{"title":"Books by John Ibbitson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781472142979","title":"Empty Planet","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e**A \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eMUST-READ**\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Riveting and vitally important' - Steven Pinker\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A gripping narrative\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e of a world on the cusp of profound change' - Anjana Ahuja, \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEmpty Planet \u003c\/i\u003eoffers a radical, provocative argument that the global population will soon begin to decline, dramatically reshaping the social, political and economic landscape.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor half a century, statisticians, pundits and politicians have warned that a burgeoning planetary population will soon overwhelm the earth's resources. But a growing number of experts are sounding a different kind of alarm. Rather than growing exponentially, they argue, the global population is headed for a steep decline. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout history, depopulation was the product of catastrophe: ice ages, plagues, the collapse of civilizations. This time, however, we're thinning ourselves deliberately, by choosing to have fewer babies than we need to replace ourselves. In much of the developed and developing world, that decline is already underway, as urbanisation, women's empowerment, and waning religiosity lead to smaller and smaller families. In \u003ci\u003eEmpty Planet\u003c\/i\u003e, Ibbitson and Bricker travel from South Florida to Sao Paulo, Seoul to Nairobi, Brussels to Delhi to Beijing, drawing on a wealth of research and firsthand reporting to illustrate the dramatic consequences of this population decline - and to show us why the rest of the developing world will soon join in. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey find that a smaller global population will bring with it a number of benefits: fewer workers will command higher wages; good jobs will prompt innovation; the environment will improve; the risk of famine will wane; and falling birthrates in the developing world will bring greater affluence and autonomy for women. But enormous disruption lies ahead, too. We can already see the effects in Europe and parts of Asia, as aging populations and worker shortages weaken the economy and impose crippling demands on healthcare and vital social services. There may be earth-shaking implications on a geopolitical scale as well. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEmpty Planet \u003c\/i\u003eis a hugely important book for our times. Captivating and persuasive, it is a story about urbanisation, access to education and the empowerment of women to choose their own destinies. It is about the secularisation of societies and the vital role that immigration has to play in our futures.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRigorously researched and deeply compelling, \u003ci\u003eEmpty Planet\u003c\/i\u003e offers a vision of a future that we can no longer prevent - but that we can shape, if we choose to.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300005589365,"sku":"9781472142979","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472142979_ab679385-3bda-41d7-b1d6-cc41c2bad311.jpg?v=1786020965"},{"product_id":"9780771003288","title":"The Duel","description":"\u003cb\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eGLOBE AND MAIL\u003c\/i\u003e BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe brilliant, critically-acclaimed story of two legendary leaders who fought each other relentlessly, but between them created today’s Canada.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Diefenbaker has been unfairly treated by history. Although he wrestled with personal demons, his governments launched major reforms in public health care, law reform and immigration. On his watch, First Nations on reserve obtained the right to vote and the federal government began to open up the North. He established Canada as a leader in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and took the first steps in making Canada a leader in the fight against nuclear proliferation. And Diefenbaker’s Bill of Rights laid the groundwork for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He set in motion many of the achievements credited to his successor, Lester B. Pearson. Pearson, in turn, gave coherence to Diefenbaker’s piecemeal reforms. He also pushed Parliament to adopt a new, and now much-loved, Canadian flag against Diefenbaker’s fierce opposition. Pearson understood that if Canada were to be taken seriously as a nation, it must develop a stronger sense of self.\u003cbr\u003e    Pearson was superbly prepared for the role of prime minister: decades of experience at External Affairs, respected by leaders from Washington to Delhi to Beijing, the only Canadian to win the Nobel Prize for Peace. Diefenbaker was the better politician, though. If Pearson walked with ease in the halls of power, Diefenbaker connected with the farmers and small-town merchants and others left outside the inner circles. Diefenbaker was one of the great orators of Canadian political life; Pearson spoke with a slight lisp.\u003cbr\u003e    Diefenbaker was the first to get his name in the papers, as a crusading attorney: Diefenbaker for the Defence, champion of the little man. But he struggled as a politician, losing five elections before making it into the House of Commons, until his ascension to the Progressive Conservative leadership in 1956 through a freakish political accident.\u003cbr\u003e    As a young university professor, Pearson caught the attention of the powerful men who were shaping Canada’s first true department of foreign affairs, rising to prominence as the helpful fixer, the man both sides trusted, the embodiment of a new country that had earned its place through war in the counsels of the great powers: ambassador, undersecretary, minister, peacemaker. Everyone knew he was destined to be prime minister. But in 1957, destiny took a detour.\u003cbr\u003e     Then they faced each other, \u003ci\u003eDiefenbaker v Pearson\u003c\/i\u003e, across the House of Commons, leaders of their parties, each determined to wrest and hold power, in a decade-long contest that would shake and shape the country.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56419602727285,"sku":"9780771003288","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780771003288_94ba0872-a440-4c19-bdfb-5bd8ce38cad1.jpg?v=1786016140"},{"product_id":"9780771030345","title":"Breaking Point","description":"\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for the Donner Prize for Best Public Policy Book of the YearFrom the authors of \u003ci\u003eThe Big Shift\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eEmpty Planet\u003c\/i\u003e, a timely and provocative exploration of the seismic forces reshaping Canada’s political, cultural, and economic landscape.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDarrell Bricker and John Ibbitson’s explosive new polemic, arrives in the midst of the greatest political crisis Canada has ever faced. The country stands at risk. Even before Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency, brandishing tariffs and threats of annexation, Canada had started to crack. Year after year of decisions deferred, problems ignored, and cans kicked carelessly down the road have created dangerous fissures. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStifling regulations drag down the economy. Younger people feel angry and alienated by dizzying housing prices and gig jobs. Regional tensions threaten unity in both Quebec and the Prairies. The immigration system is broken. And Canada stands alone, having failed to pay the cost of defending itself. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCanadians elected a former bank governor to fix all this. But can the Liberals get us out of the mess they helped get us into? What future awaits the progressive and conservative coalitions? Will the Laurentian elites continue to misgovern, or are there alternatives? The country is at a breaking point. Canadians must act to save it before they lose it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProvocative, urgent, and unapologetically candid, \u003ci\u003eBreaking Point\u003c\/i\u003e will ignite debate, dominate political discourse, and become the definitive guide to understanding what is shaping up to be one of the most turbulent eras in Canadian history.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56419612426613,"sku":"9780771030345","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780771030345_ef00bda4-4abb-4665-a921-17e090c40f81.jpg?v=1786016151"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-john-ibbitson.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}