History is the story of civilisations destroying themselves. It is archaeologist, historian and novelist Ronald Wright’s contention that now is our civilisation’s last chance to get the future right. In his remarkable book A Short History of Progress (taken from his 2004 Massey Lecture series) Wright recounts the calamities that befell the Easter Islanders, Romans, Mayans and Sumerians. In doing so, he builds a platform from which to remind us that we ignore the insatiable demands of progress at our peril. The current pace of change, the strains imposed by disease, climate change, pollution and overpopulation and the nearsightedness of Homo sapiens present an urgent challenge. Wright’s scholarship is a plea to re-examine our social, economic and cultural practices. He is a distinguished writer and thinker who is also the award-winning author of travel books and the dystopian novel A Scientific Romance (1997). A Short History of Progress has been described as "provocative … illuminating and disturbing, and expansively documented". (Kirkus Reviews)

 

Also appears in:

Sat 18 Mar, 2.15pm

Embassy Theatre

Sun 19 Mar, 2.45pm

Embassy Theatre