TheGreat Acceleration

Colvile is one of the few journalists to straddle the worlds of politics, technology and the arts, having supervised the Daily Telegraph's Science and Digital life pages simultaneously. He brings an amazing breadth of knowledge to this fascinating bookPerfect for fans of Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, James Wallman's Stuffocation, Richard H.Thaler's Nudge, Evgeny Morozov's The Net Delusion: How Not to Liberate the World, Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan and FreakonomicsRobert Colvile has been a columnist, leader writer and comment editor with the Daily Telegraph. Among his many duties, he was supervising the paper's Science and Digital Life pages, serving as comment editor of the Sunday Telegraph while still in his twenties, and producing a host of editorials, features, reviews and opinion pieces. He went on to be news director at BuzzFeed UK. He has a Masters degree from Cambridge in International Relations, is a regular pundit on Sky News, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Studies (a leading British think-tank) and author of an influential report on how the internet is transforming British politics, which was praised by Chancellor George Osborne among others. @rcolvileFlash crashes. Speed dating. Instant messaging. From the devices we carry to the lives we lead, everything is getting faster, faster. But where did this great acceleration come from? And where will it lead? In this vitally important new book, Robert Colvile explains how the cult of disruption in Silicon Valley, the ceaseless advance of technology and our own fundamental appetite for novelty and convenience have combined to speed up every aspect of daily life. Drawing on the latest research, this book traces the path of this acceleration through our working and social lives, the food we buy and the music to which we listen. It explains how it's transforming the media, politics and the financial markets - and asks whether our bodies, and the natural environment, can cope. As we race towards the future - into a world packed with new technologies, new ideas and new discoveries - this scintillating and engrossing book is an invaluable, must-read guide to the wonders and dangers that await us.A revelatory account of how our society is speeding up, The Great Acceleration is a fascinating insight into the science and promise of the modern world from a brilliant new writerA must-read. The effects of acceleration are real, and we need to start taking them seriouslyIn a run, run, runaway world, Colvile's The Great Acceleration is an indispensable guide to keeping up. A book that raises eyebrows and questions in equal measure. A meticulous, thoughtful, candid, sometimes stark and yet ultimately optimistic study of humanity, and our breath-taking desire for changeA punchy and wide-ranging book about how our lives and our society are speeding up, when to apply the brakes and how to enjoy the rideIt's true - life is speeding up. But don't despair, overall that's a good thing for prosperity and quality of life, though it may not feel so as the emails pile up. This book is as fast-paced as its subject matter, and well worth making time forColvile is never less than engaging. Not a paragraph passes without an appealing factoid . It is also inflected by a healthy sense of humour . Given how easy it is to accentuate the negative, this is a book well worth reading, especially for the technological naysayersAn alert and readable survey of the effects of "the great acceleration" on tech firms, social media, art, news media, politics, banking and the environment. Its statistics are certainly strikingDespite the intriguing theme, I picked up this book with a heavy heart. There are now so many books inspired by Malcolm Gladwell that they've become formulaic. I needn't have worried. Colvile, a journalist, has done a very good job indeed. It's an interesting idea and he manages to persuade the reader that it matters. It's rare to go for a whole paragraph without learning something unexpected, funny or disturbing. The amount of research he has done is impressive. The Great Acceleration is really an excellent bookColvile is an entertaining writer and his subject is a fascinating oneCompulsive, illuminating and ever-so-slightly terrifyingExcellently researched and thoughtfulProvides food for thoughtLooking for a seriously good summer read? The Great Acceleration is a brilliant take on how our world is changing