# Free E-book. It's about basic income, and it's a happy beach read. Come get it! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 19, 2016, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296 "2016-07-19T08:43:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296/1 "2016-07-19T08:43:10Z")
I’m a subscriber to [a Dutch e-paper for smart people](https://decorrespondent.nl/en). So, very like the Dope. 🙂 One of their journalists wrote a bestseller about basic income and other realistic, yet utopian idea whose time has come. Only this month, as a promotion, they let subscribers like me share the e-book for free. Here’s what the press has to say about _Utopia for Realists_by Rutger Bregman: > [@](#): > > From a universal basic income to a 15-hour workweek, from a world without borders to a world without poverty – it’s time to return to utopian thinking. > > Rutger Bregman takes us on a journey through history, beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he introduces ideas whose time has come. Utopia for Realists is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think you know. In the words of leading social theorist Zygmunt Bauman, it is “brilliant, truly enlightening, and eminently readable.” > > This original Dutch bestseller sparked a national movement for basic income experiments that soon made international headlines. Now available in English. > [@](#): > > “Bold thinking, fresh ideas, lively prose, and evidence-based arguments” > Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate, and Angels of Our Better Nature > [@](#): > > “This book is brilliant. Everyone should read it” > Richard Wilkinson (co-author The Spirit Level) > [@](#): > > “A boisterously good read” > The Independent So, available for a free download, this month only, click on corr.es/downloadbook ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296/2 "2016-07-20T22:24:19Z")
:: my one allowed bump:: ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296/3 "2016-07-20T22:35:58Z")
I’ve downloaded it, and very briefly skimmed it. I look forward to reading it, hopefully soon. Thank you for letting us know about it. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296/4 "2016-07-20T22:40:25Z")
Downloaded it. I have a vacation coming up in a few days and I plan on reading it. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296/5 "2016-07-29T04:19:00Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296/6 "2016-07-29T04:25:37Z")
I’m about halfway thru this book and when I saw the thread get bumped I realized I hadn’t posted a thank you for bringing it to my attention. Thank you. It is interesting and well written. There’s a lot of fact checking I want to do and that is causing me to take more time than strictly necessary to read this book. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296/7 "2019-03-08T16:05:01Z")
I bump this thread to say that the author of this book ( the link doesn’t work anymore but the nook is for sale online) is the very same guy who told the 1% at Davos to stop dodging taxes. And a week later, he told off Fox pundit Tucker Carlson. > **[Meet the folk hero of Davos: the writer who told the rich to stop dodging taxes](https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/future-perfect/2019/1/30/18203911/davos-rutger-bregman-historian-taxes-philanthropy)** > > "Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my opinion." > **[The Importance of Dunking on Tucker Carlson](https://www.google.nl/amp/s/www.theringer.com/platform/amp/2019/2/22/18235706/tucker-carlson-fox-news-rutger-bregman-davos-billionaires-taxes)** > > The Fox News talking head was exposed by a liberal historian in a viral clip of an unaired segment taped for Carlson’s show, revealing a flaw in the conservative brand of cable news punditry ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-e-book-its-about-basic-income-and-its-a-happy-beach-read-come-get-it/760296/8 "2019-03-08T21:23:08Z")
I’m bummed I missed the book! I just wrote a paper on UBI. But I’m certainly aware of Bregman since his Tucker Carlson takedown. 😃 Hero!