Mark’s sequel to the bestselling An Optimist’s Tour of the Future is out now – and you can read all about it on its dedicated website:
Mark’s sequel to the bestselling An Optimist’s Tour of the Future is out now – and you can read all about it on its dedicated website:
We’re very pleased to announce that the follow up to An Optimist’s Tour of the Future will be published by Profile Books in 2015. Tentatively called The Shift: Why are systems are failing us and what will replace them, Mark will be travelling the cutting edge of institutional innovation finding new models for schools, healthcare, finance and governance. There are rumours of an accompanying TV series.
The lovely people at Nulmin Books have bought the Korean rights to Optimist’s Tour.... Super!
The lovely people at HVG have bought Hungarian language rights to the book…. Nagyszeru!
….and you can find it at Audible.co.uk. http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B008UCAOV0&qid=1345107226&sr=1-1
Good news… Dutch, Estonian and Hungarian editions are now in the offing – as is an Audio version (read by Mark)….
So, there’s been a flurry of new editions of the book. The paperback is out in the US today, Turkish and Polish editions are now on the shelves (to supplement the Spanish) and the German edition comes out in April. Oh, and a Dutch edition has just been sold too… so watch out for that…!
Mark’s last talk of the year will be addressing Science Communications students at University College London. It’s been a diverse twelve months with talks to everyone from schoolchildren to CEOs. In the New Year Mark will start writing his next book – but also be appearing in places as far apart as the Copenhagen planetarium and the Columbian book festival…
We’re very happy to announce that the book is now available in Spanish – via the truly fantastic publisher Galaxia Gutenberg – who have created a Spanish web site for the book: http://www.galaxiagutenberg.com/. Mark is currently doing a host of Spanish press interviews in Madrid and Barcelona – and is pleased to report that the League of Pragmatic Optimists (la liga del los Optimistas Pragmaticos) will soon have chapters in Spain….
LOPO came about after Mark became constantly inundated with the question “What can I do?” from people reading his book, or attending talks. He realised there was a huge un-tapped army of critical thinking optimists out there, however a lot them either felt isolated within their organisations or were craving other people to bump ideas together and start actually doing something rather than just thinking or talking about it.
LOPO principles:
Already there are offers to launch chapters in NY, Boston, Princeton and Oxford. Our test event in London is on Oct 12th – already oversubscribed but regular meetings will be in the diary soon…
"Sharp and fascinating" - The Wall Street Journal ...a rollicking roller-coaster ride around the cutting edge of science with dozens of laugh-out-loud moments —The Scotsman "stellar reviews everywhere and certainly one of the most interesting science books I've read for a long time...contentious subjects tackled in an approachable way" - New Statesman "Stevenson's journey is a measured effort to take stock of the reasons for hope, and to keep faith with the enlightenment project... he makes a good case for believing that we can have a future worth making an effort to reach." - The Guardian Stevenson puts the trends of tomorrow’s world into perspective with a quizzical, fast-paced, quick-witted tour of the scientific horizon. - The Times "...infectiously enthusiastic... Despite the book’s title, Stevenson is not a relentlessly wide-eyed guide to the future. He is alive to the self-puffing of scientists and engineers he meets, and has a nice eye for the absurd." - Sunday Times "[a] grand tour of charismatic technologies. Stevenson bags some impressive interviewees." - Financial Times “Stevenson wears no blindfold. His tools are curiosity, open-mindedness, clarity and reason. That makes his journey intriguing… and ultimately exhilarating.” —Chris Anderson, TED.com Curator "Essential...illuminating and refreshingly hopeful...an auspicious yet grounded vision" - The Atlantic "A refreshing reminder that the future will always belong to the optimists" - New Scientist "It’s invigorating to be led to the far-side by someone who sees the bright-side!”— Henry Pollack, author of A World Without Ice and Nobel Peace Prize winner "a hilarious and inspiring romp" - Cory Doctorow @ Boingboing ...a brilliant book, Stevenson is the perfect guide to a dizzying future. The ideas come so quickly, with such great humour - it's like the smartest dinner party you've ever attended - Peter Miller, author 'The Smart Swarm' "an absolute winner: entertaining, educational, jaw dropping.Never before have I been so captivated by a piece of non-fiction" - The Book Bag "Uplifting and liberating: optimistic without being naive, fun but not silly, entertaining yet enlightening.. This is a book to gladden the gloomiest heart." —Michael Brooks, author of 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense "Stevenson turns out to be an energetic tour guide to the cutting edge of science - like inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, but without that doomed feeling that can come from hearing Kurzweil's predictions." - Washington Post "insightful...entertaining...Stevenson's restrained and rational enthusiasm makes for optimistic reading" - The Australian "Part trendhunting, part rigorous research, part cultural anthropology, An Optimist’s Tour of the Future may just be our generation’s version of Bill Brysons’s iconic A Short History of Nearly Everything — a bold and entertaining blueprint for a future that’s ours to shape and ours to live." - Brainpickings In questioning progress, Stevenson employs science, ethics and philosophy and never fails to be inspirational.” - Mind Food Magazine |