The Spirit Level

Why do we mistrust people more in the UK than in Japan? Why do Americans have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the French? What makes the Swedish thinner than the Greeks? The answer: inequality. This groundbreaking book, based on years of research, provides hard evidence to show: how almost everything - from life expectancy to depression levels, violence to illiteracy - is affected not by how wealthy a society is, but how equal it is; that societies with a bigger gap between rich and poor are bad for everyone in them - including the well-off; and, how we can find positive solutions and move towards a happier, fairer future. Urgent, provocative and genuinely uplifting, "The Spirit Level" has been heralded as providing a new way of thinking about ourselves and our communities, and could change the way you see the world.

ISBN	0141032367	Pages	368
ISBN13	9780141032368 (What's this?)	Weight (grammes)	274
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd	Published in	London
Imprint	Penguin Books Ltd	Height (mm)	198
Format	Paperback	Width (mm)	129
Publication date	04 Feb 2010	Spine width (mm)	21
DEWEY	305.5	Academic level	General
DEWEY edition	DC22

	Preface
	Acknowledgments
	Note on Graphs
PART ONE	Material Success, Social Failure
1	The end of an era	3
2	Poverty or inequality?	15
3	How inequality gets under the skin	31
PART TWO	The Costs of inequality
4	Communityd life and Social relations	49
5	Mental health and drug use	63
6	Physical health and life expectancy	73
7	Obesity: wider income gaps, wider waists	89
8	Educational performance	103
9	Teenage births: recycling deprivaton	119
10	Violence: Gaining respect	129
11	Imprisonment and punishment	145
12	Social moblity: unequal opportunities	157
PART THREE	A Better Society
13	Dysfunctional societies	173
14	Our social Inheritance	197
15	Equality and sustainability	217
16	Building the future	235
	The Equality Trust	273
	Appendix	275
	Sources of Data for the indices of Health and Social Problems	280
	Statistics	284
	References	286
	Index	315

This is an excellent well researched book which works whether you choose to dip in and out of over a period of time or read it all at once.<br>It challenges how we think about a wide range of issues and cannot be ignored.<br>Evidence is well presented and easy to understand.<br>Overall rating from me is excellent! - Linda Ward

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