Скачать книгу - The Optimist

Chris, Genesise kunagine trummimees, jattis oma bandi ja asus toole lambapugaja ja reisikirjanikuna. Kui temast oleks saanud kuulus rokkstaar, poleks ta ehk mitte kunagi ostnud abikaasa Anaga magitalu Andaluusias, maelapikest tais oliivi-, mandli- ja sidrunisalusid, mis asub valel pool joge ning kus puuduvad juurdepaasutee, vesi ja elekter. Siis aga oleksime meie ilma jaanud haruldaselt naljakast lugemisest ja muljest, et talupidamine Hispaanias on ilmselgelt moistlik mote.

Is the world really coming to an end in 2012? The answer frighteningly is ‘maybe’, according to the Bible, the I Ching, the Mayans, meteorologists and vulcanologists. Apocalypse 2012 is cheerful sceptic Laurence E Joseph’s investigation into the 2012 Doomsday phenomenon.Journalist and science writer Laurence E Joseph is our incisive and witty guide unravelling the religious, astrological and mystical prophecies behind the potentially earth-shattering events of 2012. And at the core of this book is Joseph's investigation into the growing number of scientific researchers trying to figure out why conditions around our planet are becoming so bizarre.His adventures include:• Hooking up with the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement whose cheerful motto 'Live Long and Die Out' is now available as a tattoo.• Meeting the scientists who are trying to figure out why the present state of the sun is so worrisome – is it just going through a phase or is something major going on?• Visiting Yellowstone National Park to see whether the seething supervolcano could soon stop civilisation dead in its tracks.• Exploring the possibility of a terrorist attack that could plunge the whole Northern Hemisphere into the equivalent of a nuclear winter.So, if 2012 really is going to be a year of unprecedented catastrophe, what can we do to increase our odds of surviving it? Should we head for the Kentucky hills or hightail it to Western Africa, where the Australian Doomsday 2012 enthusiast is staking his claim, or perhaps we'd be better blasting off for solar systems unknown?With its mixture of hard science, investigative reportage and cast of colourful characters, Apocaplyse 2012 is Fast Food Nation for the terminally paranoid.

Shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction 2011.Life is on the up.We are wealthier, healthier, happier, kinder, cleaner, more peaceful, more equal and longer-lived than any previous generation. Thanks to the unique human habits of exchange and specialisation, our species has found innovative solutions to every obstacle it has faced so far.In ‘The Rational Optimist’, acclaimed science writer Matt Ridley comprehensively refutes the doom-mongers of our time, and reaches back into the past to give a rational explanation for why we can – and will – overcome the challenges of the future, such as climate change and the population boom.Bold and controversial, it is a brilliantly confident assertion that the 21st century will be the best for humankind yet.