, but he was also a man who fell, often jumped, into adventure. An artist, safecracker, practical joker and storyteller, Feynman's life was a series of combustoble combinations made possible by his unique mixture of high intelligence, unquenchable curiosity and eternal scepticism...Categorized as:
nautical personal-growth politics technology 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell]()
Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis book presents the kind of eye-opening insights into the history and culture of race for which Sowell has become famous. As late as the 1940s and 1950s, he argues, poor Southern rednecks were regarded by Northern employers and law enforcement officials as lazy, lawless, and sexually immoral. This pattern was repeated by blacks with whom they shared a subculture in the South...Categorized as:
personal-growth politics audiobook christian fiction historical non-fiction philosophy -
![How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson]()
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe life-changing principles of Stoicism taught through the story of its most famous proponent.Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was the final famous Stoic philosopher of the ancient world. The Meditations, his personal journal, survives to this day as one of the most loved self-help and spiritual classics of all time... -
![Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis]()
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsBilly Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball, had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. Conventional wisdom long held that big name, highly athletic hitters and young pitchers with rocket arms were the ticket to success...Categorized as:
personal-growth politics 21st-century audiobook contemporary fiction historical journalism -
![Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium by Carl Sagan]()
Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium by Carl Sagan
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsIn the final book of his astonishing career, Carl Sagan brilliantly examines the burning questions of our lives, our world, and the universe around us...Categorized as:
evolution politics pollution-climate-change technology 20th-century adult audiobook book -
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![Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari]()
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsYuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Sapiens, returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning his focus toward humanity’s future, and our quest to upgrade humans into gods.Over the past century humankind has managed to do the impossible and rein in famine, plague, and war... -
![You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That Changed America by Paul Kix]()
You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That Changed America by Paul Kix
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom journalist Paul Kix, the riveting story, never before fully told, of the 1963 Birmingham Campaign―ten weeks that would shape the course of the Civil Rights Movement and the future of America.It’s one of the iconic photographs of American A Black teenager, a policeman and his lunging German Shepherd. Birmingham, Alabama, May of 1963... -
![The Story of Civilization [Volumes 1 to 11] by Will Durant, Ariel Durant]()
The Story of Civilization [Volumes 1 to 11] by Will Durant, Ariel Durant
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsVol 1 Our Oriental HeritageVol 2 The Life of GreeceVol 3 Caesar and ChristVol 4 The Age of FaithVol 5 The RenaissanceVol 6 The ReformationVol 7 The Age of Reason BeginsVol 8 The Age of Louis XIVVol 9 The Age of VoltaireVol 10 Rousseau and RevolutionVol 11 The Age of... -
![Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon]()
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTHE REAL ORIGIN OF OUR SPECIES: a myth-busting, eye-opening landmark account of how humans evolved, offering a paradigm shift in our thinking about what the female body is, how it came to be, and how this evolution still shapes all our lives todayHow did the female body drive 200 million years of human evolution? • Why do women live longer than men? • Why are women more likely to get... -
![Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky]()
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn this pathbreaking work, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky show that, contrary to the usual image of the news media as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and defense of justice, in their actual practice they defend the economic, social, and political agendas of the privileged groups that dominate domestic society, the state, and the global order...Categorized as:
personal-growth politics technology 20th-century audiobook classics communism conspiracies -
![Enchiridion by Epictetus]()
Enchiridion by Epictetus
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHandbook of Epictetus also known as Enchiridion written by legendary Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus is a manual of Stoic ethical advice. Compiled by Arrian, who was a student of Epictetus, this great classic will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, the Handbook of Epictetus is required reading for various courses and curriculums...Categorized as:
nautical personal-growth politics adult ancient-civilization audiobook book classics -
![Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis, Bing West]()
Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis, Bing West
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratings#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A clear-eyed account of learning how to lead in a chaotic world, by General Jim Mattis—the former Secretary of Defense and one of the most formidable strategic thinkers of our time—and Bing West, a former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine. “A four-star general’s five-star memoir...Categorized as:
politics personal-growth military non-fiction war audiobook philosophy psychological -
![The War on the West by Douglas Murray]()
The War on the West by Douglas Murray
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn Instant New York Times Bestseller!China has concentration camps now. Why do Westerners claim our sins are unique?It is now in vogue to celebrate non-Western cultures and disparage Western ones. Some of this is a much-needed reckoning, but much of it fatally undermines the very things that created the greatest, most humane civilization in the world...Categorized as:
politics personal-growth non-fiction philosophy audiobook religion psychological social-commentary -
![Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche by Friedrich Nietzsche]()
Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche by Friedrich Nietzsche
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche became one of the most influential thinkers of the nineteenth century, whose attempts to unmask the motives that underlie traditional Western religion, morality and philosophy would deeply affect generations of philosophers, psychologists and authors...Categorized as:
personal-growth politics philosophy classics non-fiction fiction psychological historical -
![A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes by Stephen W. Hawking, Ron Miller]()
A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes by Stephen W. Hawking, Ron Miller
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsStephen Hawking is one of the world's leading cosmologists and is widely regarded as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. Although he has been widely published within his specialized field, A Brief History of Time is the first work he has written for the non-mathematical layman...Categorized as:
evolution personal-growth politics technology 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari]()
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsIn Sapiens, he explored our past. In Homo Deus, he looked to our future. Now, one of the most innovative thinkers on the planet turns to the present to make sense of today's most pressing issues... -
![The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene]()
The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsStrategies of war—and the subtle social game of everyday life—by the bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene’s groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power , The Art of Seduction , and Mastery espouse profound, timeless lessons from the events of history to help readers vanquish an enemy, ensnare an unsuspecting victim, or become the greatest in your field... -
![Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker]()
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIf you think the world is coming to an end, think again: people are living longer, healthier, freer, and happier lives, and while our problems are formidable, the solutions lie in the Enlightenment ideal of using reason and science...Categorized as:
evolution personal-growth politics technology 21st-century audiobook contemporary historical -
![Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World by Rutger Bregman]()
Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World by Rutger Bregman
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsUniversal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today. "A more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell."—The New York Times After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need...Categorized as:
personal-growth politics technology 21st-century audiobook communism contemporary historical -
![The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff]()
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratings'Excellent, their advice is sound . . . liberal parents, in particular, should read it' Financial TimesThe New York Times bestsellerWhat doesn't kill you makes you weakerAlways trust your feelingsLife is a battle between good people and evil peopleThese three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being, as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures...Categorized as:
personal-growth politics technology 21st-century audiobook children contemporary family -
![The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann]()
The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the best-selling, award-winning author of 1491 and 1493--an incisive portrait of the two little-known twentieth-century scientists, Norman Borlaug and William Vogt, whose diametrically opposed views shaped our ideas about the environment, laying the groundwork for how people in the twenty-first century will choose to live in tomorrow's world...Categorized as:
politics pollution-climate-change technology 20th-century audiobook culinary expert fiction
![The Story of Civilization [Volumes 1 to 11] by Will Durant, Ariel Durant](https://48f-1.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/books/small/624b34c9a97f8a995d8d2fab.jpg)
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