Factfulness

On my Books Every Human Should Read list. Fascinating, written with expertise, experience and humility. I don't understand all the reviews using the word “condescending” - I didn't see that (with the exception of one rather shocking anecdote from when he was a new graduate). He frequently shares polling data that shows ignorance on the part of highly educated people, but that's the data he's using to reveal the problem. He also freely shared his own mistakes.

Reading at the end of 2022, I was struck by the fact that his number one practical concern (in 2017) was a global pandemic (not that he was the only one - this has long been known to be inevitable). As much as the world could have benefitted from his wisdom in 2020, maybe it's better he didn't see how badly it was handled...

What I enjoyed most was how infinitely practical this was. Lots of charts, the fallacies are presented clearly, and each chapter ends with a bullet point list to solidify the concepts he's described with personal stories. This book is neither boring or clinical, and it's an excellent antidote for the insidious, Western/Euro-centrist thinking that's both prevalent and rarely remarked upon.

If you liked this book and have kids, I'd also recommend Raising Critical Thinkers by Julie Bogart. For more positivity on the world, Humankind by Rutger Bregman, although that one's still in my tsundoku pile.