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Providing abundance is humanity’s grandest challenge — this is a book about how we rise to meet it. We will soon be able to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman and child on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp. This bold, contrarian view, backed up by exhaustive research, introduces our near-term future, where exponentially growing technologies and three other powerful forces are conspiring to better the lives of billions. An antidote to pessimism by tech entrepreneur turned philanthropist, Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler. Since the dawn of humanity, a privileged few have lived in stark contrast to the hardscrabble majority. Conventional wisdom says this gap cannot be closed. But it is closing — fast. The authors document how four forces—exponential technologies, the DIY innovator, the Technophilanthropist, and the Rising Billion —are conspiring to solve our biggest problems. Abundance establishes hard targets for change and lays out a strategic roadmap for governments, industry and entrepreneurs, giving us plenty of reason for optimism. Examining human need by category — water, food, energy, healthcare, education, freedom — Diamandis and Kotler introduce dozens of innovators making great strides in each area: Larry Page, Steven Hawking, Dean Kamen, Daniel Kahneman, Elon Musk, Bill Joy, Stewart Brand, Jeff Skoll, Ray Kurzweil, Ratan Tata, Craig Venter, among many, many others. A Note from the Authors. Perspective. Our Grandest Challenge. Building the Pyramid. Seeing the Forest Through the Trees. It’s Not as Bad as You Think. Exponential technologies. Ray Kurzweil and the Go-Fast Button. The Singularity Is Nearer. Building the base of the pyramid. The Tools of Cooperation. Water. Feeding Nine Billion. The forces of abundance. The DIY Innovator. The Technophilanthropists. The Rising Billion. Peak of the pyramid. Energy. Education. Health Care. Freedom. Steering faster. Driving Innovation and Breakthroughs. Risk and Failure. Which Way Next? Next Step—Join the Abundance Hub. Reference Section Raw Data. Appendix: Dangers of the Exponentials. Notes. Acknowledgments. Index