Global warming. Poverty. Violent conflict. Bad hotel service. But is the world really going to the dogs?

BEST. TIMES. EVER. works through our most common complaints and miseries and explains why – believe it or not – things aren't as bad as they used to be. In fact, in almost every way, we're improving!

From the serious (the number of people dying in wars has gone from 65,000 a year in the 1950s to 2,000 a year in this decade) to the frivolous (Vertigo received bad reviews in 1957, but was recently voted the greatest movie ever made), this is a real-life response to anyone who insists that everything is getting worse.

Armed with useful facts and information, Mark Juddery explores the ways in which the world is doing better than we are led to believe. Indeed, while it has never been perfect, this might well be the best it's ever been.

MARK JUDDERY is an Australian-based journalist who has written four books, as well as plays, screenplays, radio sketches, movie reviews, and a popular column in The Canberra Times. He is a regular contributor to newspapers and journals around the world, swinging from right (The Spectator) to left (The Huffington Post). Presumably, this makes him very balanced.