Penguin Books Australia

'The most prescient of British public intellectuals'  Pankaj Mishra, Financial Times

'Gray has consistently anticipated the shape of things to come … he teaches us that true humanism is to be found in uncertainty and doubt'  Will Self

Why is progress a pernicious myth? Why do beliefs that humanity can be improved end in farce or horror? Is atheism a hangover from Christian faith?

John Gray, one of the most iconoclastic thinkers of our time, smashes through civilization's most cherished beliefs, overturning our view of the world, and our place in it.

'Gray's dissection of modern delusion, cant and wishful thinking is to be welcomed in this moment of convulsion …  This is a book to learn from and argue with'  Ben Wilson, Literary Review

'A thoroughly enjoyable book …  These essays cover a remarkable range of topics, from Isaiah Berlin to Damien Hirst, from torture to environmentalism. But their unifying theme is that our naïve belief in the idea of progress has turned modern life into a constant round of shadow-boxing'  David Runciman, Observer

'Demolishes the theory that we have reached the 'end of history', the dogmas of secular liberalism, the weaknesses of financial casino capitalism and the limits of energy-intensive economic growth'  Economist