Author:Alison Goldsworthy,Laura Osborne,Alexandra Chesterfield,Sarah Paul
Brought to you by Penguin.
Humans may violently disagree with one another, but there are ways to bring them together.
Poles Apart is based on interviews with leaders on both sides of the Atlantic and the latest academic research. It explains why we are so tribal, the advantages and disadvantages of being so, its often-unknown effects on our politics, businesses and social groups, and what we can do to halt excessive polarisation. It's a brilliantly insightful - and very practical - book on a timeless subject that also happens to be very topical. It acts as the ideal primer for those who have ever had to negotiate or resolve a conflict - in other words, all of us.
Alison (Ali) Goldsworthy, the first of the book's trio of authors, hit on the idea while a Sloan Fellow at Stanford University. In a panel discussion with Trump supporters on the largely Democrat leaning campus a student asked: "when did you last change your mind and why?" The panel took a deep breath as they reached for an answer. But their candid responses unlocked a new willingness to engage with an opposite viewpoint.
This became the question behind the Changed my Mind podcast, with Ali's former colleagues Laura Osborne and Alexandra (Alex) Chesterfield coming onboard. Dubbed by Rory Sutherland, founder of Ogilvy's Behavioural Science Practice, 'the best question he has ever heard', it has been gaining plaudits and listeners from its inception. Guests to date have included Peter Gabriel, Professor Tali Shalot and Jonathan Haidt. Distributed with openDemocracy, a second series is set to appear this summer.
As our identities increasingly align under political labels of convenience, now this is the perfect time for a reflective book that shines light on the world around us and how we can correct course from excessive political polarisation.
© Alex Chesterfield, Ali Goldsworthy, Laura Osborne 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021
Poles Apart is an extraordinary achievement: fresh, deeply authoritative, and entertaining on every page. Everyone talks about polarisation, but no one does it like Goldsworthy, Osborne, and Chesterfield. You'll finish this book wiser, kinder, and more hopeful than when you started it.
—— Jamie Susskind, author of Future PoliticsA fascinating and thought-provoking analysis of the divisions between us, how we bridge them, how we reshape the world - and ourselves too. Essential reading.
—— Cathy Newman , Channel 4 NewsAsks the best question I have ever heard. And, critically, offers solutions. A must read.
—— Rory Sutherland, vice-chairman of Ogilvy UK, and author of Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make SenseIn Poles Apart, the authors give us a comprehensive review of the psychology of groupishness and polarisation. It's a fascinating read, which will help anyone who wants to step out of the polarisation cycle and become part of the solution, rather than part of the problem that is now damaging the world's leading democracies.
—— Jonathan Haidt, NYU-Stern School of Business, author of The Righteous Mind and The Happiness HypothesisAll my life I have been an impassioned advocate of technology. I believed it could connect the whole world, which it has largely done. What I and many others failed to see, was how those connections would then be used to divide and polarise us - for commercial and political gain. This is endangering our social institutions and democracy on which our dreams were based. It turns our own lives and sometimes, families, to the poles - into warzones. This is a pivotal moment for this book to be written, read and understood.
—— Peter Gabriel, musicianA trenchant diagnosis of the causes and consequences of the polarisation plaguing our societies - and a practical road map for remedies. Highly recommended.
—— David Broockman, Associate Professor, University of California, BerkeleyIt's a great book and the spirit of it is so much nicer than all those you are totally wrong books.
—— Matt Chorley , The Times'Our life stories are powerful. We all carry our own unique life story bag that contains positive experiences and that same story bag also contains a variety of heavy rocks from difficult situations we have experienced. These rocks can stand in the way of our highest potential and our happiness. Bill Beswick shares real stories from his amazing career that provide inspiration and strategies to remove those rocks from our individual story bags, lighten our spirits and keep us moving towards the best version of ourselves'
Oliver Burkeman provides an important and insightful reassessment of productivity. The drive to get more done can become an excuse to avoid figuring out what we actually want to accomplish. Only by confronting this latter question can we unlock a calmer, more meaningful, more resilient approach to organizing our time
—— Cal Newport, bestselling author of A World Without Email and Deep WorkWe all know our time is limited. What we don't know - but what Oliver Burkeman is here to teach us - is that our control over that time is also limited. This profound (and often hilarious) book will prompt you to rethink your worship of efficiency, reject the cult of busyness, and reconfigure your life around what truly matters
—— Daniel H. Pink, author of When, Drive, and To Sell is HumanThis is the most important book ever written about time management. Oliver Burkeman offers a searing indictment of productivity hacking and profound insights on how to make the best use of our scarcest, most precious resource. His writing will challenge you to rethink many of your beliefs about getting things done-and you'll be wiser because of it
—— Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of WorkLifeI have long loved Oliver Burkeman's wise and witty journalism that both interrogates and elevates the 'self-help' realm-revealing its possibilities for absurdity while honoring the deeper human impulses that it meets. Four Thousand Weeks is a splendid offering in that spirit. This book is at once sobering and refreshing on all that is truly at stake in what we blithely refer to as 'time management.' It invites nothing less than a new relationship with time-and with life itself
—— Krista Tippett, host of On BeingFour Thousand Weeks is a book to read and re-read, to absorb and reflect on. Compassionate, funny and wise, it has not left my mind since I read it. The modern world teaches us to pretend to be immortal-this book is a dip in the cold, clear waters of reality, returning us refreshed and alive
—— Naomi Alderman, author of The PowerPeppered with good stories... Subtle, provocative and multi-layered... Offers many wise pointers to a happier, less stress-filled life, with none of the usual smug banalities of the self-help genre... Happy days!
Four Thousand Weeks is full of such sage and sane advice, delivered with dry wit and a benevolent tone. I didn't wish back any of the time I spent reading it
—— Joe Moran , GuardianA fantastic, warm, clever book
—— Kate MosseTerrific
—— Derren Brown , The TimesEvery so often you read a book that so profoundly shifts your thinking that you feel indebted with gratitude to the author. Utterly brilliant
—— Yasmin KhanSo easy to read that I finished it in one sitting... I'll probably never organise my time so well again
—— Henry Mance , Financial Times, *Books of the Year*I seldom read self-help books, but Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks is in a class of its own
—— James Wilsdon , Research Professional News, *Books of the Year*A compelling argument for why we should be doing less and doing it better... This comforting, calm book is filled with sensible, practical ideas
—— Independent, *Books of the Year*Burkeman offers practical solutions to problems that might otherwise seem too monolithic to disassemble
—— Emily Watkins , iOliver Burkeman's Guardian feature was called "This Column Will Change Your Life". The wisdom of this book could do the same
—— Julia Bueno , Times Literary Supplement[A] brilliant, comforting time-management guide
—— Stig Abell , Sunday TimesKind of cool
—— Jeff Bridges