Hard-hitting facts and incisive analysis in this vivid picture of the inequalities and absurdities of our world.

In Kenya, monthly bribery payments add a third to the average household budget.

The US spends $10bn on pornography every year. In 2001, the US spent $10bn on foreign aid.

Landmines kill or maim at least one person every hour.

From the inequalities and absurdities of the so-called developed West to the vast scale of suffering wreaked by war, famine and AIDS in developing countries, this book paints a picture of shocking contrasts. YOU need to know these facts.

Each fact from this eclectic range is followed by explanation and lively analysis. Some facts will make you rethink things you thought you knew. Some illustrate long-term, gradual changes in our society. Others concern local issues that people face in their everyday lives. All of the facts remind us that our world is deeply interconnected - and that civilisation is a fragile concept.