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Age of Discovery
- Narrator
- Philip Franks
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 30 July 2026
- Run Time
- 11 hours 52 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Age of Discovery looks at the world on the brink of a new Renaissance and asks the question, how do we avoid chaos and disruption, and share more widely the benefits of progress?
Now is humanity’s best moment. And our most fragile. Global health, wealth and education are booming. Scientific discovery is flourishing. But the same forces that make big gains possible for some of us deliver big losses to others—and tangle us together in ways that make everyone vulnerable.
We’ve been here before. The first Renaissance, the time of Columbus, Copernicus, Gutenberg and others, redrew all maps of the world, liberated information and shifted Western civilization from the medieval to the early modern era. Such change came at a price: social division, political extremism, economic shocks, pandemics and other unintended consequences of human endeavour.
Now is our second Renaissance. In the face of terrorism, Brexit, refugee crises and the global impact of a Trump presidency, we can flourish—if we heed the urgent lessons of history.
Critics Review
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A landmark new book.
The Guardian
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A bold mega-analysis of global education, health, prosperity and technology...incisive and rich in context and granularity.
Nature
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An essential guide - and a superb ride - through our current stormy moment.
Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post
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A powerful journey…This book will help the world.
Founder, Virgin Group
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Everyone should read it.
Nobel Laureate in Economics
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Ian and Chris ask—and answer—the big, essential questions…We should thank them for their audacity.
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
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This fascinating book…should interest all who care about the future of humanity.
Astronomer Royal & past President of the Royal Society
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A much-needed dose of perspective in our increasingly short-term-focused world.
Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Co
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Essential reading to navigate the waves of innovation we face today.
13th World Chess Champion
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A call to action we all need to hear.
International Executive Director, Greenpeace
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An education and a great read in one.
Philosopher
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Outstanding insights for all those interested in the stresses of the modern world and how other ages have confronted them.
President, NYU & past Vice-Chancellor, Oxford University
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A very important reminder to grasp the opportunities in the many challenges we are facing today.
Chairman, Boston Consulting Group
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A refreshing change from the shallow analyses and sterile nostrums of the right and the left…an impressive and important book.
Nobel Laureate in Economics
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A hugely stimulating book…Everyone should heed the authors’ call.
Professor of History, Harvard University
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A must-read for present and future leaders everywhere.
President, Commonwealth of Learning
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A remarkable feat of both history and prophecy. Ian and Chris have given us a gift of self-reflection that is indeed rare. I can’t believe the book is so light and small for accomplishing such a heavy lift.
President, Skoll Global Threats Fund & past Executive Director, Google.org
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A masterpiece.
New York Times best-selling author
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A rich portrait…powerful parallels…essential insights for all of us—including for every emerging Michelangelo and da Vinci.
Founder & Chairman, LinkedIn
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‘[A] lively account of both Renaissance and modern history...Maybe someone should send Mr. Trump a copy of this book; it might yield some thought-provoking tweets.
Financial Times
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If you read only one thing...
Politico
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Far-sighted...Age of Discovery succeeds in convincing that this is an uncommonly interesting time to be alive, with unusual levels of promise—and peril.
Times Higher Education Supplement
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A highly stimulating, indeed challenging book.
Forbes
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Enlightening.
The Sunday Telegraph
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Age of Discovery will leave its readers drained by the scale of the problems we face…but its scope and authority reward the effort.
Daily Telegraph
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Breathless.
New Statesman
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Urgent reading everywhere.
Shanghai Review of Books
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This book completely blows my mind.
‘Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang’ on Sirius/XM
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Wow.
ABC Afternoons with James Valentine
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Audacious.
Salon.com
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Charts the birth of a brave new world…Impressive.
Morning Star
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A rallying cry for an aspirational future.
CBC News
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A fantastic new book.
Breitbart.com
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Edifying and thoroughly entertaining.
Inside Higher Ed
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A brilliant, “big-think” read of serious scholarship and keen observation of our present moment. It is a prescient warning, a call to action to the better angels of our nature, and a map for a new age of discovery.
800-CEO-READ
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The best book I’ve read in the past five years.
33Voices.com
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Important. Powerful.
FutureSquared
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An immense contribution to rethinking our epoch.
Cambridge Business Review
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna
- Narrator
- Philip Franks
- Duration
- 11 hours 52 minutes
- Release Date
- 30 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9781399431330
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Popular economics, Society and culture: general, Development economics and emerging economies, Business and Management, International economics, European history: Renaissance, Social and cultural history, History of ideas, Behavioural economics, Political economy, Globalization
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents Age of Discovery: Navigating the Storms of Our Second Renaissance by Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna read by Philip FranksAge of Discovery looks at the world on the brink of a new Renaissance and asks the question, how do we avoid chaos and disruption, and share more widely the benefits of progress?Now is humanity’s best moment. And our most fragile. Global health, wealth and education are booming. Scientific discovery is flourishing. But the same forces that make big gains possible for some of us deliver big losses to others—and tangle us together in ways that make everyone vulnerable.We’ve been here before. The first Renaissance, the time of Columbus, Copernicus, Gutenberg and others, redrew all maps of the world, liberated information and shifted Western civilization from the medieval to the early modern era. Such change came at a price: social division, political extremism, economic shocks, pandemics and other unintended consequences of human endeavour.Now is our second Renaissance. In the face of terrorism, Brexit, refugee crises and the global impact of a Trump presidency, we can flourish—if we heed the urgent lessons of history.
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