The Journey of Humanity

Author Oded Galor
Narrator Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Publisher Random House
Run Time 9 hours and 39 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Archaeology, Economic geography, Human geography, Impact of science and technology on society, Popular economics, Population and demography, Social and cultural history, Social discrimination and equal treatment, Social theory, Sociolinguistics.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

*** Includes a recording of the Intelligence Squared event, featuring Oded Galor in conversation with Kamal Ahmed ***

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

'Masterful. Galor answers the ultimate mystery' LEWIS DARTNELL
'Completely brilliant and utterly original' JON SNOW
'Astounding in scope and insight' NOURIEL ROUBINI

The stunning advances that have transformed human experience in recent centuries are no accident of history - they are the result of universal and timeless forces, operating since the dawn of our species. Drawing on a lifetime's scientific investigation, Oded Galor's ground-breaking new vision identifies these keys to human progress, overturning a host of long-held assumptions and revealing the deeper causes that have shaped the journey of humanity:

Education rather than industrialisation
Family size and gender equality as much as inventions and technology
Geography and diversity rather than wars, disease and famine

*

'Unparalleled in its scope and ambition . . . All readers will learn something' Washington Post

'A magisterial, suspense-filled thriller full of surprises and profound insights' Glenn C. Loury

'An inspiring, readable, jargon-free and almost impossibly erudite masterwork' New Statesman

'If you need an evidence-based antidote to doomscrolling, here it is' Guardian

© Oded Galor 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Critics Review

A wildly ambitious attempt to do for economics what Newton, Darwin or Einstein did for their fields: develop a theory that explains almost everything … an inspiring, readable, jargon-free and almost impossibly erudite masterwork, the boldest possible attempt to write the economic history of humanity
New Statesman
There will be inevitable comparisons with Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens … If you need an evidence-based antidote to doomscrolling, here it is
Guardian
Journey of Humanity… is only 300 pages long, which considering it covers thousands of years of global history… is surprisingly concise. Its breadth and ambition are reminiscent of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel…and Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens
Financial Times
A large-scale survey of human history… The heart of the matter is why some countries grow and some don’t… Perhaps growth-mad Liz Truss should have read it. You certainly should.
The Times, Best philosophy and ideas books of 2022
Unparalleled in its scope and ambition … All readers will learn something, and many will find the book fascinating
Washington Post
Deeply rewarding and fascinating
Spectator
A completely brilliant and utterly original account of humanity’s transit from crude beginnings to a deeply divided planet. A vastly readable insight into why our world is as it is. A book for our epoch
Jon Snow, former presenter of Channel 4 News
A masterful sweep through the human odyssey, from the origin of our species to the making of the modern world, that answers the ultimate mystery: what accounts for the staggering inequality in the wealth of nations today? Exquisite, eloquent and effortlessly erudite – if you liked Sapiens, you’ll love this
Lewis Dartnell, author of Origins
Astounding in scope and insight, The Journey of Humanity provides a captivating and revelatory account of the deepest currents that have shaped human history, and the keys to the betterment of our species
Nouriel Roubini, author of Crisis Economics
I am in awe of Oded Galor’s attempts to explain inequality today as a consequence of such profound forces. A remarkable contribution to our understanding of this mammoth dilemma
Jim O'Neill, author of The Growth Map
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
Diane Coyle, former Vice Chair of the BBC Trust, author of Cogs and Monsters
Big Science at its best … Galor’s erudition and creativity are remarkable
Prof. Steven N. Durlauf, University of Chicago, on Unified Growth Theory
An engaging and optimistic answer to anyone who thinks that poverty and inequality will always be with us
Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules – For Now
Galor’s project is breathtakingly ambitious
Robert Solow, Nobel Laureate in Economics
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
Glenn C. Loury, author of The Anatomy of Racial Inequality
In lucid, accessible prose, Galor ingeniously traces obscure influences over centuries … This engrossing history reveals that subtle causes can have astounding effects
Publishers Weekly
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
Dani Rodrik, author of Straight Talk on Trade
One of the hottest books of the year ahead
Irish Independent
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
Observer
The Journey of Humanity is a good summary of growth theories and is an elegantly written and accessible book
Irish Times

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