new book of the year the books british authors, the eminent epidemiologist richard wilkinson and kate pickett are both was -- both with us tonight. the study the health of populations and over the past 20 years, dr. wilkinson has helped break exciting new ground on the impact of the income gaps on our health and life spans. his dramatic work has shown people and deeply on equal societies, be they poor, middle class or affluent live shorter on healthy lives than their counterparts and societies with narrow gaps between the rich and everyone else. .. >> that intuition and is more true than we ever imagined. with another society you may feel difference with that for what we have to deal with in our everyday lives. but the difference of inequality of different democracies in has the quality of our lives. before i take you through that day negative i would just clear up one thing. the title of our book, at "the spirit level" i think many americans do not know what we means. in britain, it has to do with the social gradient and the inequalities. we have graphs and different sloping lines that is th

. >>> up next, kate pickett and richard wilkinson talk about the spirit level, the professors of epidemiology examine the correlation between social equality and social health and prosperity. busboys and poets in washington is the host of this hour-long event. >> i want to welcome you all here tonight to busboys and poets in washington, d.c. and the rest of you around the country to the launch of a terrific new book, "the spirit level." im john cavanagh, the director of the institute for policy studies. and this week we've launched a new study the first year of the obama administration called barely making the grade, obama's first year and you can read more about it on the web at a deep ips website, www.ips-dc.org. i want to thank the co-sponsors of tonight's book launch in addition to the institute for policy studies. busboys and poets, but it's remarkable founder, andy, who is the host to might as well as the independent bookstore that works with busboys and public and is housed here in its washington headquarters teaching for change. you can buy spirit level at the bookstore and thousands