The Rational Optimist
How Prosperity Evolves (P.S.)
by Matt Ridley
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Clinical psychologist and author
Co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz
Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Meta Platforms
Recommended by 12 notable people, including Bill Gates and Naval Ravikant
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Should I read this?
Recommended by 24 sources and appears in Economics, Books Recommended by Bill Gates, and Books Recommended by CEOs.
Matt Ridley, acclaimed author of the classics Genome and Nature via Nurture, turns from investigating human nature to investigating human progress. In The Rational Optimist Ridley offers a counterblast to the prevailing pessimism of our age, and proves, however much we like to think to the contrary, that things are getting better.
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Why recommended
Recommended by 24 sources and appears in Economics, Books Recommended by Bill Gates, and Books Recommended by CEOs.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
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Appears In
Economics
Topic69 books
Most Recommended Books
Curated5676 books
Books Recommended by Bill Gates
Category75 books
Books Recommended by CEOs
Category75 books
Books Recommended by Investors
Category75 books
Books Recommended by Naval Ravikant
Category75 books
Books Recommended by Billionaires
Category75 books
Books Recommended by Founders
Category75 books

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Consider The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. Recommended by 8 sources.
“Soft-spoken, heavily illustrated fable built from short dialogues and watercolor sketches. Each spread pairs a spare line of text with a loose drawing, so the pleasure is visual and aphoristic rather than narrative; readers collect felt-true sentences more than plot. Most useful when you want quick consolations, a prompt for conversation with a child, or a pause during a rough day. Limiting if you want sustained argument, concrete advice, or tightly plotted storytelling: the repetition of gentleness can feel sentimental or thin after a while.”
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Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.






