A psychologist explores how materialism and consumerism undermine our quality of life—and offers ideas for how we can change.In The High Price of Materialism, Tim Kasser offers a scientific explanation of how our contemporary culture of consumerism and materialism affects our everyday happiness and psychological health. Other writers have shown that once we have sufficient food, shelter, and clothing, further material gains do little to improve our well-be...

PAPERBACK ORIGINAL From the bestselling cartoonist of The Cartoon History of the Universe comes an explosive graphic takedown of capitalismBestselling “overeducated cartoonist” Larry Gonick has delighted readers for years with sharp, digestible, and funny accounts of everything from the history of the universe to the intricacies of calculus. Now Gonick teams up with psychologist and scholar Tim Kasser to create an accessible and pointed cartoon guide to ho...

Since John Lennon composed Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds in early 1967, fans and music critics alike have argued over the meaning of the song. Is it about drugs? Is it just a lyrical response to a drawing given Lennon by his 4-year-old son Julian? Is there some deeper meaning? Professor Tim Kasser goes beyond speculative explanations by applying innovative psychological methods to the song's lyrics and music. He deeply analyzes the song's linguistic structure, its basic theme, and...

Since John Lennon composed Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds in early 1967, fans and music critics alike have argued over the meaning of the song. Is it about drugs? Is it just a lyrical response to a drawing given Lennon by his 4-year-old son Julian? Is there some deeper meaning? Professor Tim Kasser goes beyond speculative explanations by applying innovative psychological methods to the song's lyrics and music. He deeply analyzes the song's linguistic structure, its basic theme, and...

**"By turns moving, evenhanded and lyrical in its evocation of time and place."—**Seattle TimesIn this rigorously researched and incisively written account, historian and journalist Cassandra Tate challenges generations of received wisdom about the 1847 killing of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and eleven others at their Presbyterian mission on Cayuse land near present-day Walla Walla.Far from a simple story of martyrdom and savagery, the Whitman inci...

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE, THE IRISH TIMES AND THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT**SHORTLISTED FOR THE PEN HESSELL-TILTMAN PRIZEA provocative history of men who were worshipped as gods that illuminates the connection between power and religion and the role of divinity in a secular age.**Ever since 1492, when Christopher Columbus made landfall in the New World and was hailed as a heavenly being, the accidental god ...

**An invaluable guide to understanding how the internet has broken our brains—and what we can do to fix it."Vivid and unforgettable.” ―Jonathan Haidt, New York Times bestselling author of The Righteous Mind**The original internet was not designed to make us upset, distracted, confused, and outraged. But something unexpected happened at the turn of the last decade, when a handful of small features were quietly launched at social media companies with little ...

This examination of six usurper kings of England, and the people and circumstances surrounding them, is "a masterpiece of academic scholarship" ( Midwest Book Review).In the Middle Ages, England had to contend with a string of usurpers who disrupted the British monarchy—and ultimately changed the course of European history by deposing England's reigning kings and seizing power for themselves. Some of the most infamous usurper kings to come out of medieval ...

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 )Named a most anticipated book of 2021 by O, The Oprah MagazineNamed a "must-read" by the Chicago Review of Books

'A phenomenally important book' Lewis Dartnell, author of OriginsWhy do we live in families?Why do we help complete strangers?Why do we compare ourselves to others?Why do we cooperate?The science of cooperation tells us not only how we got here, but also where we might end up. In The Social Instinct Nichola Raihani introduces us to other speci...

“This book will challenge you to rethink your vision of a good life. With sharp insights and lucid prose, Paul Bloom makes a captivating case that pain and suffering are essential to happiness. It’s an exhilarating antidote to toxic positivity.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLifeOne of Behavioral Scientist's Notable Books of 2021...

This "disturbing yet fascinating" exploration of mass mania through the ages explains the biological and psychological roots of irrationality ( Kirkus Reviews).From time immemorial, contagious narratives have spread through susceptible groups—with enormous, often disastrous, consequences. Inspired by Charles Mackay's nineteenth-century classic Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, neurologist and author William Bern...