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(More customer reviews)7 Tipping Points offers a fascinating theory on how a number of seminal events have shaped history and led to the free society that we now enjoy. The book makes an important point that most of us rarely think about: freedom is not the rule, it is the EXCEPTION. Throughout history, the vast majority of human beings have lived their entire lives with essentially no hope of the freedom we now take for granted.
Unlike many books on history, which often tend to be a bit dense and academic, this one is concise, highly readable and engaging. The book covers each of the historical tipping points and demonstrates how in many cases, it was seemingly pure luck that kept us on the road to freedom.
To give just one example, the author relates how the Mongol horde nearly captured Europe in the middle ages. In 1241, after many successful victories, the Mongols had advanced to threaten Vienna. Europe was essentially defenseless and would have been easily taken. But that year, two Mongol leaders (the heirs to Genghis Khan) suddenly died, and the Mongols withdrew in order to select a new leader. If those two deaths had not occurred, Europe would likely have fallen, and the budding Renaissance and all the progress that came with it may have been snuffed out. The author includes a "what if" section for each tipping point so we can imagine the impact if things had gone the other way.
For me, the book raised a fascinating question: What about the NEXT tipping point? If you enjoyed this book, you might also be interested in The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future, which suggests that forces like advancing technology and globalization are pushing us toward a future tipping point that could someday threaten our freedom, democratic institutions and prosperity. One thing that 7 Tipping Points makes clear is that freedom comes at a cost, and it may not always be about military battles. We will have to continue the fight for freedom into the future and adjust our society and systems to reflect the new realities.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World
How unusual is it, really, in the history of all known human experience, to enjoy the blessings of living free?
The answer may surprise you. In The Miracle of Freedom, Chris and Ted Stewart make a strong case that fewer than 5 percent of all people who have ever lived on the earth have lived under conditions that we could consider free. So where did freedom come from, and how are we fortunate enough to experience it in our day?
A deeper look at the human record, write the authors, reveals a series of critical events, obvious forks in the road leading to very different outcomes, that resulted in this extraordinary period in which we live. They identify and discuss seven decisive tipping points:
1. The defeat of the Assyrians in their quest to destroy the kingdom of Judah2. The victory of the Greeks over the Persians at Thermopylae and Salamis3. Roman Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity4. The defeat of the armies of Islam at Poitiers5. The failure of the Mongols in their effort to conquer Europe6. The discovery of the New World7. The Battle of Britain in World War II The journey to freedom has been thousands of years long. Now that it has found its place in the world, the question for those of us who experience its benefits is simply this: will we work to preserve the miracle of freedom that we enjoy today?
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