A “timely, informative, and fascinating” study of 8 inventions—and how they shaped our world—with “totally compelling” insights on little-known inventors throughout history (Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction)In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines 8 inventions and reveals how they shaped the human experience:• Clocks• Steel rails• Copper communication ...

Gladys’s mind swirls with numbers and shapes as the world enters the high-tech space age. This is the lyrical true story of a groundbreaking Black mathematician whose inventions led to the creation of GPS.Little Gladys is a farm girl who loves math. But as a Black kid growing up in Virginia in the mid-twentieth century, she sees life around her as less than or greater than but never equal. When a teacher calls her “college material,” Gladys knows she can achieve he...

In this first picture book in the Black Innovators series, meet the insatiably curious Jim West, who invented a vital piece of the device we all carry in our pockets—transforming how the world communicates today.Young Jim West loves to pull apart whatever electronics he can get his hands on to see how they work. Those around him say there’s no path for a kid like him to become a scientist, but Jim is determined to forge his own way. His knack for all things electri...

In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions—clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips—and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes, among other things, how our p...

A New York Times-bestselling author explains how the physical world shaped the history of our speciesWhen we talk about human history, we often focus on great leaders, population forces, and decisive wars. But how has the earth itself determined our destiny? Our planet wobbles, driving changes in climate that forced the transition from nomadism to farming. Mountainous terrain led to the development of democracy in Greece. Atmospheric circulation patterns l...

The Common Wind is a gripping and colorful account of the intercontinental networks that tied together the free and enslaved masses of the New World. Having delved deep into the gray obscurity of official eighteenth-century records in Spanish, English, and French, Julius S. Scott has written a powerful "history from below." Scott follows the spread of "rumors of emancipation" and the people behind them, bringing to life the protagonists in the slave revolution.By tracking ...

This groundbreaking work deconstructs the age-old legends surrounding the 'Holy Land' of Israel—and the prejudices that continue to suffocate it.What is a homeland, and when does it become a national territory? Why have so many people been willing to die for them throughout the twentieth century? What is the essence of the Promised Land? Following the acclaimed and controversial Invention of the Jewish People, Shlomo Sand examines the mysterious sacred lan...

The bestselling author and recipient of the 2018 Holberg Prize, Cass R. Sunstein, explores how more information can make us happy or miserable, and why we sometimes avoid it—but sometimes seek it out.How much information is too much? Do we need to know how many calories are in the giant vat of popcorn that we bought on our way into the movie theater? Do we want to know if we are genetically predisposed to a certain disease? Can we do anything useful with next week'...

**A National Bestseller*Winner of the 2024 DKG International Educators Book Award*A riveting, must-read, year-in-the-life account of three teachers, combined with reporting that reveals what’s really going on behind school doors, by New York Times bestselling author and education expert Alexandra Robbins.**Alexandra Robbins goes behind the scenes to tell the true, sometimes shocking, always inspirational stories of three teachers as they n...

The sensational true story of George Dinning, a freed slave, who in 1899 joined forces with a Confederate war hero in search of justice in the Jim Crow south. “Taut and tense. Inspiring and terrifying in its timelessness.”(Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad )After moonrise on the cold night of January 21, 1897, a mob of twenty-five white men gathered in a patch of woods near Big Road in southwestern Simpson County, ...

**This program includes a bonus conversation with the authors.NAMED A BEST NEW POLITICAL AUDIOBOOK BY VARIETY IN 2021Two of America's leading national security experts offer a definitive account of the global impact of COVID-19 and the political shock waves it will have on the United States and the world order in the 21st Century.**“Informed by history, reporting, and a truly global perspective, this is an indispensable first draft of history and blueprint for how w...

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind is a transformative self-help classic that explores the hidden potential of the subconscious mind and its influence on every aspect of life. Drawing on psychological insights and practical techniques, Joseph Murphy explains how thoughts and beliefs shape reality. The book teaches readers how to harness the power of positive thinking, visualization, and affirmations to overcome challenges, improve health, attract success, and achieve personal goals. It em...