"This book was life changing for me, honestly. I mean, I read it as part of the Effective Altruism Introductory fellowship, so it was certainly one part of a whole, and it might be better said that this book played a role in massively changing my life. I don't know what it was, but from the get go I found myself nodding along to the thoughts in this book and really finding resonance in next to every argument Toby would make. Of COURSE we should care about future generations, and of COURSE they are totally disenfranchised at the moment, and of COURSE existential risk reduction is the best thing we can do for them and ourselves in this moment.

I could be accused of simply being the newest addition to the EA cult now, but in the moment I'm talking about now, when I first read it, I new little of EA and was just a young lad trying to find his was in the world, towards making the world better but in a way that was real, that I could question and still have confidence in. It spoke to me because of its honesty, it spoked to me because of its breadth, it spoke to me because it pulled strands of myself previously unconnected together (my despising nuclear weapons and my caring for others, for example), the words just rang so true in my head time and again.

And rereading it again this year (2023) has only strengthened my positive feelings towards it. This time around I read it with the notes, and found a fascinating whole new world of knowledge contained in the book. As I reread the lines, noticed my penmarks of dismay and disbelief, I got to reexperience myself falling into this beautiful call to action again.

This is easily one of the top three books that has changed my life the most. If I had one book I could send the president, and I could only choose one, I'd choose this with little doubt. Perhaps even if I could have the world read only one book it'd be this one. It simply matters a lot to me, and I'm forever grateful to Toby for introducing a topic with which I finally felt I could full heartedly devote my life to."