Age of Discovery

A timely and unique interpretation of a world at the crossroads: a classic in the makingIan Goldin is a world-famous academic and author, previously Vice President of the World Bank and has been nominated Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic ForumBoth authors have an extensive network in academia and the business world and will be extremely active in the promotion of the bookIan Goldin is Director of the Oxford Martin School and Professor of Globalisation and Development at the University of Oxford. He was Vice President of the World Bank and prior to that the Bank's Director of Development Policy. From 1996 to 2001 he was Chief Executive and Managing Director of the Development Bank of Southern Africa, and also served as an advisor to President Nelson Mandela. He has been knighted by the French government and is an acclaimed author of 20 books. Chris Kutarna is a two-time Governor General's Medallist, a Sauvé Fellow and Commonwealth Scholar, and a Fellow of the Oxford Martin School with a doctorate in politics from the University of Oxford. A former consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, then entrepreneur, Chris lived in China for several years, speaks Mandarin, and remains a regular op-ed contributor to one of China's top-ranked news magazines. He resides in Oxford, Beijing and Regina.The present is a contest between the bright and dark sides of discovery. To avoid being torn apart by its stresses, we need to recognize the fact-and gain courage and wisdom from the past. Age of Discovery shows how. Now is the best moment in history to be alive, but we have never felt more anxious or divided. Human health, aggregate wealth and education are flourishing. Scientific discovery is racing forward. But the same global flows of trade, capital, people and ideas that make gains possible for some people deliver big losses to others-and make us all more vulnerable to one another. Business and science are working giant revolutions upon our societies, but our politics and institutions evolve at a much slower pace. That's why, in a moment when everyone ought to be celebrating giant global gains, many of us are righteously angry at being left out and stressed about where we're headed. To make sense of present shocks, we need to step back and recognize: we've been here before. The first Renaissance, the time of Columbus, Copernicus, Gutenberg and others, likewise redrew all maps of the world, democratized communication and sparked a flourishing of creative achievement. But their world also grappled with the same dark side of rapid change: social division, political extremism, insecurity, pandemics and other unintended consequences of discovery. Now is the second Renaissance. We can still flourish-if we learn from the first.Age of Discovery looks at the world on the brink of a new Renaissance and asks the question, how do we avoid chaos and disruption, and share more widely the benefits of progress?1. What's Past is Prologue Part I: The Facts of a Renaissance Age 2. The New World 3. New Tangles 4. Vitruvian Man Part II: Flourishing Genius 5. Copernican Revolutions 6. Cathedrals, Believers and Doubt Part III: Flourishing Risk 7. The Pox is Spreading, Venice is Sinking 8. Bonfires and Belonging Part IV: The Contest for our Future 9. DavidA landmark new book.A bold mega-analysis of global education, health, prosperity and technology...incisive and rich in context and granularity.[A] lively account of both Renaissance and modern history . Maybe someone should send Mr. Trump a copy of this book; it might yield some thought-­provoking tweets.An essential guide-and a superb ride-through our current stormy moment.A powerful journey.This book will help the world.Everyone should read it.Ian and Chris ask-and answer-the big, essential questions.We should thank them for their audacity.This fascinating book.should interest all who care about the future of humanity.A much-needed dose of perspective in our increasingly short-term-focused world.Essential reading to navigate the waves of innovation we face today.A call to action we all need to hear.An education and a great read in one.Outstanding insights for all those interested in the stresses of the modern world and how other ages have confronted them.A very important reminder to grasp the opportunities in the many challenges we are facing today.A refreshing change from the shallow analyses and sterile nostrums of the right and the left.an impressive and important book.A hugely stimulating book.Everyone should heed the authors' call.A must-read for present and future leaders everywhere.A remarkable feat of both history and prophecy. Ian and Chris have given us a gift of self-reflection that is indeed rare. I can't believe the book is so light and small for accomplishing such a heavy lift.A masterpiece.A rich portrait.powerful parallels.essential insights for all of us-including for every emerging Michelangelo and da Vinci.The genie of globalisation cannot be put back into the bottle. The question now is how quickly societies adapt or face being torn apart by protest. Maybe someone should send Mr Trump a copy of this book.Age of Discovery is an immense contribution to rethinking our epoch[A] thought-provoking, big-picture take on our uncertain timesBold, challenging and invigorating.If you read only one thing...Far-sighted...Age of Discovery succeeds in convincing that this is an uncommonly interesting time to be alive, with unusual levels of promise-and peril.A highly stimulating, indeed challenging book.Enlightening.Age of Discovery will leave its readers drained by the scale of the problems we face.but its scope and authority reward the effort.Breathless.Urgent reading everywhere.This book completely blows my mind.Wow.Audacious.Charts the birth of a brave new world.Impressive.A rallying cry for an aspirational future.A fantastic new book.Edifying and thoroughly entertaining.A brilliant, "big-think" read of serious scholarship and keen observation of our present moment. It is a prescient warning, a call to action to the better angels of our nature, and a map for a new age of discovery.The best book I've read in the past five years.Important. Powerful.An immense contribution to rethinking our epoch.