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Greed

Greed

Summary

Selfishness and greed have been our tools of survival from the very beginning, ever since our earliest forebears climbed down from the trees and set off across the savannah in search of God. Evolution has given us an instinct that is as crucial to our survival as fear or sex but, in the third millennium, greed has become out of control:

· The world's most expensive sandwich costs £85.
· A failed banker is given a pension fund approaching £700,000 a year
· A sacked national football coach waiting out his contract earns £13,000 a day.

Spanning across a whole range of issues including obesity, American evangelism, the Iraq war and GM food, Greed is not just a lament for lost innocence or an assault on the fat cats - it's also a celebration of all that greed has prompted us to achieve and what should be possible for us in the future.

Reviews

  • Some cracking sections . . . there's stuff to make your jaw drop . . . Girling also has a very good ear for the telling quotation.
    Sam Leith, Daily Mail

About the author

Richard Girling

Richard Girling is an award-winning environmental journalist. For his work in the Sunday Times he was named Specialist Writer of the Year in the UK Press Awards in 2002, and was shortlisted for the same award in 2005 and 2006. He was Journalist of the Year at the Press Gazette Environmental Press Awards in 2008 and 2009. He has written seven books - most recently, The Hunt for the Golden Mole.
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