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The Harvard psychologist’s 2018 book argues, with extensive data, that human life has improved dramatically across every measurable dimension over the past two centuries, longevity, literacy, violence, prosperity, and rights, and that the Enlightenment values of reason, science, and humanism are responsible. Harari has both praised and gently challenged the book in public exchanges with Pinker. The recommendation is genuine. The disagreement is also genuine, which is precisely what makes the book worth reading. It forces the reader to confront the optimistic case alongside the catastrophist one.