Bodley Head pre-empts 'landmark' account of human history by Galor

The Bodley Head has pre-empted a "landmark" account of human history by Oded Galor.

Will Hammond, deputy publishing director, pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights to The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality from Karolina Sutton of Curtis Brown on behalf of Jennifer Joel of ICM Partners in a "major" deal. The pre-empt was made on a Sunday night before the official submission on the Monday morning.

North American rights were sold at auction by Jennifer Joel to John Parsley at Dutton/Penguin Random House US. Rights have been sold in a further 27 territories. It will publish on 7th April 2022 as a lead title for the Vintage division of PRH, backed by "one of Vintage’s biggest-hitting campaigns of the year".

The publisher described the book as a "bold and captivating new narrative of our species’ journey from the dawn of human existence to the present by one of the world’s pre-eminent thinkers". It said: "It offers breakthrough answers to a host of vital questions: What are the keys to human progress? Why are living standards so unequal around the world? How might all humans thrive and survive? Among its most important insights are that education and greater gender equality are the keys to mitigating and ultimately solving the climate crisis, and that diversity will be an ever more important engine for prosperity, if it can be balanced with social cohesion."

Galor is the Herbert H Goldberger professor of economics at Brown University and the founding thinker behind Unified Growth Theory, which seeks to uncover the fundamental causes of development, prosperity and inequality over the entire span of human history. 

Hammond said: "The Journey of Humanity is a staggeringly interesting and gripping read, one that we are convinced will be enjoyed and debated and shared for years by readers of all interests, all around the world. On every page it makes astonishing connections across time and ultimately changes one’s entire view of the human story. With his extraordinary scientific insights and narrative gifts, Oded Galor has written a book of universal relevance, whose hopeful and profound lessons will speak across the political divide."