NYRB CLASSICS ORIGINAL: Simone Weil’s searing argument against partisan politics will speak to modern U.S. citizens who are fed up with Congressional infighting and legislative deadlock.“One of the most brilliant and original minds of 20th-century France.” —The New York TimesSimone Weil—philosopher, activist, mystic—is one of the most uncompromising of modern spiritual masters. In “On the Abolition of All Political Parties” she cha...

Andrew Coyne, one of Canada's most esteemed political thinkers, delivers a powerful exposé of the nation's crumbling democratic institutions.With characteristic wit, insight, and rigor, Coyne dismantles the comforting myths Canadians tell themselves about their political system, revealing a parliamentary structure eroded by unaccountable leaders, disempowered MPs, manipulated elections, and systemic dysfunction. The Crisis of Canadian Democracy is both a wake-up ca...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAAH STONE BOOK AWARDA new history of US education through the nineteenth century that rigorously accounts for Black, Native, and white experiences; a story that exposes the idea of American education as “the great equalizer” to not only be a lie, but also a myth that reproduces past harms.Education is the epicenter of every community in the United States. Indeed, few institutions are as pivotal in shaping our lives and ...

*New enhanced edition of the best-selling guide to sea creatures: The World Beneath!*Meet the world's most fascinating sea creatures, see the lives and curiosities of colorful fish and coral reefs. This spectacular volume has more than 300 color photos and extraordinary text from a leading marine biologist and underwater photographer who is the international expert on seahorses.In this richly informative volume, brimming with new d...

One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024The bestselling author of Other Minds shows how we and our ancestors have reinvented our planet.If the history of the Earth were compressed down to a year, our species would arise in the last thirty minutes or so of the final hour. But life itself is not such a late arrival: It has existed on Earth for something like 3.7 billion years—most of our planet’s history...

A woman settles in a remote Polish village. It has few inhabitants, but it teems with the stories of its living and its dead. There's the drunk Marek Marek, who discovers that he shares his body with a bird, and Franz Frost, whose nightmares come to him from a newly discovered planet. There's the man whose death – with one leg on the Polish side, one on the Czech – was an international incident. And there are the Germans who still haunt a region that not long ago they called their own. Fro...

A captivating exploration of how underwater animals tap into sound to survive, and a clarion call for humans to address the ways we invade these critical soundscapes—from an award-winning science writer“Sing Like Fish is that rare book that makes you see the world differently.”—Mark Kurlansky, New York Times bestselling author of Salt and CodLONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE ...

An exploration of how perception, thought, and action are products of maps etched into your brain—and how technology can use them to read your mind.Your brain is a collection of maps. That is no metaphor: scrawled across your brain's surfaces are actual maps of the sights, sounds, and actions that hold the key to your survival. Scientists first began uncovering these maps over a century ago, but we are only now beginning to unlock their secrets—and comprehend their ...

Fibbing, prevaricating, stretching the truth, white lies, of omission, of commission. Lying is so pervasive that we have countless words for it. But have you ever considered why you believed a lie you were told - or why we lie at all?In this witty, whirlwind tour through the annuls of deceit, bestselling author Aja Raden combines psychology, popular science and history to explore everything you've ever wanted to know about manipulation and lying, showing how it evolved and why even...

A revealing guide to understanding the principles of IslamWith more than 1.8 billion followers worldwide, Islam is one of the world's largest religions, but it is also one that is poorly understood by many Americans. Islam Explained offers an informative overview of the faith, helping those who are new to Islam foster cultural awareness while also providing those already familiar with it the opportunity to deepen their understanding.Whether you are...

A selection of Seneca's most significant letters that illuminate his philosophical and personal life."There is only one course of action that can make you happy. . . . Rejoice in what is yours. What is it that is yours? Yourself; the best part of you."In the year 62, citing health issues, the Roman philosopher Seneca withdrew from public service and devoted his time to writing. His letters from this period offer a window onto his experience as a la...

A tour of clocks throughout the centuries—from the sandglass to the telomere—to reveal the physical, biological, and social nature of time.Named one of Book Riot 's Six Great Nonfiction Books about TimeWhat is time? This question has fascinated philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists for thousands of years. Why does time seem to speed up with age? What is its connection with...