Steven Pinker: "Magoon has made a valuable contribution in adding to our understanding of the facts and causes of the most important development in human history."

Tyler Cowen: "Michael Magoon's new book... will change your thinking about progress and its relevance to your life."

In the tradition of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Enlightenment Now and Sapiens, Michael Magoon gives us an astonishing new perspective on our history that will transform your world view. Magoon shows us that by learning from the past, we can let go of our negative attitudes about the present, and change our world for the better.

For virtually all of history, humanity was trapped in poverty by geographical constraints. Fortunately for us, a few societies invented the Five Keys to Progress (productive agriculture, cities, decentralization of power, export industries and fossil fuels), laying the foundations for our current progress. Spanning the topics of history, technological innovation, biology, geography, and politics, Magoon shows us when and where this progress originated, how it works, why it spread across the globe and how it improves everyone's lives today.