Stunning book! Probably the most fascinating nonfiction I've ever found!
In recorded form, this was 36+ hours long, but it was divided into sections that seemed like full books in themselves.
What a work of scholarship! In order to demonstrate the shift toward greater kindness and less violence in the world, Steven Pinker first examined, thoroughly, the many forms that cruelty has taken since our earliest primate ancestors. He then summarized the relevant studies in the sciences and social sciences that document changes in human behavior that make this the safest time in history for a human being to live. He goes into the neuroscience of self-control, as well as many other psychological and sociological explorations of "the better angels of our nature." (Of course, I felt gratified that he found intelligence and education highly correlated with liberal political views - and liberal views the ones that represent our "better nature"!)
Some parts of the book were too technical to enjoy - I just tuned them out. But other parts felt so rich in important new concepts that I'm going back over them. This whole book is one that I know I'll revisit many times!