50 Facts That Should Change the World 2.0

This book will change your life as the truth often does. One example of one of the 50 facts is: More people die each year from suicide than in all of the world's armed conflicts. Then each fact is followed by a short essay that puts the fact in context. Be careful... this book may turn an average person into a powerful activist.

This book containing 50 facts about the current world we live in is a must for anyone who wants to know the "real deal". Each fact is supported by 3 or 4 pages of explaination and research findings. While reading the whole book in one sitting is guaranteed to give the reader an immense sense of hopelessness about our current world, reading a couple facts a day and following Ms. Williams advice on how to help (in the back of the book...) will definately put one on the right path to change the world for the better. Hard facts at your fingertips.

Here is another example of the bad job done by the mainstream media in informing Americans about the state of the world. This book presents a number of facts, with accompanying essays, that will not be covered on the evening news. In 2002, more than 80 percent of the world's executions took place in just three countries, China, Iran and America. Black men born in the US stand a one in three chance of going to jail, while white men have a one in seventeen chance of going to jail. Because of the Asian preference for male over female babies, and because of China's one-child policy, China has 44 million missing women. Over one-fifth of the world's population lives on less than one dollar a day. One-third of the world's obese people, and over 80 percent of the smokers, live in developing countries. Did you know that nearly half of Americans believe that aliens have landed on Earth? According to one estimate, there are over 67,000 lobbyists in Washington, which equals 125 for each member of Congress. Ten languages disappear every year. Every year, America spends $10 billion on pornography, the same amount it spends on foreign aid. More than 70 percent of the world has never heard a dial tone. This book also includes sources for each of the essays, and organizations to contact for those who are inspired to get involved in any of these areas. It is excellent, and I enjoyed reading it. Compare the subjects in this book to what is shown on the "all-news" channels. To get a very different view of the world, this is a fine place to start.

50 Facts That Should Change The World is a shocking, eye-opening look at what is really going on in the world today. The cold statistics are so severe they speak for themselves, yet each one is elaborated upon with several pages explaining why the stark reality of the statistic has come to be, and what can be done about it. Figures such as "black men born in the US today stand a one in three chance of going to jail" and "children living in poverty are three times more likely to suffer a mental illness than children from wealthy families" don't lie - and the needed efforts to change these figures would transform life as we know it, if only more people would become aware and take action.

Here are just a few: ONE IN FIVE OF THE WORLD'S PEOPLE LIVES ON LESS THAN $1 A DAY--THERE ARE 27 MILLION SLAVES IN THE WORLD TODAY--CARS KILL TWO PEOPLE EVERY MINUTE--EVERY WEEK, AN AVERAGE OF 88 CHILDREN ARE EXPELLED FROM AMERICAN SCHOOLS FOR BRINGING A GUN TO CLASS. This is one of those books you pick up in the bookstore and 35 minutes later you're still standing there. I'm not sure what's worse, the fact that these things are true or the fact that we in the civilized world are so far removed. When you read something like MORE THAN 70% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION HAVE NEVER HEARD A DIAL TONE it can only make you humble, make you realize how great we have it in our culture. Information like this makes you realize just how large this world is--both in size and diversity--and how small our own little circles are. A fact like IN KENYA, BRIBERY PAYMENTS MAKE UP A THIRD OF THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD BUDGET makes you think, if only about how different lifestyles really can be. It may not be our job to solve things for everyone, but we'll never have empathy for anyone or anything if we don't at least SEE the way others live. Again, it's sad enough that people have to live in certain situations or with certain conditions--but it's even worse that so many of us live in such a bubble that except for sports scores and reality show outcomes and the 3 or 4 calls we missed on our cell phone we don't really care what happens elsewhere. I can only hope social studies teachers buy this book and read these out loud to their students.