This book, in a sentence, claims that an ahistorical and ill informed doom and gloom atmosphere in Western public debate threatens to turn into a selffulfilling prophecy; that a new 'Global Optimism Literature' represented by e. g. Hans Rosling and Steven Pinker, based on vast historical sources and social scientific data fortunately intends to correct this misperception; that the also newly emerged sub-discipline of Global History in spite of severe birth diseases could contribute substantially to this mission; and when it all comes down to it: do we have a choice anyway?

Martin Lund is a Global Historian educated at the Universities of Manchester, Tübingen, Lund and Copenhagen. He also holds a graduate diploma in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.