Includes bibliographical references

Why do we mistrust people more in the UK than the Japanese do? Why do Americans have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the French? What makes the Swedish thinner than the Australians? The in each case:inequality. This groundbreaking book, based on years of research, provides hard evidence to show: How almost everything-from life expectancy to mental illness, violence to illiteracy-is affected not by how wealthy a society is, but how equal it is That societies with a bigger gap between rich and poor are bad for everyone in them-including the well-off How we can find positive solutions and move towards a happier, fairer future