The Watchman's Rattle

By Rebecca D. Costa

Why can't we solve our problems anymore? Why do threats such as the Gulf oil spill, worldwide recession, terrorism, and global warming suddenly seem unstoppable? Are there limits to the kinds of problems humans can solve? Rebecca Costa confronts--and offers a solution to--these questions in her highly anticipated and game-changing book, The Watchman's Rattle. Costa pulls headlines from today's news to demonstrate how accelerating complexity quickly outpaces that rate at which the human brain can develop new capabilities. With compelling evidenced based on research in the rise and fall of Mayan, Khmer, and Roman empires, Costa shows how the tendency to find a quick solution--leads to frightening long-term consequence: Society's ability to solve its most challenging, intractable problems becomes gridlocked, progress slows, and collapse ensues. A provocative new voice in the tradition of thought leaders Thomas Friedman, Jared Diamond, and Malcolm Gladwell, Costa reveals how we can reverse the downward spiral. Part history, part social science, part biology, The Watchman's Rattle is sure to provoke, engage, and incite change.

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Richard Branson
Donald Trump: “Rebecca Costa has written a riveting examination of our world's most dire and complex issues. Her message for mankind is an ultimately hopeful one as she explores her fascinating theory about the brain's ability to develop advanced problem-solving techniques in times of crisis. A must read!”