Recent years have been tough on optimists. Hopes that the Internet might bring people together have been crushed by the ills of social media. Is there a way back?
Chris Anderson, the head of TED, believes that we can turn outrage back into optimism. It all comes down to reimagining one of the most fundamental human virtues: generosity. What if generosity could become infectious generosity? Consider:
* how a London barber began offering haircuts to people experiencing homelessness - and catalysed a movement
* how two anonymous donors gave $10,000 each to 200 strangers and discovered that most recipients wanted to 'pay it forward' with their own generous acts
* how TED itself transformed from a niche annual summit into a global beacon of ideas by giving away talks online, allowing millions access to free learning
In telling these inspiring stories, Anderson offers a playbook for how to embark on our own generous acts - whether gifts of money, time, talent, connection, or kindness - and to prime them, thanks to the Internet, to have self-replicating, world-changing impacts.
Review: This book is a masterpiece, and an important one. It is not only about generosity, but is itself an act of generosity, profound and compelling. I want everyone I know to read this - and everyone I don't know, too * Andrew Solomon, NYT-bestselling author of Far From the Tree, Wellcome Book Prize winner, National Book Award winner and 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist *
This book was a much-needed gift to my weary and news-battered heart. Chris Anderson presents an inspiring body of evidence to support the tremendous and transformative power of generosity - that most beautiful of human impulses. Infectious Generosity is a combination of inarguable data and incredibly moving stories... I flew through these pages with an increasing sense of joy, and was left inspired and hopeful * Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love *
Concise and profound * Alain de Botton, author and philosopher *
Warning: reading this book may give you an irresistible urge to get up, and take action. Infectious generosity has the potential to spread far and wide, and radically change the world. Simply a wonderful book * Rutger Bregman, bestselling author of Humankind *
Truly inspiring! It will change the way you see the world around you * Elizabeth Dunn, Professor of Social Psychology *