I'm a big fan of this writer, having been encouraged and inspired by his book 'Humankind' a few years ago and having dipped into his first book 'Utopia for Realists'. So I was very excited to see he had this new title, and with the strapline on the early copy of 'give this to every creative person you know'. This should be just my thing, I thought. And so it proved! It's a real page-turner and uplifting and inspiring, to boot.

It didn't start well for me, though. The early pages read like a rebuke: what are you doing with your life?

I put the book down for a few days but determined to give him another try, I picked it up where I left off and didn't stop. An amazing read! Full of hope, encouragement and inspiration. 

He urges us to look at times past when we've seen seemingly ordinary people do extraordinary things - those who resisted the Nazis, who challenged 20th century corporate power in the US, who abolished the slave trade. 

It's relatively easy to say that we would be on the side of good, looking back, but where do we stand on issues today? And if we think problems in the world are too big, he challenges us to think again. One of the most encouraging messages of this book for me, was that one person can influence another person, and before you know it you can have a movement for change. We are not insignificant or powerless. We can make a difference.

He points out that while with social media we may think we have a voice, in fact it is too easy to rant, and this doesn't usually bring about action. Looking back on activists before the internet, he shows how hard work and campaigning created a community and it was this which instigated change.

But there's so much in this book that is positive and hopeful, and challenging. It's really uplifting - reading about remarkable people in the past, and hoping for more extraordinary individuals for today and tomorrow. And they might be us...