<DIV>This groundbreaking book, based on thirty years' research, demonstrates that more unequal societies are bad for almost everyone within them&#8212;the well-off <I>and </I>the poor. The remarkable data the book lays out and the measures it uses are like a spirit level which we can hold up to compare different societies. The differences revealed, even between rich market democracies, are striking. Almost every modern social and environmental problem&#8212;ill health, lack of community life, violence, drugs, obesity, mental illness, long working hours, big prison populations&#8212;is more likely to occur in a less equal society. The book goes to the heart of the apparent contrast between material success and social failure in many modern national societies.</DIV><br><DIV><I>The Spirit Level </I>does not simply provide a diagnosis of our ills, but provides invaluable instruction in shifting the balance from self-interested consumerism to a friendlier, more collaborative society. It shows a way out of the social and environmental problems which beset us, and opens up a major new approach to improving the real quality of life, not just for the poor but for everyone.</DIV>