Highly readable

Hancock's book will probably be as popular as the Raider's film. Added to the Holy Grail excitement of his quest, he has invented a new genre: an intellectual whodunnit by a do-it-yourself sleuth

It should cause widespread discussion and it deserves to

Fortunately, Fred Pearce's flights of rhetorical hyperbole are rare, his tone being one of genial enthusiasm mixed with discreet, but genuine, awe...This is more than a catalogue of curiosities...and Pearce does not shy from the daunting question of what the forests should be for.

Ngugi has returned to his roots to produce something delicate, fresh and scrupulously honest

The surprise about Dreams in a Time of War is that, for all the provocation of history, and for all its clear-eyed evocation of an agonised time, it is not an angry book ... Ngugi's storyteller's instinct for character and place, for recurring motifs and telling symbols, triumphs over the bleakness of background...this memoir is a tale of triumph

Essential reading for the author's many admirers

Ngugi's storytelling skills never falter as he brings this far-away world vividly to life

Absorbing personal reflections that illuminate not just later careers, but the state of their peoples too.

One of Kenya's greatest storytellers

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

Big Science at its best ... Galor's erudition and creativity are remarkable

An engaging and optimistic answer to anyone who thinks that poverty and inequality will always be with us

Galor's project is breathtakingly ambitious

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

In lucid, accessible prose, Galor ingeniously traces obscure influences over centuries ... This engrossing history reveals that subtle causes can have astounding effects

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

One of the hottest books of the year ahead

Reading Oded Galor's upbeat book I...[was] taken aback by his imagination and verve... great sections of Galor's book are to be applauded... his optimism about humanity shines through

The Journey of Humanity is a good summary of growth theories and is an elegantly written and accessible book

Galor argues that climate policy should not be restricted to cutting carbon but should also involve "pushing hard for gender equality, access to education and the availability of contraceptives, to drive forward the decline in fertility". India will do well to heed that advice

The Journey of Humanity stretches from the emergence of Homo sapiens to the present day, and has a lot to say about the future, too. In just over 240 pages it covers our migration out of Africa, the development of agriculture, the Industrial Revolution and the phenomenal growth of the past two centuries. It takes in population change, the climate crisis and global inequality ... There will be inevitable comparisons with Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens ... If you need an evidence-based antidote to doomscrolling, here it is ... Galor builds his case meticulously, always testing his assumptions against the evidence, and without the sense of agenda-pushing that accompanies other boosterish thinkers - the Steven Pinkers or Francis Fukuyamas of this world

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

An optimist's guide to the future ... Oded Galor's 'Sapiens'-like history of civilisation predicts a happy ending for humanity

Enjoyable and intriguing

An antidote to doomscrolling

A great historical fresco

Breathtaking. A new Sapiens

Ambitious and deep ... the product of genuine scholarship