The Wizard and the Prophet

In forty years, Earth’s population will reach ten billion. Can our world support that? What kind of world will it be?
Those answering these questions generally fall into two deeply divided groups: Wizards and Prophets, as award-winning author Charles C. Mann calls them. The Prophets follow William Vogt, a founding environmentalist who believed that in overusing the sources of our planet, our prosperity will lead us to ruin. "Cut back!", was his mantra. "Otherwise everyone will lose!" The Wizards are the heirs of Norman Borlaug, whose research provided the world with the invention of modern high-yield crops, that saved millions from starvation. "Innovate!" was Borlaug’s cry. "Only in that way can everyone win!" Mann delves into these diverging viewpoints to assess the four great challenges humanity faces: food, water, energy and climate change. With our civilization on the line, Mann analyses how our children will fare on an increasingly crowded Earth.

Charles C. Mann is an American journalist and author, specializing in scientific topics. His book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (2005) won the National Academies Communication Award for best book of the year. In 2011 followed 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. In 2018, Mann published The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Conflicting Visions of the Future of our Planet, which details two competing theories about the future of agriculture, population, and the environment. Mann is also contributing editor for Science, The Atlantic Monthly, and Wired.

Charles Mann will sign his books in de Van der Velde book stand, including the Dutch translation of The Wizard and the Prophet: De tovenaar en de profeet.