Overview

'A landmark new book.' - The Guardian 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? Now is humanity’s best moment. And our most fragile. Global health, wealth and education are booming. Scientific discovery is flourishing. But the same forces that make big gains possible for some of us deliver big losses to others—and tangle us together in ways that make everyone vulnerable. We’ve been here before. The first Renaissance, the time of Columbus, Copernicus, Gutenberg and others, redrew all maps of the world, liberated information and shifted Western civilization from the medieval to the early modern era. Such change came at a price: social division, political extremism, economic shocks, pandemics and other unintended consequences of human endeavour. Now is our second Renaissance. In the face of terrorism, Brexit, refugee crises and the global impact of a Trump presidency, we can flourish—if we heed the urgent lessons of history. Age of Discovery, revised and updated for this paperback edition, shows us how.

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9781472943521

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Reviews

A landmark new book. -- The Guardian A bold mega-analysis of global education, health, prosperity and technology...incisive and rich in context and granularity. -- Nature An essential guide-and a superb ride-through our current stormy moment. -- Arianna Huffington Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post A powerful journey...This book will help the world. -- Richard Branson Founder, Virgin Group Everyone should read it. -- Michael Spence Nobel Laureate in Economics Ian and Chris ask-and answer-the big, essential questions...We should thank them for their audacity. -- Christine Lagarde Managing Director, International Monetary Fund This fascinating book...should interest all who care about the future of humanity. -- Lord Martin Rees Astronomer Royal & past President of the Royal Society A much-needed dose of perspective in our increasingly short-term-focused world. -- Dominic Barton Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Co Essential reading to navigate the waves of innovation we face today. -- Garry Kasparov 13th World Chess Champion A call to action we all need to hear. -- Kumi Naidoo International Executive Director, Greenpeace An education and a great read in one. -- AC Grayling Philosopher Outstanding insights for all those interested in the stresses of the modern world and how other ages have confronted them. -- Andrew Hamilton President, NYU & past Vice-Chancellor, Oxford University A very important reminder to grasp the opportunities in the many challenges we are facing today. -- Hans-Paul Burkner Chairman, Boston Consulting Group A refreshing change from the shallow analyses and sterile nostrums of the right and the left...an impressive and important book. -- Edmund Phelps Nobel Laureate in Economics A hugely stimulating book...Everyone should heed the authors' call. -- Niall Ferguson Professor of History, Harvard University A must-read for present and future leaders everywhere. -- Asha Kanwar President, Commonwealth of Learning 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. -- Larry Brilliant President, Skoll Global Threats Fund & past Executive Director, Google.org A masterpiece. -- Vijay Govindarajan New York Times best-selling author A rich portrait...powerful parallels...essential insights for all of us-including for every emerging Michelangelo and da Vinci. -- Reid Hoffman Founder & Chairman, LinkedIn

A landmark new book. -- The Guardian A bold mega-analysis of global education, health, prosperity and technology...incisive and rich in context and granularity. -- Nature An essential guide-and a superb ride-through our current stormy moment. -- Arianna Huffington * Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post * A powerful journey...This book will help the world. -- Richard Branson * Founder, Virgin Group * Everyone should read it. -- Michael Spence * Nobel Laureate in Economics * Ian and Chris ask-and answer-the big, essential questions...We should thank them for their audacity. -- Christine Lagarde * Managing Director, International Monetary Fund * This fascinating book...should interest all who care about the future of humanity. -- Lord Martin Rees * Astronomer Royal & past President of the Royal Society * A much-needed dose of perspective in our increasingly short-term-focused world. -- Dominic Barton * Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Co * Essential reading to navigate the waves of innovation we face today. -- Garry Kasparov * 13th World Chess Champion * A call to action we all need to hear. -- Kumi Naidoo * International Executive Director, Greenpeace * An education and a great read in one. -- AC Grayling * Philosopher * Outstanding insights for all those interested in the stresses of the modern world and how other ages have confronted them. -- Andrew Hamilton * President, NYU & past Vice-Chancellor, Oxford University * A very important reminder to grasp the opportunities in the many challenges we are facing today. -- Hans-Paul Burkner * Chairman, Boston Consulting Group * A refreshing change from the shallow analyses and sterile nostrums of the right and the left...an impressive and important book. -- Edmund Phelps * Nobel Laureate in Economics * A hugely stimulating book...Everyone should heed the authors' call. -- Niall Ferguson * Professor of History, Harvard University * A must-read for present and future leaders everywhere. -- Asha Kanwar * President, Commonwealth of Learning * 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. -- Larry Brilliant * President, Skoll Global Threats Fund & past Executive Director, Google.org * A masterpiece. -- Vijay Govindarajan * New York Times best-selling author * A rich portrait...powerful parallels...essential insights for all of us-including for every emerging Michelangelo and da Vinci. -- Reid Hoffman * Founder & Chairman, LinkedIn *

A landmark new book. -- The Guardian A bold mega-analysis of global education, health, prosperity and technology...incisive and rich in context and granularity. -- Nature An essential guide-and a superb ride-through our current stormy moment. -- Arianna Huffington * Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post * A powerful journey...This book will help the world. -- Richard Branson * Founder, Virgin Group * Everyone should read it. -- Michael Spence * Nobel Laureate in Economics * Ian and Chris ask-and answer-the big, essential questions...We should thank them for their audacity. -- Christine Lagarde * Managing Director, International Monetary Fund * This fascinating book...should interest all who care about the future of humanity. -- Lord Martin Rees * Astronomer Royal & past President of the Royal Society * A much-needed dose of perspective in our increasingly short-term-focused world. -- Dominic Barton * Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Co * Essential reading to navigate the waves of innovation we face today. -- Garry Kasparov * 13th World Chess Champion * A call to action we all need to hear. -- Kumi Naidoo * International Executive Director, Greenpeace * An education and a great read in one. -- AC Grayling * Philosopher * Outstanding insights for all those interested in the stresses of the modern world and how other ages have confronted them. -- Andrew Hamilton * President, NYU & past Vice-Chancellor, Oxford University * A very important reminder to grasp the opportunities in the many challenges we are facing today. -- Hans-Paul Burkner * Chairman, Boston Consulting Group * A refreshing change from the shallow analyses and sterile nostrums of the right and the left...an impressive and important book. -- Edmund Phelps * Nobel Laureate in Economics * A hugely stimulating book...Everyone should heed the authors' call. -- Niall Ferguson * Professor of History, Harvard University * A must-read for present and future leaders everywhere. -- Asha Kanwar * President, Commonwealth of Learning * 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. -- Larry Brilliant * President, Skoll Global Threats Fund & past Executive Director, Google.org * A masterpiece. -- Vijay Govindarajan * New York Times best-selling author * A rich portrait...powerful parallels...essential insights for all of us-including for every emerging Michelangelo and da Vinci. -- Reid Hoffman * Founder & Chairman, LinkedIn * `[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. -- Financial Times If you read only one thing... -- Politico 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. -- Times Higher Education Supplement A highly stimulating, indeed challenging book. -- Forbes Enlightening. -- The Sunday Telegraph Age of Discovery will leave its readers drained by the scale of the problems we face...but its scope and authority reward the effort. -- Daily Telegraph Breathless. -- New Statesman Urgent reading everywhere. -- Shanghai Review of Books This book completely blows my mind. -- `Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang' on Sirius/XM Wow. -- ABC Afternoons with James Valentine Audacious. -- Salon.com Charts the birth of a brave new world...Impressive. -- Morning Star A rallying cry for an aspirational future. -- CBC News A fantastic new book. -- Breitbart.com Edifying and thoroughly entertaining. -- Inside Higher Ed 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. -- 800-CEO-READ The best book I've read in the past five years. -- 33Voices.com Important. Powerful. -- FutureSquared An immense contribution to rethinking our epoch. -- Cambridge Business Review

Author Information

Ian 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.

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