What do you think?
Rate this book
Your World, Better: Global Progress And What You Can Do About It
Written for the smart and engaged middle school student, Your World, Better looks at how America and the World has changed since the reader's parents and grandparents were what has happened to health and wealth, homes, school and work, rights and democracy, war and the environment, happiness and depression. It reports the positive trends, the problems that remain and what we can do about them. All author royalties from sales will be donated to UNICEF. "Everyone, no matter how old, or how young, should read this. I’m sending to grandkids and their parents." --Nancy Birdsall "Great read for middle school kids who want to understand how the world is getting better -- and can become even more so!" --Parag Khanna "If you know a middle school student or teacher, pass this along! Incredibly fresh and honest." --Karen Schulte "Kids are taught that everything's getting worse and we're all doomed--factually incorrect, and a message that leads to cynicism & fatalism, not constructive action. An Charles Kenny's new Your World, Better..." --Steven Pinker
201 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 18, 2021
12 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 13, 2021
Your World, Better: Global Progress And What You Can Do About It (2021) by Charles Kenny is a very good look at how the world has changed and how it has generally improved that is aimed at older kids.
In the book Kenny compares how the world is now to how the world was for kids parents and for their grandparents. It works very well. There are chapters on Health, Money and Wealth, Home, School, Work, Violence and War, the reduction in Discrimination, Democracy, Happiness and The Environment. Kenny uses statistics sparsely but well. The book makes the point that in general things are really getting substantially better.
The chapter on Health is very good, pointing out just how much healthier we are today compared to previous generations. The Chapter on Discrimination makes very good points about how many fewer countries actively discriminate based on race or sexual preferences.
Recently I was sitting around with my neighbours and there was a discussion about whether there would be a political and social collapse or a major war or an environmental collapse first. While some of these things may happen it’s vital to remember that things have become dramatically better over the past few hundred years and indeed in the lifetimes of the people sitting around the table. It’s also important to remember that at most times people also think doom is around the corner while things continue to get better. It’s very important to point out how things have become better to young adults so they get a real picture of what has been gained in the past.
Your World, Better, does an excellent job of showing kids and adults how the world has dramatically improved and does so in impressively few pages. It’s very much worth reading.
In the book Kenny compares how the world is now to how the world was for kids parents and for their grandparents. It works very well. There are chapters on Health, Money and Wealth, Home, School, Work, Violence and War, the reduction in Discrimination, Democracy, Happiness and The Environment. Kenny uses statistics sparsely but well. The book makes the point that in general things are really getting substantially better.
The chapter on Health is very good, pointing out just how much healthier we are today compared to previous generations. The Chapter on Discrimination makes very good points about how many fewer countries actively discriminate based on race or sexual preferences.
Recently I was sitting around with my neighbours and there was a discussion about whether there would be a political and social collapse or a major war or an environmental collapse first. While some of these things may happen it’s vital to remember that things have become dramatically better over the past few hundred years and indeed in the lifetimes of the people sitting around the table. It’s also important to remember that at most times people also think doom is around the corner while things continue to get better. It’s very important to point out how things have become better to young adults so they get a real picture of what has been gained in the past.
Your World, Better, does an excellent job of showing kids and adults how the world has dramatically improved and does so in impressively few pages. It’s very much worth reading.
May 12, 2021
Should be compulsory reading for teenagers
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews