An "entertaining" look at the psychology and neuroscience behind the act of influencing others ( Kirkus Reviews).People try to persuade us every day. From the news to the Internet to coworkers and family, everyone and everything wants to influence our thoughts in some way. And in turn, we hope to persuade others. Understanding the dynamics of persuasion can help us to achieve our own goals—and resist being manipulated by those who don't necessarily have ou...

In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of "madness" along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may wish to admit, and that a mugger in a dimly lit parking lot may well, in fact, ha...

A groundbreaking and timely book about how evolutionary biology can explain our black-and-white brains, and a lesson in how we can escape the pitfalls of binary thinking.Several million years ago, natural selection equipped us with binary, black-and-white brains. Though the world was arguably simpler back then, it was in many ways much more dangerous. Not coincidentally, the binary brain was highly adept at detecting risk: the ability to analyze threats and respond ...

In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of "madness" along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may wish to admit, and that a mugger in a dimly lit parking lot may well, in fact, ha...

A groundbreaking and timely book about how evolutionary biology can explain our black-and-white brains, and a lesson in how we can escape the pitfalls of binary thinking.Several million years ago, natural selection equipped us with binary, black-and-white brains. Though the world was arguably simpler back then, it was in many ways much more dangerous. Not coincidentally, the binary brain was highly adept at detecting risk: the ability to analyze threats and respond...

Apples, a common New England crop, have been called the United States' most endangered food. The iconic Texas Longhorn cattle is categorized at critical risk for extinction. Unique date palms, found nowhere else on the planet, grow in California’s Coachella Valley, but the family farms that caretake them are shutting down. Apples, cattle, dates?these are foods that carry significant cultural weight. But they’re disappearing. In Endangered Eating, culinary historian Sarah Lohman draws inspi...

An indispensable analysis of how the world really produces and consumes its food—and a scientist's exploration of how we can successfully feed a growing population without killing the planetWe have never had to feed as many people as we do today. And yet, we misunderstand the essentials of where our food really comes from, how our dietary requirements shape us, and why this impacts our planet in drastic ways. As a result, in our economic, political, and e...

Do you know someone who is too manipulative and full of himself? Does someone you know charm the masses yet lack the ability to deeply connect with those around her?Grandiosity and exaggerated self-worth. Pathological lying. Manipulation. Lack of remorse. Shallowness. Exploitation for financial gain. These are the qualities of Almost Psychopaths. They are not the deranged criminals or serial killers that might be coined "psychopaths" in the movies or on TV. They are spouses, cowork...

**NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST AND THE GUARDIAN“Absorbing. . . . A revealing look at the hidden role that games have played in human development for centuries.” —Kirkus“By turns philosophical and polemical, this is a provocative and fascinating book.” —The EconomistA wide-ranging intellectual history that reveals how important games have been to human progress, and what’s at stake when we forget what games we’re ...

A Next Big Idea Club Must Read of February 2025"Von Hippel presents a radically new way to understand why human happiness has diminished. What’s more, he offers superlative advice for how to get back on track.” —Sonja Lyubomirsky, New York Times bestselling author of The How of HappinessFrom the author of The Social Leap comes this thought-provoking exploration, grounded in evolutionary ps...

**“Authoritative… a tale that sits at the heart of the most significant geopolitical relationship today.” – Financial Times“There’s probably no better account of China’s rise to economic dominance as seen through the prism of a single company.” – The Wall Street JournalABOUT THE BOOKThe untold story of the mysterious company that shook the world.**On the coast of southern China, an eccentric entrepreneur spent three decades steadily buildin...

S****elected as a must-read by the curators of the Next Big Idea Book Club, including Daniel Pink, Susan Cain, Malcolm Gladwell, and Adam Grant“In this illuminating guide, Jeff Karp illustrates how we can break free from the routines that limit our thinking. LIT is an essential toolkit for converting intentions into actions that matter.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author“Don’t we all want to tap our inner...