Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

I DNF'd this audiobook at 63%. Looking at each section individually, there was interesting information there, but the author wasn't tying it all together. I didn't see his argument for longtermism, or why it is important. It seemed more like a disaster book than anything. Really, the abolition chapter was the best one and what kept me engaged, but not enough to keep going.

It's always interesting to listen to an author narrator their own book and MacAskill actually did a fairly good job. He didn't bog down the listener by droning on (which could honestly be due to his accent) and kept a nice, easy cadence. Honestly, one of the better author-narrated audiobooks I've heard.

I’m so grateful that I got to read this text. I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to making some videos for my TIkTok and other social media channels to recommend it to my friends and followers. It was an excellent read! 5/5 stars. I’m going to write a longer and more detailed review on my Goodreads and TikTok and I will link back once I’ve posted.

William MacAskill asks a lot more questions than he answers in this lengthy read. This book describes some of the biggest threats to humankind’s long term future including AI, nuclear warfare, environmental catastrophe, and pandemics. It’s a tough journey with a lot of difficult subject matter that ultimately ends with a call to action to consider how our current societal choices will impact the many potential generations beyond the present. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed reading this but I will definitely be thinking about its subject matter for a long time to come.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content Warnings: Nuclear War, Pandemics, Extinction, Artificial Intelligence, Animal Cruelty

Categories: Nonfiction, Speculative, Philosophy