" Mental Immunity is the perfect vaccine for the mind-viruses infecting our culture: alternative facts, fake news, and conspiracy thinking, to name a few." —Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of The Believing BrainAstonishingly irrational ideas are spreading. Covid denial persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Anti-vaxxers compromise public health. Conspiracy thinking hijacks minds and incites mob violence. T...

Why do people reject science and believe online conspiracy theories? How are people radicalized online and go on to commit acts of violence? Why is our society so politically polarized?Astonishingly irrational ideas are spreading. Covid denial persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Anti-vaxxers compromise public health. Conspiracy thinking hijacks minds and incites mob violence. Toxic partisanship is cleaving nations, And climate denial has pushed our plane...

To get the truth from someone, you need two sets of skills. The first are the interpersonal skills necessary to get the facts. But the second group of skills is equally if not more important: they enable you to assess whether the facts actually fit together--whether they are true--and identify the emotions that shaped them.In Nothing But the Truth, top intelligence experts from the worlds of espionage, business, and law enforcement reveal how they get the information they need and ...

It's tempting to think that we live in an unprecedentedly fertile age for conspiracy theories, with seemingly each churn of the news cycle bringing fresh manifestations of large-scale paranoia. But the sad fact is that these narratives of suspicion—and the delusional psychologies that fuel them—have been a constant presence in American life for nearly as long as there's been an America.In this sweeping book, Thomas Milan Konda traces the country's obsession with conspiratorial thou...

Biologist Rob Dunn reveals the crucial influence that other species have upon our health, our well-being, and our world in The WildLife of Our Bodies—a fascinating tour through the hidden truths of nature and codependence. Dunn illuminates the nuanced, often imperceptible relationships that exist between homo sapiens and other species, relationships that underpin humanity's ability to thrive and prosper in every circumstance. Fans of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma

The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums BC. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them.Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literatu...

"In this thought-provoking, handsomely illustrated book, Italian neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso considers the fundamental differences between plants and animals and challenges our assumptions about which is the ‘higher’ form of life.” —The Wall Street Journal“Fascinating…full of optimism…this quick, accessible read will appeal to anyone with interest in how plants continue to surprise us.” —Library JournalDo plants...

“Since we all work with humans it’s important to humanize our workplaces, and this book shows you how.”—RICHARD SCHWARTZ, PhD, bestselling author of No Bad Parts and developer of the Internal Family Systems ModelWorking With Humans explores and illuminates the essential—but generally ignored—management and communication tools needed to end the daily annoyances that make work harder than it needs to be.Drawing from her three decades of workplace expertise, Laura Cran...

“A must-read for anyone looking to understand how artificial intelligence is poised to transform human society and life.” —Paul Scharre, Author of Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial IntelligenceThe future is now. Acclaimed technologist and inventor Amir Husain explains how we can live amidst the coming age of sentient machines and artificial intelligence—and not only survive, but thrive.Artificial “...

In the vein of Quiet and The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth comes this illuminating look at what it means to be awkward—and how the same traits that make us socially anxious and cause embarrassing faux pas also provide the seeds for extraordinary success.As humans, we all need to belong. While modern social life can make even the best of us feel gawky, for roughly one in five of us, navigating its challenges is consistently overwhelming—an ongoing maze without an e...

Charlotte Brontë had a life as seemingly dramatic as her heroine Jane Eyre. Turning her back on her tragic past, Charlotte reinvented herself as an acclaimed author, a mysterious celebrity, and a passionate lover. Doing so meant burning many bridges, but her sudden death left her friends and admirers with more questions than answers.Tasked with telling the truth about Brontë's life, her friend, the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, uncovered secrets of illicit love, family discord, and p...

A spirited collection of essays by cutting-edge neuroscientists that irreverently explores the quirky and counter intuitive aspects of brain function.Neuroscientist David J. Linden approached leading brain researchers and asked each the same question: "What idea about brain function would you most like to explain to the world?" Their responses make up this one-of-a-kind collection of popular science essays that seeks to expand our knowledge of the human mind and it...