Civilized to Death
The Price of Progress
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Civilized to Death
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Narrated by:
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Christopher Ryan
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By:
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Christopher Ryan
About this listen
The New York Times best-selling coauthor of Sex at Dawn explores the ways in which “progress” has perverted the way we live — how we eat, learn, feel, mate, parent, communicate, work, and die — in this “engaging, extensively documented, well-organized, and thought-provoking” (Booklist) book.
Most of us have instinctive evidence the world is ending - balmy December days, face-to-face conversation replaced with heads-to-screens zomboidism, a world at constant war, a political system in disarray. We hear some myths and lies so frequently that they feel like truths: Civilization is humankind’s greatest accomplishment. Progress is undeniable. Count your blessings. You’re lucky to be alive here and now. Well, maybe we are, and maybe we aren’t. Civilized to Death counters the idea that progress is inherently good, arguing that the "progress" defining our age is analogous to an advancing disease.
Prehistoric life, of course, was not without serious dangers and disadvantages. Many babies died in infancy. A broken bone, infected wound, snakebite, or difficult pregnancy could be life-threatening. But ultimately, Christopher Ryan questions, were these pre-civilized dangers more murderous than modern scourges such as car accidents, cancers, cardiovascular disease, and a technologically prolonged dying process?
Civilized to Death “will make you see our so-called progress in a whole new light” (Book Riot) and adds to the timely conversation that “the way we have been living is no longer sustainable, at least as long as we want to the earth to outlive us” (Psychology Today). Ryan makes the claim that we should start looking backwards to find our way into a better future.
©2019 Christopher Ryan (P)2019 Simon & SchusterWhat listeners say about Civilized to Death
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Matthew Willis
- 19-10-2019
Worth the wait
Beautifully written and read by Christopher Ryan. Hopefully this book will be a catalyst for positive change in the world.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-11-2019
Everyone should read or listen to this book.
Everyone should read or listen to this book. The author does a excellent job narrating the book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Alex
- 06-09-2022
A Challenging and Fascinating Book
At first I found this book somewhat difficult to get into. It challenged many of my preconceptions and actually dismantled the arguments of some of my heroes (Steven Pinker in particular) but the arguments were compelling. By the end I was raving about it to everyone I know. Christopher is a writer, not an academic, so you could argue that this work isn't as robust as it could be but I think that's a mute point given the volume of evidence and sources cited. Highly recommended
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- Linda M. Cockburn
- 27-11-2022
The Second Listen
Narrative non-fiction at its best. Wide-sweeping, insightful, funny, hopeful and wise. This is in my top ten NF favourites. A profoundly grounded voice of reason in unreasonable times.
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- Anonymous User
- 19-12-2019
Chris , you’ve changed my life
When I first listened to you on Joe Rogan’s podcast I hated you - you touched every nerve of my fears and insecurities surrounding my relationship and femininity.
As I caught myself in the act of switching off the podcast , I stopped instead and decided to shore up my courage and continue to listen . I am profoundly grateful that I did . The more podcasts I listened to with you and Joe and Duncan the more I couldn’t help agreeing with so much of what you say.
I have now finished Sex at Dawn and now this incredible book , Civilized to Death and it has given me a great insight into how we interrelate and the cognitive dissonance suffered by so many of us living in this ‘civilized’ world.
I don’t know how to thank someone who has probably afforded the general populace with the two biggest paradigm-shifting works of all time , so...
Thank you x
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Caselka
- 30-06-2022
An essential for everyone.
Chris not only brings up important questions, but he also has a fairly neutral point of view. In mode cases, he allows the listener to take their own stance on the ideologies within this book. This book is imperative for everyone and should be a part of school curriculums.
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- Rachel
- 07-11-2020
Fabulous!!
This book really resonated with me. Well thought out, well researched and well read. Definitely worth listening to change the paradigm of modern western society.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-04-2021
An unrelenting indictment of our civilization
Chris Ryan makes us reconsider the quality of life of modern society, and asks why we should look back to our pre-aggrecultral lifestyle for answers to the biggest issues we face today.
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- treboRRRR
- 09-10-2019
Savage book that no one till now has had balls to say out!
Obviously Chris hasn’t written that book to make profit nor fame. His book addresses and names things as they are, without BS. I wish everyone would read it, and i mean READ it not pedal through it just to get a checkmark down, like nowadays most people consume information, i feel.
But i have a feeling that most people are not ready for it, cuz it’s wayyyyyy too honest.
Thank you Chris! Thank you.
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- Anonymous User
- 30-10-2019
Opinion piece
Whilst full of interesting facts & information, its obviously cherry picked to suit a bias. Entertaining & worth a read, best taken with a grain of salt.
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