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Factfulness

Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think

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Factfulness

By: Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
Narrated by: Simon Slater
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Summary

 The #1 Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller longlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year.

'A hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases' BARACK OBAMA

Things aren't as bad as we think. Fact.

At last, a book that puts all the bad news in perspective- and brings us surprisingly positive data that show the state of the world has in fact improved over the last 50-200 years. Acclaimed by Bill Gates and Barack Obama, named an Observer 'best brainy book of the decade' - destined to be a perennial bestseller and non-fiction classic. (let's make that a fact!)

'Wonderful . . . a passionate and erudite message that is all more moving because it comes from beyond the grave . . . His knack for presentation and delight in statistics come across on every page. Who else would choose a chart of "guitars per capita" as a proxy for human progress?' FINANCIAL TIMES

'One of the most important books I've ever read - an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.' BILL GATES©2018 Hans Rosling Personal Development Personal Success Inspiring Thought-Provoking Africa
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Critic reviews

A hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases. (Barack Obama)
One of the most important books I've ever read-an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world. (Bill Gates)
A powerful antidote to pervasive pessimism and populist untruths. (Andrew Rawnsley)
Factfulness ... , a light-hearted but data-rich book, calibrates our view of the world and explains how our cognitive processes can lead us astray (Steven Pinker)
Wonderful... a passionate and erudite message that is all the more moving because it comes from beyond the grave... His knack for presentation and delight in statistics come across on every page. Who else would choose a chart of "guitars per capita" as a proxy for human progress?
An immensely cheering book in these anxious times. (Christina Hardyment)
An assault both on ignorance and pessimism . . . helping countries improve their governance and public health and opening them up to the rule of law and market exchange works. But not by some sort of magic. Because we act. And to this, as Rosling argues, we first have to understand the world we live in. (Daniel Finkelstein)
A wonderful guide to an improving world, as well as being a well-stocked source of sound advice as to how to think about factual and statistical claims . . . The book is a pleasure to read - simple, clear, memorable writing - and when you've finished you'll be a lot wiser about the world. You'll also feel rather happier . . . Factfulness - the relaxing peace of mind you get when you have a clearer view of how the world really is . . . I strongly recommend this book. (Tim Harford)
We need more of this way of thinking, both in business and politics. Where better to start than a new book by one of Gates' favourite gurus, the late Swedish statistician Hans Rosling . . . in an age of so-called post-truth, this is a celebration of the all too often repudiated but underlying story of relentless human progress. (Jeremy Warner)
[Bill] Gates had selected the tomes as his favourite summer reads . . . [which included] feel-good non-fiction . . . celebrating technological progress and genius, such as Hans Rosling's Factfulness. (Gillian Tett)
Hans Rosling tells the story of "the secret silent miracle of human progress" as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly. (Melinda Gates)
Three minutes with Hans Rosling will change your mind about the world. (Amy Maxmen)
Thoroughly researched and clearly written . . . this is a measured, objective, and ultimately optimistic account of where we are and how we got here.
Factfulness has the power to shift your entire perspective. If you want to understand the world, read it now! (Rolf Dobelli)
Triumphant.
All stars
Most relevant
A fact based journey starting from less than ignorant to seeing the enlightenment at the end of the tunnel!

awesome & essential.

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Eye opening and brilliant, I'll never look at the world or the media in the same way, read it!

Amazing

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This book made me see the world in a much clearer more positive light. The main takeaways I got from this are: (1) a clearer understanding of the different levels of poverty and (2) a better idea of the biases that affect the way we see the world and how consuming the media without knowledge of these biases will skew the way we see the world in a much more negative direction. Definitely recommend this book to everyone.

Changed the way I see the world

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Statistics can be dry but this book doesn't make it so. Peppered with life experiences and anecdotes, it's a very easy way to understand how to use this kind of info in our daily lives.

It showed my privileged ignorance and what I could do it prevent it from affecting other areas of my life.

The narrator wasn't my favourite, as he was quite breathy, almost like he found it hard to catch his breath, but don't let it deter you from reading this.

Eye opener

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listen to this book if one or more of the following apply;
you like meaningful facts, not trivia
you want to learn something new
you're willing to be corrected about something you thought was true
you dislike ignorance
you want to know more about the world
you think you know about the world
you have an opinion on something
you don't have an opinion on anything

just stop reading this and listen to the book.

Ought to be mandatory for everybody, everywhere.

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