The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined - Softcover

Pinker, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143122010 ISBN 13: 9780143122012

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2012

Synopsis

"If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this--the most inspiring book I've ever read."
--Bill Gates (May, 2017)

A provocative history of violence--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Stuff of Thought, The Blank Slate, and Enlightenment Now.

Believe it or not, today we may be living in the most peaceful moment in our species' existence. In his gripping and controversial new work, New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows that despite the ceaseless news about war, crime, and terrorism, violence has actually been in decline over long stretches of history. Exploding myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly enlightened world.

About this title

A Mark Zuckerberg "Year of Books" Pick

"My favorite book of the last decade is [Steven] Pinker's Better Angels of Our Nature. It is a long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time."--Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft

"For anyone interested in human nature, the material is engrossing, and when the going gets heavy, Pinker knows how to lighten it with ironic comments and a touch of humor. . . . A supremely important book. To have command of so much research, spread across so many different fields, is a masterly achievement."--The New York Times Book Review

"An extraordinary range of research . . . a masterly effort."--The Wall Street Journal

"Better Angels is a monumental achievement. His book should make it much harder for pessimists to cling to their gloomy vision of the future. Whether war is an ancient adaptation or a pernicious cultural infection, we are learning how to overcome it."--Slate

Praise for THE STUFF OF THOUGHT

"The majesty of Pinker's theories is only one side of the story. The other side is the modesty of how he built them. It all makes sense, when you look at it the right way."-- The New York Times Book Review

"Packed with information, clear, witty, attractively written."--The New York Review of Books

"Engaging and witty ...Everyone with an interest in language and how it gets to be how it is--that is, everyone interested in how we get to be human and do our human business--should read THE STUFF OF THOUGHT."-- Science

Praise for THE BLANK SLATE

"An extremely good book--clear, well argued, fair, learned, tough, witty, humane, stimulating."--Colin McGinn, The Washington Post

"Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read...also highly persuasive."--Time

From the Back Cover

'His book will change the way you see the world ... Pinker's powerful ideas, vivid stories and sparkling prose make this hard to put down' Daily Mail

'May prove to be one of the great books of our time ... he writes like an angel' Economist

Wasn't the twentieth century the most violent in history? In his extraordinary, epic book Steven Pinker shows us that this is wrong, telling the story of humanity in a completely new and unfamiliar way. From why cities make us safer to how books bring about peace, Pinker weaves together history, philosophy and science to examine why we are less likely to die at another's hand than ever before, how it happened and what it tells us about our very natures.

'Masterly, a supremely important book ... For anyone interested in human nature, it is engrossing' The New York Times

'Marvellous ... riveting and myth-destroying' New Statesman

'A marvellous synthesis of science, history and storytelling, written in Pinker's distinctively entertaining and clear personal style ... I was astonished by the extent to which violence has declined in every shape, form and scale' Financial Times

'An outstandingly fruitful read, with fascinating nuggets on almost every page' Sunday Times, Books of the Year

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0143122010
• ISBN 13: 9780143122012
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 832