Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress
Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress
Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress
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Description
Description
The New York Times bestselling coauthor of Sex at Dawn explores the ways in which "progress" has perverted the way we live: how we eat, learn, feel, mate, parent, communicate, work, and die. Most of us have instinctive evidence the world is ending--balmy December days, face-to-face conversation replaced with heads-to-screens zomboidism, a world at constant war, a political system in disarray. We hear some myths and lies so frequently that they feel like truths: Civilization is humankind's greatest accomplishment. Progress is undeniable. Count your blessings. You're lucky to be alive here and now. Well, maybe we are and maybe we aren't. Civilized to Death counters the idea that progress is inherently good, arguing that the "progress" defining our age is analogous to an advancing disease. Prehistoric life, of course, was not without serious dangers and disadvantages. Many babies died in infancy. A broken bone, infected wound, snakebite, or difficult pregnancy could be life-threatening. But ultimately, Ryan argues, were these pre-civilized dangers more murderous than modern scourges, such as car accidents, cancers, cardiovascular disease, and a technologically prolonged dying process? At a time when our ecology, our society, and our own sense of selves feels increasingly imperiled, an accurate understanding of our species' long prelude to civilization is vital to a clear sense of the ultimate value of civilization--and its costs. In Civilized to Death, Ryan makes the claim that we should start looking backwards to find our way into a better future.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"Incredible . . . timely . . . clarifying." --Jack Dorsey, cofounder and CEO of Twitter "Engaging, extensively documented, well-organized, and thought provoking." --Booklist "Entertaining and provocative." --Publishers Weekly "Often zingy and colorful . . . Civilized to Death is unquestionably well-timed . . . Ryan is right to highlight the aspects of modern life that have gone off the rails." --Undark "[A] prescient book about the nature of progress . . . Civilized to Death will make you see our so-called progress in a whole new light." --Book Riot "This book takes on 'progress' as a guiding ethos--and does so with gusto." --The Stranger "It is increasingly clear to many of us that the way we have been living is no longer sustainable, at least as long as we want the earth to outlive us. . . . Civilized to Death is an important guide in this conversation." --Psychology Today "A fascinating read." --Seattle Times
"Every great once in a while, a book comes along that makes you rethink everything you thought you knew. Civilized to Death is without question one of them." --Jesse Bering, PhD, author of The Belief Instinct
"Christopher Ryan is one of the most interesting and provocative thinkers of our time. Everyone should read him--you might well disagree but you'll definitely think differently." --Johann Hari, New York Times-bestselling author of Lost Connections
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Pub date:
2020-08-11
Length:
304 pages
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