Tears down the religious, political and secular beliefs that we insist are fundamental to human project. This title examines interaction of terrorism, declining world resources, human myths of redemption and a flawed belief in Western democracy, and shows us how a misplaced faith in our ability to improve the world has actually made it far worse.

John Gray¿s most recent books are Straw Dogs (¿That rarest of things, a contemporary work of philosophy, wholly accessible and profoundly relevant to the rapidly evolving world¿ - Will Self), Al-Qaeda and What It Means To Be Modern (¿The most arresting account I have read of our current crisis¿, Ian McEwan) and Heresies.