We’re not supposed to trust others. Look at the headlines. Read the blogs. Study the survey data. It seems that everyone is wary, that everyone is just looking out for themselves. But a sense of social trust and togetherness can be restored.
In The Leap, bestselling author Ulrich Boser shows how the emerging research on trust can improve our lives, rebuild our economy, and strengthen society. As part of this engaging and deeply reported narrative, Boser visits a radio soap opera in Rwanda that aims to restore the country’s broken trust, profiles the man who brought honesty to one of the most corrupt cities in Latin America, and explains how a college dropout managed to con his way into American high society. Boser even goes skydiving to see if the experience will increase his levels of oxytocin, the so-called “trust hormone.”
A powerful mix of hard science and compelling storytelling, The Leap explores how we trust, why we trust, and what we can all do to deepen social trust. The book includes insightful policy recommendations along with surprising new data on the state of social trust in America today.
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“With his relaxed enunciation and vocal clarity, narrator Jeff Cummings conveys enthusiasm that will help listeners savor this book’s analytical writing and captivating storytelling. His respectful, moderated enthusiasm never competes with the author’s careful research. The author looks methodically at the dynamics of trust by citing the importance of factors like social status, personal connections, brain chemistry, and instinctual reactions. He offers fascinating vignettes on phenomena such as how con men inspire trust and how people recover from mass breaches of trust such as those that occurred in Rwanda and Nazi Germany. The author’s perspectives on power and the destructive effects of political extremism are chillingly familiar yet convey optimism that we can improve society in the current climate of simplistic rhetoric and easy violence.”
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