Nonfiction
Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America
Conservative Sensibility
For more than four decades, George F. Will has attempted to discern the principles of the Western political tradition and apply them to America's civic life. Today, the stakes could hardly be higher. Vital questions about the nature of man, of rights, of equality, of majority rule are bubbling just beneath the surface of daily events in America. The Founders' vision, articulated first in the Declaration of Independence and carried out in the Constitution, gave the new republic a framework for government unique in world history. Their beliefs in natural rights, limited government, religious freedom, and in human virtue and dignity ushered in two centuries of American prosperity. Now, as Will shows, conservatism is under threat -- both from progressives and elements inside the Republican Party. America has become an administrative state, while destructive trends have overtaken family life and higher education. Semi-autonomous executive agencies wield essentially unaccountable power. Congress has failed in its duty to exercise its legislative powers. And the executive branch has slipped the Constitution's leash. In the intellectual battle between the vision of Founding Fathers like James Madison, who advanced the notion of natural rights that pre-exist government, and the progressivism advanced by Woodrow Wilson, the Founders have been losing. It's time to reverse America's political fortunes. Expansive, intellectually thrilling, and written with the erudite wit that has made Will beloved by millions of readers, The Conservative Sensibility is an extraordinary new book from one of America's most celebrated political writers.
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Cooperative Society
In this book, we present the hypothesis that humans may be on the threshold of a new historical stage, one characterized by cooperation, democracy, the equitable distribution of resources and a sustainable relationship with nature. Our history for more than 200,000 years has included cooperation with one another, with other species and with our physical environment. But it has also included a tremendous amount of conflict. Just look at the bloody trail of wars, violence and oppression that have characterized our relationships with one another and our planet throughout recorded history.
The authors hypothesize that we may be on the verge of moving beyond our conflict-filled past toward a society in which cooperation is the predominant way we relate to one another and to the world around us.
The Cooperative Society is organized in three parts: a description of the hypothesis; a "test" of it based on measurement of seven broad variables; and a set of observations and recommendations for how we can increase the likelihood of moving toward a more cooperative society during the next several decades.
We believe that a cooperative transition would be a momentous, positive step forward for our species. At the same time, we have attempted to objectively report and analyze the data for and against this transition, playing the role of both scientific observers and advocates.
The Cooperative Society is a call to action as well as the presentation of research results. We, as humans, have the ability to shape our society. Our purpose for writing this book is to motivate and assist readers in restructuring our economic, political and social behavior and institutions in ways that are better for humanity and for our planet.
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COVID-19: The Pandemic that Never Should Have Happened and How to Stop the Next One
- One of the Financial Times' Best Science Books of 2020 - In a gripping, accessible narrative, a veteran science journalist lays out the shocking story of how the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic happened and how to make sure this never happens again
Over the last 30 years of epidemics and pandemics, we learned nearly every lesson needed to stop this coronavirus outbreak in its tracks. We heeded almost none of them. The result is a pandemic on a scale never before seen in our lifetimes. In this captivating, authoritative, and eye-opening book, science journalist Debora MacKenzie lays out the full story of how and why it happened: the previous viruses that should have prepared us, the shocking public health failures that paved the way, the failure to contain the outbreak, and most importantly, what we must do to prevent future pandemics.
Debora MacKenzie has been reporting on emerging diseases for more than three decades, and she draws on that experience to explain how COVID-19 went from a potentially manageable outbreak to a global pandemic. Offering a compelling history of the most significant recent outbreaks, including SARS, MERS, H1N1, Zika, and Ebola, she gives a crash course in Epidemiology 101--how viruses spread and how pandemics end--and outlines the lessons we failed to learn from each past crisis. In vivid detail, she takes us through the arrival and spread of COVID-19, making clear the steps that governments knew they could have taken to prevent or at least prepare for this. Looking forward, MacKenzie makes a bold, optimistic argument: this pandemic might finally galvanize the world to take viruses seriously. Fighting this pandemic and preventing the next one will take political action of all kinds, globally, from governments, the scientific community, and individuals--but it is possible.
No one has yet brought together our knowledge of COVID-19 in a comprehensive, informative, and accessible way. But that story can already be told, and Debora MacKenzie's urgent telling is required reading for these times and beyond. It is too early to say where the COVID-19 pandemic will go, but it is past time to talk about what went wrong and how we can do better.
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Craft of Science Writing: Selections from The Open Notebook
Science journalism has perhaps never been so critical to our world--and the demands on science journalists have never been greater. On any given day, a science journalist might need to explain the details of genetic engineering, analyze a development in climate change research, or serve as a watchdog helping to ensure the integrity of the scientific enterprise. And science writers have to spin tales seductive enough to keep readers hooked to the end, despite the endless other delights just a click away. How does one do it?
Here, for the first time, is a collection of indispensable articles on the craft of science writing as told by some of the most skillful science journalists working today. These selections are a wealth of journalistic knowledge from The Open Notebook, the online community that has been a primary resource for science journalists and aspiring science writers for the last decade.
The Craft of Science Writing gives you a crew of accomplished, encouraging friends to whisper over your shoulder as you work. In these pages, you'll find interviews with leading journalists offering behind-the-scenes inspiration, as well as in-depth essays on the craft offering practical advice, including:
CONTRIBUTORS TO THE CRAFT OF SCIENCE WRITING: Christie Aschwanden, Siri Carpenter, Tina Casagrand, Jeanne Erdmann, Dan Fagin, Dan Ferber, Azeen Ghorayshi, Geoffrey Giller, Laura Helmuth, Jane C. Hu, Alla Katsnelson, Roxanne Khamsi, Maggie Koerth-Baker, Jyoti Madhusoodanan, Apoorva Mandavilli, Amanda Mascarelli, Robin Meadows, Kate Morgan, Tien Nguyen, Michelle Nijhuis, Aneri Pattani, Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, Mallory Pickett, Kendall Powell, Tasneem Raja, Sandeep Ravindran, Julia Rosen, Christina Selby, Alexandra Witze, Wudan Yan, Ed Yong, Rachel Zamzow, Sarah Zhang, Carl Zimmer.
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Crowded Hour: Theodore Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and the Dawn of the American Century
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Dad Jokes for New Dads: Embarrass Your Kids Early!
The perfect Father's Day gift for new dads and expecting fathers! A punderful resource of the funniest dad jokes that every dad needs in their arsenal!
With over 500 brand new jokes on a range of topics to get dads ready to embarrass their children--and most importantly--embarrass them early, this laugh-out-loud book is a hilarious title perfect for baby showers and Father's Day! Dad Jokes for New Dads is a special edition joke book for new dads and soon-to-be fathers that celebrates dads with a full arsenal of dad jokes and "helpful" pro tips to help new dads get by! The perfect gift from any kid, wife, or partner to celebrate and prepare the new dad in their life!
Includes knee-slappers like:
Q: What did the big beer name its baby?
A: Micro brew.
I wrote a book about birds once. My publisher said it flew off the shelves!
Dad Pro Tip #1: If the baby starts to spit up, turn it toward someone else.
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Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow (Scholastic Focus)
This is a story about America during and after Reconstruction, one of history's most pivotal and misunderstood chapters. In a stirring account of emancipation, the struggle for citizenship and national reunion, and the advent of racial segregation, the renowned Harvard scholar delivers a book that is illuminating and timely. Real-life accounts drive the narrative, spanning the half century between the Civil War and Birth of a Nation. Here, you will come face-to-face with the people and events of Reconstruction's noble democratic experiment, its tragic undermining, and the drawing of a new color line in the long Jim Crow era that followed. In introducing young readers to them, and to the resiliency of the African American people at times of progress and betrayal, Professor Gates shares a history that remains vitally relevant today.
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Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs
In today's world, it's easier than ever to move people, animals, and materials around the planet, but the same advances that make modern infrastructure so efficient have made epidemics and even pandemics nearly inevitable. And as outbreaks of COVID-19, Ebola, MERS, and Zika have demonstrated, we are woefully underprepared to deal with the fallout. So what can -- and must -- we do in order to protect ourselves from mankind's deadliest enemy?
Drawing on the latest medical science, case studies, policy research, and hard-earned epidemiological lessons, Deadliest Enemy explores the resources and programs we need to develop if we are to keep ourselves safe from infectious disease. The authors show how we could wake up to a reality in which many antibiotics no longer cure, bioterror is a certainty, and the threat of a disastrous influenza or coronavirus pandemic looms ever larger. Only by understanding the challenges we face can we prevent the unthinkable from becoming the inevitable. Deadliest Enemy is high scientific drama, a chronicle of medical mystery and discovery, a reality check, and a practical plan of action.
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Devil's Harvest: A Ruthless Killer, a Terrorized Community, and the Search for Justice in California's Central Valley
A page-turning, suspenseful story of a drug cartel hit man who got away with murder after murder in California's Central Valley for three decades, The Devil's Harvest reveals how the criminal justice system fails our most vulnerable immigrant communities. On the surface, fifty-eight-year-old Jose Martinez didn't seem evil or even that remarkable- just a regular neighbor, good with cars and devoted to his family. But in between taking his children to Disneyland and visiting his mom, Martinez was also one of the most skilled professional killers police had ever seen. He tracked one victim to one of the wealthiest corners of America, a horse ranch in Santa Barbara, and shot him dead in the morning sunlight, setting off a decades-long manhunt. He shot another man, a farmworker, right in front of his young wife as they drove to work in the fields. The widow would wait decades for justice. Those were murders for hire. Others he killed for vengeance. How did Martinez manage to evade law enforcement for so long with little more than a slap on the wrist? Because he understood a dark truth about the criminal justice system: if you kill the "right people"-people who are poor, who aren't white, and who don't have anyone to speak up for them-you can get away with it. Melding the pacing and suspense of a true crime thriller with the rigor of top-notch investigative journalism, The Devil's Harvest follows award-winning reporter Jessica Garrison's relentless search for the truth as she traces the life of this assassin, the cops who were always a few steps behind him, and the families of his many victims. Drawing upon decades of case files, interrogation transcripts, on-the-ground reporting, and Martinez's chilling handwritten journals, The Devil's Harvest uses a gripping and often shocking narrative to dig into one of the most important moral questions haunting our politically divided nation today: Why do some deaths-and some lives-matter more than others?
Diary of a Drag Queen
"This book changed my life. Tom Rasmussen's honesty, vulnerability, and fearlessness jump out of every page and every word. It is the queer bible I've always needed." --Sam Smith, singer and songwriter
Tom covers the nuance, doubt, and uncertainty of being a drag queen. Crystal covers the transcendence . . . Charisma and quick intelligence--two qualities that have long been prerequisites for drag . . . Diary puts on technicolor display. --Katy Waldman, The New YorkerIn these pages, find glamour and gaffes on and off the stage, clarifying snippets of queer theory, terrifyingly selfish bosses, sex, quick sex, KFC binges, group sex, the kind of honesty that banishes shame, glimmers of hope, blazes of ambition, tender sex, mad dashes in last night's heels plus a full face of make-up, and a rom-com love story for the ages. This is where the unspeakable becomes the celebrated. This is the diary of a drag queen--one dazzling, hilarious, true performance of a real, flawed, extraordinary life. I hope people like me will read this and feel seen and loved by it. I hope people who aren't like me will enjoy it, laugh with it, learn from it. And I hope people who don't like me will file lawsuits just so I can wear my brand-new leopard-print skirt suit and bust their asses in court.
--Crystal Rasmussen, in Refinery29
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Discrimination and Disparities (Revised, Enlarged)
Economic and other outcomes differ vastly among individuals, groups, and nations. Many explanations have been offered for the differences. Some believe that those with less fortunate outcomes are victims of genetics. Others believe that those who are less fortunate are victims of the more fortunate.
Discrimination and Disparities gathers a wide array of empirical evidence to challenge the idea that different economic outcomes can be explained by any one factor, be it discrimination, exploitation, or genetics. This revised and enlarged edition also analyzes the human consequences of the prevailing social vision of these disparities and the policies based on that vision--from educational disasters to widespread crime and violence.
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Do One Thing Every Day to Change the World: A Journal
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Don't Tell Me to Relax: Emotional Resilience in the Age of Rage, Feels, and Freak-Outs
Dot Con: The Art of Scamming a Scammer
The Nigerian prince eager to fork over his inheritance, the family friend stranded unexpectedly in Norway, the lonely Russian beauty looking for love . . . they spam our inboxes with their hapless pleas for help, money, and your social security number. In Dot Con, Veitch finally answers the question: what would happen if you replied?
Suspicious emails pop up in our inboxes and our first instinct is to delete unopened. But what if you responded to the deposed princess begging for money in your Gmail? Veitch dives into the underbelly of our absurd email scam culture, playing the scammers at their own game, and these are the surprising, bizarre, and hilarious results.
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Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Health
From after-work happy hour to a nightly glass of wine, we're used to thinking of alcohol as a normal part of our daily lives. In Drink?, neuropharmacology professor David Nutt takes a fascinating, science-based look at drinking to unpack why we should reconsider our favorite pastime.
Using cutting-edge scientific research and years of hands-on experience in the field, Nutt delves into the long- and short-term effects of alcohol. He addresses topics such as hormones, mental health, fertility, and addiction, explaining how alcohol travels through our bodies and brains, what happens at each stage of inebriation, and how it effects us even after it leaves our systems. With accessible, easy-to-understand language, Nutt ensures that readers recognize why alcohol can have such a negative influence on our bodies and our society. In the vein of This Naked Mind, Drink? isn't preachy; it simply gives readers clear, evidence-based facts to help them make the most informed choices about their consumption.
Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights
Dung for Dinner: A Stomach-Churning Look at the Animal Poop, Pee, Vomit, and Secretions That People Have Eaten (and Often Still Do!)
Discover the stomach-churning truth about the animal poop, pee, vomit, and secretions that humans have eaten throughout history--and sometimes still do--in Christine Virnig's laugh-out-loud middle-grade nonfiction debut. Dung for Dinner is illustrated by Korwin Briggs.
From Roman charioteers scarfing wild boar dung to astronauts guzzling their own pee to today's kids spreading insect vomit on their toast, this humorous compendium is chock-full of history, science, and fascinatingly gross facts. Bug secretions coating your candy corn? Rodent poop in your popcorn? Physicians tasting their patients' pee? It's deliciously disgusting!
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Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland
Now updated with a new afterword, Dying of Whiteness demonstrates how much white America would benefit by emphasizing cooperation rather than chasing false promises of supremacy.
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Echoing Ida Collection
Rooted in reproductive justice, Echoing Ida harnesses the power of media for social justice--amplifying the struggles and successes of contemporary freedom movements in the US.
Founded in 2012, Echoing Ida is a writing collective of Black women and nonbinary writers who--like their foremother Ida B. Wells-Barnett--believe the "way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them." Their community reporting spans a wide variety of topics: reproductive justice and abortion politics; new and necessary definitions of family; trans visibility; stigma against Black motherhood; Black mental health; and more.
This anthology collects the best of Echoing Ida for the first time, and features a foreword by Michelle Duster, activist and great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Imagining a gender-expansive and liberated future, these essays affirm the powerful combination of #BlackGirlMagic and the hard, unceasing labor of Black people to reimagine the world in which we live.
Educated: A Memoir
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post - O: The Oprah Magazine - Time - NPR - Good Morning America - San Francisco Chronicle - The Guardian - The Economist - Financial Times - Newsday - New York Post - theSkimm - Refinery29 - Bloomberg - Self - Real Simple - Town & Country - Bustle - Paste - Publishers Weekly - Library Journal - LibraryReads - BookRiot - Pamela Paul, KQED - New York Public Library
Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion: Revolutionary Program That Lets You Rediscover the Body's Power to Rejuvenate It
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