“Heavens on Earth: How To Create Mass Prosperity,”: by J. P. Floru, available for £8.49, RRP £12.99
The world’s economy is in crisis. Public spending has reached dizzying heights, national debts are crippling governments and economic growth is lacklustre or non-existent. It has been suggested that this is an unavoidable phase in the world’s economic development. Not so, says J. P. Floru. Rather, we in the West have sleepwalked our way into a culture that condemns us to economic decline while savvier nations flourish. Heavens on Earth offers both a manifesto for creating prosperity and a fascinating tale of global growth. It takes a sweeping view of traditions across the world and across the centuries, introducing us to the remarkable individuals who made it all happen. Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Chile, the United States, post-war Germany, China and the Industrial Revolution in England all turned the tide from misery to plenty. Across time and space, the economic disease and the cure were remarkably similar. Heavens on Earth is a book for optimists: if we apply the successful formula of the past, the scope for economic prosperity is limitless.
Immortality: The Quest To Live Forever and How It Drives Civilisation, by Stephen Cave, available for £6.49 RRP £9.99
“A must-read… Every once in a while a book comes along that catches me by surprise and provides me with an entirely new lens through which to view the world.” S. Jay Olshansky, New Scientist
“An epic inquiry into the human desire to defy death – and how to overcome it.” Julian Baggini, Financial Times
Who wants to live forever? According to Stephen Cave, we all do – every single one of us. Eluding the Grim Reaper is humanity’s oldest and most pervasive wish, embedded in our very nature. A desire for eternal life provides the dynamism behind every aspect of human civilisation: science, agriculture, architecture, religion, the arts, fame and family. From freeing your soul to freezing your brain, all these attempts to defy death fall into four categories – the four paths to immortality.
Ranging across continents and cultures, from ancient Egypt to cutting-edge laboratories, Immortality raises the curtain on what compels us humans to persevere. The four paths are ancient, but science is now showing us – for the first time in human history – whether any of them can really lead to infinity. Cave investigates what it would mean for our lives if they can – but also if they can’t. If the paths up the Mount of the Immortals lead nowhere – if there is no getting to the summit – is there still reason to live? Can civilisation endure the knowledge that its quest for immortality is futile?