An Embarrassment of Riches : Tapping into the World's Greatest Legacy of Wealth.
Title:
An Embarrassment of Riches : Tapping into the World's Greatest Legacy of Wealth.
Author:
Green, Alexander.
ISBN:
9781118646564
Personal Author:
Edition:
1st ed.
Physical Description:
1 online resource (258 pages)
Series:
Agora Ser. ; v.81
Agora Ser.
Contents:
An Embarrassment of Riches: Tapping Into the World's Greatest Legacy of Wealth -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part One: A Wealth of Gratitude -- A Message from the Land of the Unwell -- The Reason You Should Be Biased -- What We Live to Discover -- Like No Other Nation in the World -- How to Put a Touch of Glory in Your Life -- The Greatest Star of Them All -- The Man Who Invented Christmas -- Do You Know Where You Are? -- The Mind-Boggling Universe, Part II -- The Best That Has Been Thought and Said -- A Titan for Freedom and Prosperity -- The Great Key to Successful Living -- What You Can Learn from "The Gadfly of Athens" -- The True Rulers of the Planet -- Confessions of an Analog Man -- How to Be Miserable in One Easy Lesson -- For Music Lovers Only -- Part Two: A Wealth of Wisdom -- Where Can Wisdom Be Found? -- Discovering a New Sense of the Sacred -- The Cash Value of the American Mind -- The Key to Civility … and Greatness -- How to Defeat Death -- The Sage Who Spoke to Everyman -- The Greatest Best Seller of All Time -- The Pursuit of Moral Perfection -- How Apple Got Its Zen -- The Secret of "Big-Ass Salads" -- Take a Vacation Inside Your Head -- The Biggest Question of Them All -- A Requiem for an Atheist -- The Nation's Most Misunderstood Man -- Why Grant's Final Victory Was His Greatest -- The Other Freedom Document of 1776 -- The Right Man at the Right Time -- The Most Powerful Thing You Can Do for Your Body -- The "Howling Atheist" Who Governed the Country -- Part Three: A Wealth of Understanding -- Why You Love and Need the Rat Race -- How to Live the "Good Life" -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb … and the Pursuit of Phronesis -- The Gift a Man Gives Himself -- A Billionaire's Best Advice -- The Lost Art of Conversation -- A Visit Everyone Should Make -- The Man Who Made Dreams Come True.
How to Talk Politics without Committing Murder -- The True Secret of Success -- How to Be a Big Loser -- Three Words That Will Save Your Life -- Are You Awake? -- The One Factor That Changes Everything -- The Lies We Tell Ourselves -- How the First Americans Became Last -- The Top Five Regrets of the Dying -- A Short Lesson in Humility -- Afterword -- Further Reading -- About the Author -- Index.
Abstract:
Tune into the news and you'll hear stories of war, disease, natural disasters, corruption, violence, poverty, crime, nuclear proliferation, terrorism and political dysfunction in Washington. Polls show many believe the American dream is fading, our children face limited opportunities, and the country is decidedly on the wrong track. Yet this dour perspective - one recycled 24/7 by the national media - is a gross distortion of the world we live in today. As national investment expert and bestselling author Alexander Green reveals in this engrossing and provocative new book, the human race has never had it so good. In the West today, we work shorter hours, have more purchasing power, enjoy goods and services in almost limitless supply, and have more leisure time than ever before. Living standards are the highest they have ever been. The human life span has nearly doubled over the past hundred years. Literacy and education levels - even I.Q.'s - are at all-time highs. Technology and medicine are revolutionizing our lives. All forms of pollution - with the exception of greenhouse gases - are in decline. Access to the arts has never been greater. Crime is in a long-term cycle of decline. And the risk of death by violence has never been smaller for most of humanity. By almost every measure, our lives today are wealthy beyond measure. We are all heir to an embarrassment of riches. Yet - thanks in large part the drumbeat of negative media coverage - most of us don't realize it. Green compares the average citizen to "a lottery winner whose ticket is lost in some upstairs drawer." The consequences of adopting the cynical but popular worldview are many, including needless pessimism, missed investment opportunities, and - surprisingly - even poorer health. Yet An Embarrassment of Riches provides a powerful antidote. Green begins with a robust
survey of the many ways our lives are becoming longer, easier, safer, healthier and more prosperous. He then embarks on a wide-ranging exploration of the ideas and the many men and women - both living and dead - that are still enriching our lives today. Among the many subjects explored are American exceptionalism, the extraordinary power of economic freedom, the lifesaving role of medicine and technology, the life-extending benefits of optimism, the radical theology of Thomas Jefferson, the keys to civility and greatness, the wisdom of Confucius and Aristotle, the ability of beauty to enrich our lives, and even one artist's thought-provoking take on "how to defeat death." In An Embarrassment of Riches, New York Times bestselling author Alexander Green offers a holistic approach to wealth - and offers a welcome perspective that allows us to live fuller, richer lives.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Genre:
Electronic Access:
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