If you want to learn, for example, about the Roman Empire, you could read a handful of books and feel safe in the knowledge that nothing much is going to change. It’s not as if Caligula or any other ancient tyrant is going to climb out of their sarcophagus and rampage about, rewriting the course of Roman history.

But when it comes to the topic of how to behave in the contemporary world, everything is in a state of perpetual flux. Sydney journalist David Meagher wrote his first book on how to behave in 2005, but in the intervening 11 years the social landscape has undergone enormous changes. Twitter, Snapchat and smartphones weren’t around back then, no-one was sexting and the selfie-stick hadn’t been created (sometimes our inexorable march into the future isn’t always one of progress). Many of these new developments have made our lives easier, but they have also made it easier than ever to behave inconsiderately towards others.

Starting with ‘active wear’ and finishing with ‘zebra crossings’, David Meagher covers just about every aspect of life where we could do with a bit of helpful guidance about how to conduct ourselves with more consideration for other people.

Reviewed by Tim Graham