Common Wealth

Oct 4, 2024 6:38 PM

Author:Jeffrey Sachs

Common Wealth

This is a book about how we should address the great, and interconnected, global challenges of the twenty-first century. Our task, Sachs argues, is to achieve truly sustainable development, by which he means finding a global course which enables the world to benefit from the spread of prosperity while ensuring that we don't destroy the eco-systems which keep us alive and our place in nature which helps sustain our values. How do we move forward together, benefitting from our increasing technological mastery, avoiding the terrible dangers of climate change, mass famines, violent conflicts, population explosions in some parts of the world and collapses in others, and world-wide pandemic diseases?

In answering these questions, Sachs shows that there are different ways of managing the world's technology, resources and politics from those currently being followed, and that it should be possible to adopt policies which reflect long-term and co-operative thinking instead of, as currently, disregard for others and ever-increasing barriers to solving the problems which we collectively face. It is a book which appeals equally to both head and heart, and one which no globally thinking person can ignore.

Reviews

'A useful insight into the way your cat thinks'

—— THE GOOD BOOK GUIDE

'Britain's leading feline shrink offers a fascinating insight into what's going on inside Tiddles's head'

—— YOU magazine

'A great present for anyone contemplating a cat on the basis that they're less trouble than a dog'

—— the MAIL ON SUNDAY

A terrific book...it's an engaging compendium of plant chat and history.

—— Catherine Shoard , The Evening Standard

The author structures his book with a journey through the biotopia of the Eden Project in Cornwall, from where he darts off in history and geography to offer sparkling mini-essays on specific herbs and plants and more general matters botanical and ecological.

—— Steven Poole , Guardian

Even if you're not especially interested in the Eden Project, there is plenty here to fascinate. Mabey's writing is richly evocative, his breadth of reference enormous.

—— Neville Hawcock , FT Magazine

Fencing Paradise is nothing like a guide to the place, but to read it while visiting the Eden Project is the equivalent of adding clotted cream to strawberries.

—— Jane Owen , Friends magazine

I was totally captivated by Self Comes to Mind.In this work Antonio Damasio presents his seminal discoveries in the field of neuroscience in the broader contexts of evolutionary biology and cultural development.This trailblazing book gives us a new way of thinking about ourselves, our history, and the importance of culture in shaping our common future

—— Yo-Yo Ma, Musician

Damasio makes a grand transition from higher-brain views of emotions to deeply evolutionary, lower-brain contributions to emotional, sensory and homeostatic experiences. He affirms that the roots of consciousness are affective and shared by our fellow animals. Damasio's creative vision leads relentlessly toward a natural understanding of the very font of being

—— Jaak Panksepp, author of Affective Neuroscience

Lucid, elegantly written, and punctuated by humour... This is an exciting book by a wonderful thinker

—— Siri Hustvedt

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