In Things That Make Us Smart, Donald A. Norman explores the complex interaction between human thought and the technology it creates, arguing for the development of machines that fit our minds, rather
Humor can help you thrive in change, remain creative under pressure, work more effectively, play more enthusiastically, and stay healthier in the process. But humor is also a set of specific, learned
This magisterial work traces the history of our most cherished value. Patterson links the birth of freedom in primitive societies with the institution of slavery, and traces the evolution of three for
Drawing on his experience in the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program, a leading mediator and his co-author provide the first jargon-free guide to consensual strategies for resolving public disputes—in
Continuing his exploration of the art of the "Bible," Robert Alter provides a fresh interpretation of the poetry of the Old Testament and a lucid, original account of how biblical poetry works.
This eye-opening book brilliantly explores the true roots of over-parenting, and makes a case for the vital importance of family life.Parents naturally worry about the future. They want to prepare the
American politics today is in an uproar: loud, angry, and bitter, bristling with us-versus-them. This is not exactly new. The history of our political life is teeming with nastiness, violence, intoler
Named Best Book of the Year by the Financial Times, the Economist and the AtlanticIn this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on five ce
Creativity has long been thought to be an individual gift, best pursued alone; schools, organizations, and whole industries are built on this idea. But what if the most common beliefs about how creati
Iran is a land of contradictions. It is an Islamic republic, but one in which only 1.4 percent of the population attend Friday prayers. Iran’s religious culture encompasses the most censorious and dog
Hyperpartisanship is as old as American democracy. But now, acrimony is not confined to a moment; it’s a permanent state of affairs and has seeped into every part of the political process. Identifying
Prized as "the best stone in Britain" by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it, coal has transformed societies, powered navies, fueled economies, and expanded frontiers. It mad
The Vatican’s silence in the face of Nazi atrocities remains one of the great controversies of our time. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed
In 1656, a Maryland planter tortured and killed an enslaved man named Antonio, an Angolan who refused to work in the fields. Three hundred years later, Simon P. Owens battled soul-deadening technologi
What is math? And how exactly does it work? In How to Bake Pi, math professor Eugenia Cheng provides an accessible introduction to the logic of mathematics?sprinkled throughout with recipes for everyt
Abraham Lincoln grew up in the long shadow of the Founding Fathers. Seeking an intellectual and emotional replacement for his own taciturn father, Lincoln turned to the great men of the founding?Washi
"Dogs have been mankind's faithful companions for tens of thousands of years, yet today they are regularly treated as either pack-following wolves or furry humans. The truth is, dogs are neither--and
A religious scholar describes how after a century of reforms, Catholicism will grow and succeed not by adapting to the changes of current culture, but instead by reshaping the culture by energizing la
How did related species wind up on lands separated by vast oceans? Scientists have long conjectured that plants and animals were scattered over the globe as passengers on drifting continents, but in T
Medicine has become a true information industry, with drug designers able to read every molecular letter of life’s code ? DNA ? and create miracle drugs to control it. Our understanding of DNA has ad
In this lively volume, mathematician John Allen Paulos employs his singular wit to guide us through an unlikely mathematical jungle?the pages of the daily newspaper. From the Senate and sex to celebri
Taking the reader on a tour of the world's cities, the author argues that urban regions will adapt to rising temperatures over time, slowly transforming the everyday lives of citizens and changing the
Child prodigies. Gifted and Talented Programs. Perfect 2,400s on the SAT. Sometimes it feels like the world is conspiring to make the rest of us feel inadequate, that we’ll never achieve anything grea
?Balanced without being bland, lucid in the telling, Thomas Kidd’s chronicle corrects the excesses both of those who overstate the degree to which America was founded as a ?Christian nation’ and of th
"Be original. See what happens." So Todd Gitlin advises the young mind burning to take action to right the wrongs of the world but also looking for bearings, understanding, direction, and practical ex
Acclaimed historian, Philipp Blom, retraces the fortunes and characters of the men, that from the 1750s to the 1770s in the Paris salon of Baron Paul Thirty Holback had debated with intellectual darin
?This enjoyable, insightful and well-researched romp through the solar system underlines the successes of the early space age while lamenting the transition from the money-is-no-object space race to t
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But what about relativity?Physics professor Chad Orzel and his inquisitive canine companion, Emmy, tackle the concepts of general relativity in this irr
It has long been an article of faith that the United States does not "talk to terrorists"-- that to peaceably approach groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood would undermine our
In 1963, Nancy Rappaport's mother committed suicide after a bitter divorce and custody battle. Nancy was four years old. As one of eleven children in a prominent Boston family, Nancy struggled to com
In 1528, a mission set out from Spain to colonize Florida. But the expedition went horribly wrong: Delayed by a hurricane, knocked off course by a colossal error of navigation, and ultimately doomed
A critical study of America's tranquilizer culture ranges from the 1950s to the present day as it looks at Americans' increasing dependence on pills and prescriptions to ensure peace of mind, traces t
Augusto Pinochet was the most important Third World dictator of the Cold War, and perhaps the most ruthless. In The Dictator’s Shadow, United Nations Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz takes advanta
Reflecting on her own life during a year spent in the mountains and desert of southwestern New Mexico, the author of Hunger explores the history of the Pantheist tradition, from the Stoic philosophers
Creativity has long been thought to be an individual gift, best pursued alone; schools, organizations, and whole industries are built on this idea. But what if the most common beliefs about how creat
When anthropologist Richard Grinker’s daughter was diagnosed with autism in 1994, it occurred in only about 1 in every 10,000 children. Within ten years, rates had skyrocketed, and the media wa
Creativity has long been thought to be an individual gift, best pursued alone; schools, organizations, and whole industries are built on this idea. But what if the most common beliefs about how creat
What if you could someday put the manufacturing power of an automobile plant on your desktop? According to Neil Gershenfeld, the renowned MIT scientist and inventor, the next big thing is personal fa
Despite a note beside her body addressed to other "sons-of-bitch" human rights lawyers, the Mexican government ruled Digna Ochoa's violent death "probable suicide" and slammed the case shut in July 2
To many of us, the Earth’s crust is a relic of ancient, unknowable history. But to a geologist, stones are richly illustrated narratives, telling gothic tales of cataclysm and reincarnation. Fo
