Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think (Illustrated)

The international best-selling phenomenon loved by BARACK OBAMA and BILL GATES in a new and updated illustrated edition

'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

*#1 Sunday Times bestseller * instant New York Times bestseller * Observer 'best brainy book of the decade' * #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller * Irish Times bestseller * Audio bestseller * Guardian bestseller *

FACTFULNESS: the stress-reducing habit of only having opinions for which there are strong supporting facts.

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

When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.

In Factfulness, legendary statisticians Hans, Anna and Ola Rosling offer a radical new explanation of why this happens, and reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective.

It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. But when we let the bad news take on outsize proportions instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.

Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.

Review

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)

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 New Statesman, The best books of 2018)

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)

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 The Times)

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 Sunday Telegraph)

[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 FT Magazine)

Hans Rosling tells the story of "the secret silent miracle of human progress" as only he can. But Factfulnessdoes 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. (Nature)

About the Author

Hans Rosling was a medical doctor, professor of international health and renowned public educator. He was an adviser to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, and co-founded Médecins sans Frontières in Sweden and the Gapminder Foundation. His TED talks have been viewed more than 35 million times, and he was listed as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Hans died in 2017, having devoted the last years of his life to writing this book.

Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Hans's son and daughter-in-law, were co-founders of the Gapminder Foundation, and Ola its director from 2005 to 2007 and from 2010 to the present day. After Google acquired the bubble-chart tool called Trendalyzer, invented and designed by Anna and Ola, Ola became head of Google's Public Data Team and Anna the team's senior user experience (UX) designer. They have both received international awards for their work.