Sway

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Sway by Pragya Agarwal, read by Aysha Kala.

‘Passionate and urgent.’ Guardian, Book of the Week
‘A must-read for all.’ Stylist, best new books for 2020
‘Cogently argued and intensely persuasive. Groundbreaking Work.’ Waterstones, best new books of April
'Impressive and much-needed.' Financial Times, Best Business Books April to June
'Admirably detailed.' Prospect Magazine
‘Practical, useful, readable and essential for the times we are living in.’ Nikesh Shukla
‘An eye-opening book that I hope will be widely read.’ Angela Saini
'If you think you don't need to read this book, you really need to read this book.' Jane Garvey
'An eye-opening book looking at unconscious bias. Meticulously researched and well written. It will make you think hard about the judgements you make. An essential read for our times.' Kavita Puri, BBC Journalist and author

For the first time, behavioural and data scientist, activist and writer Dr Pragya Agarwal unravels the way our implicit or 'unintentional' biases affect the way we communicate and perceive the world, how they affect our decision-making, and how they reinforce and perpetuate systemic and structural inequalities.

Sway is a thoroughly researched and comprehensive look at unconscious bias and how it impacts day-to-day life, from job interviews to romantic relationships to saving for retirement. It covers a huge number of sensitive topics – sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, colourism – with tact, and combines statistics with stories to paint a fuller picture and enhance understanding. Throughout, Pragya clearly delineates theories with a solid grounding in science, answering questions such as: do our roots for prejudice lie in our evolutionary past? What happens in our brains when we are biased? How has bias affected technology? If we don't know about it, are we really responsible for it?

At a time when partisan political ideologies are taking centre stage, and we struggle to make sense of who we are and who we want to be, it is crucial that we understand why we act the way we do. This book will enables us to open our eyes to our own biases in a scientific and non-judgmental way.

Critics Review

Agarwal's diagnosis of the political harms of bias is passionate and urgent.
Guardian, Book of the Week
Fascinating, sometimes challenging, read, for fans of Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women and Angela Saini’s Superior.
BBC Science Focus, Best Science Books of April
A fascinating and vital read.
Good Housekeeping
A well-researched and cogent work. It accessibly reveals the insidious nature of stereotyping and does much to encourage readers to examine - and take responsibility for - their own implicit biases.
Publishers Weekly
A serious exploration of the neuroscience and psychology of bias. Solid, definitely-not-dumbed-down popular science.
Kirkus Reviews
An important look at one of the issues facing Western society today. This book exposes the insidiousness of unconscious bias and offers us a way to change the way we think that is practical, useful, readable and essential for the times we are living in. You need to read this book and think about the way you live and how you view others.
Nikesh Shukla, author and editor of The Good Immigrant, screenwriter and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
An exhaustive, brilliantly researched survey of bias and how it seeps so easily into our everyday thoughts and actions, from gender essentialism to casual racism. Calmly and without polemic, Agarwal explains why we all need to work harder to avoid lazy prejudice and simplistic narratives if we are to build a fairer society. An eye-opening book that I hope will be widely read.
Angela Saini, science journalist and author of Superior and Inferior
This indispensable book takes us into our own minds and helps us understand why we believe what we believe and how we can confront ourselves with not just an understanding of other people, but who we are too. A book that is challenging, fascinating and useful, and if we take notice, a book that could make us better people.
Robin Ince, comedian, writer and broadcaster
This book is totally fascinating and a reminder that we are all complex creatures with multiple layers. This book is vital reading, eye-opening and a helping hand to arm ourselves with the knowledge to be and do better.
Emma Gannon, writer, podcast host and author of The Multi-Hyphen Method
If like me you thought you were non-racist and non-sexist, this book is for you. You will be amazed at how biased we all are. Very well researched, full of great examples from real life. This book should be taught at school.
Professor Michael Makris, University of Sheffield
Scrupulously researched, engagingly written, and searingly relevant.
Caroline Sanderson, editor at The Bookseller
Approaching the contentious issue of social bias with nuance and a broad range of exhaustive research, behavioural scientist, activist and writer, Agarwal demonstrates how unconscious prejudice is still immensely prevalent in contemporary society. Cogently argued and intensely persuasive, Sway is an enlightening account of how entrenched sets of stereotypes have become.
Waterstones
If you think you don't need to read this book, you really need to read this book.
Jane Garvey, presenter, BBC Radio 4
A nuanced, truly eye-opening investigation into the enduring prevalence of unconscious prejudice in contemporary society.
Waterstones

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