'Burgis shows you how to be authentically yourself' - Kim Scott, bestselling author of Radical Candor
'This is the best book on the problem of self and community written so far in the 21st century.' - National Review
'Absorbing' - WSJ
Have you ever felt lost in a crowd? Struggled to be heard in a group? Felt the need to soften your own identity, in order to bolster that of others? You are not alone.
We are living in an era of crisis where becoming a whole person means navigating constant external pressure. Some of us dissolve into group identities, ideologies, religions and societies. Increasingly, others withdraw into temporary and sometimes dangerous online collectives, extreme groups and toxic cultures. These are all symptoms of the same problem: a fragmented and slowly fading sense of self in an age of mass influence.
Burgis's highly acclaimed The One and the Ninety-Nine is your essential roadmap to forging a stable, authentic identity in the face of coercion and conformity. Through compelling and original insights, author Luke Burgis dives into philosophy, psychology and personal experience, offering a clear guide for engaging with chaotic modern society both in our personal and working lives.
Discover how to build a values-driven life of meaning for yourself, without cutting yourself off from everyone else. Burgis offers us a powerful call to action, and a guide to:
- Rejecting passive conformity and resisting the urge to get swept along with the crowd.
- Rediscovering the depth of your own personality and individuality.
- Choosing a life that is both truly personal to your, and deeply connected to the people you choose to have around you.
In a crowded room of a hundred people, learn how to be the one, not the ninety-nine.
'A compelling exploration of how to develop a healthier sense of self . . . timely and much-needed' - Anne-Laure Le Cunff, neuroscientist and author of Tiny Experiments
'Social contagion is the most important phenomenon of our time. The One and the Ninety-Nine is the place to go to learn about it' - Tyler Cowen, author of The Complacent Class