Clearly: A short history of eyeglasses and how a moonshot idea can change everything

by James Chen

Poor vision is the largest unaddressed disability in the world today. An estimated 2.2 billion people, almost a third of the global population, suffer from poor vision because they don't have access to a simple pair of glasses - a solution that has been around for centuries. It is an issue the world has ignored, even though tackling it would transform countless lives - helping children to learn, improving gender equality, increasing productivity, and ultimately reducing poverty.

The world is on the cusp of a new technological revolution but those without good sight cannot participate in this progress and will fall further behind. Insufficient funds are available to tackle the issue yet helping the whole world see would save trillions of dollars in health costs and lost productivity. In this extraordinary book, businessman and philanthropist James Chen asks why this should be, and describes his quest to answer that question.

In Clearly, he reveals the personal stories of some of those afflicted and identifies the barriers to universal access to vision correction. He delivers a passionate call to governments and international institutions to act and appeals to the world of business, technology and medicine to come together and find a solution to this global problem.

346 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 3, 2025