Jonathan Leighton is a writer, consultant and former research scientist, focused on the challenge of reducing suffering in a world propelled by self-interest and the pursuit of status. The Battle for Compassion: Ethics in an Apathetic Universe is an ambitious attempt to compress the whole conundrum of our species into 250 pages, spanning metaphysics to international relations. It incorporates current thinking from science, philosophy and other disciplines, and offers a rough blueprint for the kind of approaches that may be needed if we are to salvage a gentler future for our planet.