Book · Non-fiction, memoir and self-help
The Better Angels of Our Nature
by Steven Pinker
Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The Better Angels of Our Nature, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.
- Pages
- 1,402
- Reading time
- ≈ 25 h 20 min
- Checkpoints
- 39
- Genre
- Non-fiction
Free on iPhone and Android.
How long does it take to read The Better Angels of Our Nature?
At 1,402 pages, The Better Angels of Our Nature is a doorstopper. Expect about 25 hours 20 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.
At 30 minutes a day, that is about 51 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 20 reading days. For a book of this length (600 pages or more), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 6.4 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).
- 30 minutes a day51 days
- Vread median pace (72 pp./day)20 days
Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.
Prove you read it
The Vread challenge: 39 checkpoints
- Checkpoint 1, page 36
- Checkpoint 2, page 72
- Checkpoint 3, page 108
- Checkpoint 4, page 144
- Checkpoint 5, page 180
- Checkpoint 6, page 216
- Checkpoint 7, page 252
- Checkpoint 8, page 288
- Checkpoint 9, page 324
- Checkpoint 10, page 359
- Checkpoint 11, page 395
- Checkpoint 12, page 431
- Checkpoint 13, page 467
- Checkpoint 14, page 503
- Checkpoint 15, page 539
- Checkpoint 16, page 575
- Checkpoint 17, page 611
- Checkpoint 18, page 647
- Checkpoint 19, page 683
- Checkpoint 20, page 719
- Checkpoint 21, page 755
- Checkpoint 22, page 791
- Checkpoint 23, page 827
- Checkpoint 24, page 863
- Checkpoint 25, page 899
- Checkpoint 26, page 935
- Checkpoint 27, page 971
- Checkpoint 28, page 1007
- Checkpoint 29, page 1043
- Checkpoint 30, page 1078
- Checkpoint 31, page 1114
- Checkpoint 32, page 1150
- Checkpoint 33, page 1186
- Checkpoint 34, page 1222
- Checkpoint 35, page 1258
- Checkpoint 36, page 1294
- Checkpoint 37, page 1330
- Checkpoint 38, page 1366
- Checkpoint 39, page 1402
In Vread, The Better Angels of Our Nature is split into 39 checkpoints, one every 36 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.
The challenge: validate all 39 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.
Also available in French on Vread.
Illustrative example
What a checkpoint looks like
A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.
The answer is in the text: reply in the app.
This is not a question from The Better Angels of Our Nature: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.
Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.
Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions
How many pages is The Better Angels of Our Nature?
How long does it take to read The Better Angels of Our Nature?
Is there a quiz on The Better Angels of Our Nature?
Where can I find a summary of The Better Angels of Our Nature?
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Read The Better Angels of Our Nature with Vread
Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.
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