Niall Ferguson is one of the world's most renowned historians. He is the author of sixteen books, including Civilization, The Great Degeneration, Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist, and The Ascent of Money. He is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the managing director of Greenmantle LLC. His many prizes include the International Emmy for Best Documentary (2009), the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Service (2010), and the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award (2016).
“[Doom] hopscotches breezily across continents and centuries while
also displaying an impressive command of the latest research in a
large number of specialized fields, among them medical history,
epidemiology, probability theory, cliodynamics and network theory.
. . . Belongs on the shelf next to recent ambitious and eclectic
books by authors like Jared Diamond, Nassim Nicholas Taleb and
Steven Pinker. . . . Promises to make a contribution to improving
our management of future disasters. . . . Insightful, productively
provocative and downright brilliant.” —New York Times Book
Review
“Doom seeks to understand why humanity, time and again through the
ages, has failed to prepare for catastrophes, whether natural or
manmade. . . . Forecasting, network science, economics,
epidemiology, together with the psychology of leadership are all
considered in a dazzlingly broad examination of the ‘politics of
catastrophe’ . . . Magisterial . . . [an] immensely readable book.”
—The Financial Times
“Doom covers an impressive sweep of history at a lively narrative
clip and weaves a lot of disparate strands together into an
engaging picture.” —The Guardian
“We are all trying to gain perspective on Covid, and Ferguson
frames the tragedy in the broadest and most bracing way, drawing on
humanity’s experience of all kinds of disaster, from the bubonic
plague to the First World War. Sweeping in its narrative and
multidisciplinary in its approach, Doom proves you can write an
engaging book about a repellent subject.” —Sebastian Mallaby,
Financial Times
“Sparkling, provocative and entertaining. . . . [Doom] fizzes with
ideas and nuggets of information. . . . [Ferguson] is formidably
well read and culturally curious.” —Peter Frankopan, Prospect
“[Ferguson] tackles big topics, topics of importance, and does so
with energy and skill. . . . [Doom] is well-written, wide-ranging,
conceptually interesting, shrewd, and good value. . . . The deep
history is handled with care, and is gripping. . . . A crucial work
that truly deserves wide attention.” —The Critic
“Doom is an informative, amusing and thought-provoking read that
puts the current pandemic in context, and is full of steadying good
sense for these often hysterical times.” —South China Morning
Post
“Doom is well-researched, well-argued, and all-encompassing.
Ferguson uses the depth and breadth of his knowledge to cogently
argue for a new understanding of catastrophic events. . . .
Reminiscent of William H. McNeill’s Plagues and Peoples,
[Doom] is a much-needed book on an important and pressing subject.
Ferguson provides ample support for his arguments, uses an
interdisciplinary approach, and offers new insights and
revelations. An exemplary and thought-provoking work from a
renowned author that will not disappoint.” —Library Journal
(starred review)
“[An] intensely researched . . . always entertaining account. . . .
Captivating.” —Kirkus
“Niall Ferguson puts the Covid pandemic into the broadest of
historical perspectives, and reminds us that this was not the first
time that humans have had to deal with catastrophic events.
Drawing on a deep knowledge of global history, he catalogs the
threats that mankind has faced, and the resourceful ways in which
human societies have dealt with them.” —Francis Fukuyama
“Humans have so many ways to suffer awful collective disasters that
one would think we would have developed better ways of responding.
In his sweeping, synthetic, engaging book, Doom, master historian
Niall Ferguson explains why not and offers a path forward for
better, safer, and saner responses the next time we face
catastrophe.” —Nicholas A. Christakis
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