PositiveThe Times (UK)... if you are an Extinction Rebellion devotee, you probably won’t love this book. Far from embracing the trendy idea that the only route out of this is \'degrowth\' and the end of capitalism, Gates takes what is fast becoming the most controversial of all paths: pragmatism ... Confronted with a problem like climate change it is tempting to reach for simple solutions ... Gates’s book is gratifyingly free of such delusions ... solutions are what we need right now and if you’re after an approachable book about what needs to happen next, this is a great place to start ... Gates’s book does not hold all the answers, nor is it everyone’s cup of tea. It reads at times like an investment prospectus for some of the companies and technologies in the climate field ... For those who wonder whether there is a way of addressing climate change that doesn’t involve biblical sacrifice and suffering, you could start here by reading this book.
Raghuram Rajan
PositiveThe TimesEconomists tend to avoid foggy concepts such as community and society, preferring to stick with the stuff you can measure. However, Rajan, who is sometimes tipped as a future governor of the Bank of England, is no stranger to stepping beyond his brief ... an important contribution to understanding why, a decade on from the crisis, the world’s politics and economics remain so brittle ... It is a grand, sweeping argument, and much of the book is given over to the history of how we got here and a mini guide to capitalism. Rajan, a critic trying to save capitalism from itself, makes his point in accessible, clear prose ... All interesting suggestions, although in the face of such an enormous problem they seem rather underwhelming. Perhaps this is to be expected. Too many politicians have talked a good game on reinvigorating community spirit without making much difference.
