We live in troubling times, filled with signs of a great economic apocalypse, politicized science on topics from birth control to climate change and religious zealots who kill innocents rather than live peacefully with them. This is exactly the moment to learn from Priestley, who survived riots, threats of prosecution and other hardships and yet never doubted that “the world was headed naturally toward an increase in liberty and understanding.” Ironically, “The Invention of Air” underscores that there is nothing natural about progress and liberty, each of which must be fought for and defended every single day by visionary individuals.

I have followed Steven’s work, both in print and online, as long or longer than anyone else that comes to mind. His subject matter is not only fascinating on its own, he infuses his narratives with links to and from all manner of topics, bringing more context and painting with much more vivid color. I find his work endlessly fascinating, and will soon rank this book (when I finish it) with “Emergence” as one of my favorites.

What strikes me most about Nick’s review is that last sentence from the paragraph above. This theme of progress is near and dear to me, and when I think of the ideas that excite me most it is this issue of how to motivate a now largely acquiescent society. Many, myself included, live a good life, but things have changed drastically in the past eight years, and we are on the cusp of deeper and much more foundational changes in the very near future. How then do we as a people summon the courage and capacity to do more than muddle through, to no longer cling desperately to an outdated mode of existence, but to fundamentally rework the way we approach life and all that entails?

I know it begins with thought instead of emotion, with a vision not more vindictive reaction, and with an underlying fairness over the single-minded pursuit of profit at the expense of everything and everyone else.