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THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

‘Masterful. Galor answers the ultimate mystery’ LEWIS DARTNELL
‘Completely brilliant and utterly original’ JON SNOW
‘Astounding in scope and insight’ NOURIEL ROUBINI

The stunning advances that have transformed human experience in recent centuries are no accident of history – they are the result of universal and timeless forces, operating since the dawn of our species. Drawing on a lifetime’s scientific investigation, Oded Galor’s ground-breaking new vision identifies these keys to human progress, overturning a host of long-held assumptions and revealing the deeper causes that have shaped the journey of humanity:

Education rather than industrialisation
Family size and gender equality as much as inventions and technology
Geography and diversity rather than wars, disease and famine

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‘Unparalleled in its scope and ambition . . . All readers will learn something’ Washington Post

‘A magisterial, suspense-filled thriller full of surprises and profound insights’ Glenn C. Loury

‘An inspiring, readable, jargon-free and almost impossibly erudite masterwork’ New Statesman

‘If you need an evidence-based antidote to doomscrolling, here it is’ Guardian

Publisher Review

A completely brilliant and utterly original account of humanity's transit from crude beginnings to a deeply divided planet. A vastly readable insight into why our world is as it is. A book for our epoch -- Jon Snow, former presenter of Channel 4 News A masterful sweep through the human odyssey, from the origin of our species to the making of the modern world, that answers the ultimate mystery: what accounts for the staggering inequality in the wealth of nations today? Exquisite, eloquent and effortlessly erudite - if you liked Sapiens, you'll love this -- Lewis Dartnell, author of Origins Astounding in scope and insight, The Journey of Humanity provides a captivating and revelatory account of the deepest currents that have shaped human history, and the keys to the betterment of our species -- Nouriel Roubini, author of Crisis Economics I am in awe of Oded Galor's attempts to explain inequality today as a consequence of such profound forces. A remarkable contribution to our understanding of this mammoth dilemma -- Jim O'Neill, author of The Growth Map A wonderfully clear-sighted perspective on progress, past and future, which is essential to tackling today's big challenges - potentially catastrophic climate change and inequality -- Diane Coyle, former Vice Chair of the BBC Trust, author of Cogs and Monsters An engaging and optimistic answer to anyone who thinks that poverty and inequality will always be with us -- Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules - For Now Galor's project is breathtakingly ambitious -- Robert Solow, NOBEL LAUREATE IN ECONOMICS A magisterial account of the evolution of human civilization from its prehistoric origins into the present day. It's a page-turner, a suspense-filled thriller full of surprises, mind-bending puzzles and profound insights -- Glenn C. Loury, author of The Anatomy of Racial Inequality In lucid, accessible prose, Galor ingeniously traces obscure influences over centuries ... This engrossing history reveals that subtle causes can have astounding effects * Publishers Weekly * A tour de force. This deeply argued book brilliantly weaves the threads of global economic history to deconstruct the rich tapestry that is the modern world -- Dani Rodrik, author of Straight Talk on Trade Big Science at its best ... Galor's erudition and creativity are remarkable -- Prof. Steven N. Durlauf, University of Chicago, on Unified Growth Theory One of the hottest books of the year ahead * Irish Independent * Incredibly wide-ranging and detailed historical and even anthropological examination of the myriad factors that have brought success and failure to nations ... Lively and learned -- Tim Hazledine, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Auckland * Inerest.co.nz *