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Numbers Don't Lie

71 Stories to Help Us Understand the Modern World

by Vaclav Smil ...

**"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author… Numbers Don't Lie takes everything that makes his writing great and boils it down into an easy-to-read format. I unabashedly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning."—Bill Gates, GatesNotesFrom the author of How the World Really Works, an essential guide to understanding how numbers reveal the true state of our world—exploring a wide range of topics ... Read more

Was $8.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

**"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author… Numbers Don't Lie takes everything that makes his writing great and boils it down into an easy-to-read format. I unabashedly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning."—Bill Gates, GatesNotesFrom the author of How the World Really Works, an essential guide to understanding how numbers reveal the true state of our world—exploring a wide range of topics
... Read more
Reading in the Brain

The New Science of How We Read

by Stanislas Dehaene ...

A renowned cognitive neuroscientist?s fascinating and highly informative account of how the brain acquires readingHow can a few black marks on a white page evoke an entire universe of sounds and meanings? In this riveting investigation, Stanislas Dehaene provides an accessible account of the brain circuitry of reading and explores what he calls the ?reading paradox?: Our cortex is the product of ... Read more

Was $11.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

A renowned cognitive neuroscientist?s fascinating and highly informative account of how the brain acquires readingHow can a few black marks on a white page evoke an entire universe of sounds and meanings? In this riveting investigation, Stanislas Dehaene provides an accessible account of the brain circuitry of reading and explores what he calls the ?reading paradox?: Our cortex is the product of
... Read more
The Science of Liberty

Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature

by Timothy Ferris ...

A "thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining" look at the historical connections between science and liberal democracy, and the forces that threaten both ( The Wall Street Journal).In The Science of Liberty, award–winning author Timothy Ferris—called "the best popular science writer in the English language today" by the Christian Science Monitor and "the best science writer of his generation" by the ... Read more

$1.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

A "thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining" look at the historical connections between science and liberal democracy, and the forces that threaten both ( The Wall Street Journal).In The Science of Liberty, award–winning author Timothy Ferris—called "the best popular science writer in the English language today" by the Christian Science Monitor and "the best science writer of his generation" by the
... Read more
When the Ice Is Gone

What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth's Tumultuous History and Perilous Future

by Paul Bierman ...

**Paul Bierman’s realization that Greenland’s ice sheet melted when Earth was no warmer than today sounds an alarm for our planet."A remarkable scientific detective story." —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Here Comes the SunA New Yorker Best Book of the Year**In 2018, lumps of frozen soil, collected from the bottom of the world’s first deep ice core and lost for decades, reappeared ... Read more

Was $12.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

**Paul Bierman’s realization that Greenland’s ice sheet melted when Earth was no warmer than today sounds an alarm for our planet."A remarkable scientific detective story." —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Here Comes the SunA New Yorker Best Book of the Year**In 2018, lumps of frozen soil, collected from the bottom of the world’s first deep ice core and lost for decades, reappeared
... Read more
Birds, Sex and Beauty

The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea

by Matt Ridley ...

"[An] intriguing philosophical journey into a critical issue within evolutionary theory that for too long has remained unresolved." —Wall Street JournalMatt Ridley is one of our finest science writers. This book is a treat for bird lovers and evolutionary biologists alike.” —Richard Dawkins, author of The Genetic Book of The Dead and The God DelusionThe New York Times bestselling ... ... Read more

Was $13.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

"[An] intriguing philosophical journey into a critical issue within evolutionary theory that for too long has remained unresolved." —Wall Street JournalMatt Ridley is one of our finest science writers. This book is a treat for bird lovers and evolutionary biologists alike.” —Richard Dawkins, author of The Genetic Book of The Dead and The God DelusionThe New York Times bestselling ...
... Read more
The Light Eaters

How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth

by Zoë Schlanger ...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe New Yorker’s Best Books of 2024 • TIME’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 • New York Magazine’s 10 Best Books of the Year • Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction of 2024 • Smithsonian’s 10 Best Science Books of the Year • A Best Book of the Year: Boston Globe, Scientific American,New York Public Library, Chri... ... Read more

Was $12.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe New Yorker’s Best Books of 2024 • TIME’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 • New York Magazine’s 10 Best Books of the Year • Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction of 2024 • Smithsonian’s 10 Best Science Books of the Year • A Best Book of the Year: Boston Globe, Scientific American,New York Public Library, Chri...
... Read more
On the Equality of All Things

Lessons on Physics and Philosophy

by Carlo Rovelli ...

National BestsellerA radical new vision of reality from one of the great minds of our time, mapping a watershed moment in both physics and philosophy.“Carlo Rovelli is the best thinker out there articulating physics, philosophy, and literature. There simply are no scientists of his caliber who also are humanists of the first order. His prose has the enviable ability to expand the realm of the ... Read more

$12.99 USD

National BestsellerA radical new vision of reality from one of the great minds of our time, mapping a watershed moment in both physics and philosophy.“Carlo Rovelli is the best thinker out there articulating physics, philosophy, and literature. There simply are no scientists of his caliber who also are humanists of the first order. His prose has the enviable ability to expand the realm of the
... Read more
Under a Green Sky

Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future

by Peter D. Ward ...

By looking backward at the course of great extinctions, a paleontologist sees what the future holds.More than 200 million years ago, a cataclysmic event known as the Permian extinction destroyed more than 90 percent of all species and nearly 97 percent of all living things. Its origins have long been a puzzle for paleontologists. During the 1990s and the early part of this century, a great battle ... Read more

Was $14.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

By looking backward at the course of great extinctions, a paleontologist sees what the future holds.More than 200 million years ago, a cataclysmic event known as the Permian extinction destroyed more than 90 percent of all species and nearly 97 percent of all living things. Its origins have long been a puzzle for paleontologists. During the 1990s and the early part of this century, a great battle
... Read more
Atlantic

Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories

by Simon Winchester ...

"Variably genial, cautionary, lyrical, admonitory, terrifying, horrifying and inspiring…A lifetime of thought, travel, reading, imagination and memory inform this affecting account." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester tells the breathtaking saga of the Atlantic Ocean ... Read more

$10.99 USD

"Variably genial, cautionary, lyrical, admonitory, terrifying, horrifying and inspiring…A lifetime of thought, travel, reading, imagination and memory inform this affecting account." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester tells the breathtaking saga of the Atlantic Ocean
... Read more
The Icepick Surgeon

Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science

by Sam Kean ...

**From a New York Times bestselling author comes the gripping, untold history of science's darkest secrets."A fascinating book [that] deserves a wide audience." —Publishers Weekly, starred review**Science is a force for good in the world—at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. Under this spell, knowledge isn ... Read more

Was $11.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

**From a New York Times bestselling author comes the gripping, untold history of science's darkest secrets."A fascinating book [that] deserves a wide audience." —Publishers Weekly, starred review**Science is a force for good in the world—at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. Under this spell, knowledge isn
... Read more
Humankind

A Hopeful History

by Rutger Bregman ...

Translated by Erica Moore, Elizabeth Manton ...

This instant New York Times bestseller proves humanity thrives in a crisis and that our innate kindness and cooperation have been the greatest factors in our long-term success as a species.If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It's a notion that drives ... Read more

Was $11.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

This instant New York Times bestseller proves humanity thrives in a crisis and that our innate kindness and cooperation have been the greatest factors in our long-term success as a species.If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It's a notion that drives
... Read more
The Great Mortality

An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time

by John Kelly ...

“Powerful, rich with details, moving, humane, and full of important lessons for an age when weapons of mass destruction are loose among us.” — Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic BombThe Great Plague is one of the most compelling events in human history—even more so now, when the notion of plague has never loomed larger as a contemporary public concern.The ... Read more

$15.49 USD

“Powerful, rich with details, moving, humane, and full of important lessons for an age when weapons of mass destruction are loose among us.” — Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic BombThe Great Plague is one of the most compelling events in human history—even more so now, when the notion of plague has never loomed larger as a contemporary public concern.The
... Read more
Tripping on Utopia

Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science

by Benjamin Breen ...

**A Los Angeles Times BestsellerOne of The New Yorker's Best Books of 2024A bold and brilliant revisionist take on the history of psychedelics in the twentieth century, illuminating how a culture of experimental drugs shaped the Cold War and the birth of Silicon Valley."Brilliant and original."―Charles King, author of Gods of the Upper Air and Midnight at the Pera Palace**"It was not the Baby ... Read more

Was $14.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

**A Los Angeles Times BestsellerOne of The New Yorker's Best Books of 2024A bold and brilliant revisionist take on the history of psychedelics in the twentieth century, illuminating how a culture of experimental drugs shaped the Cold War and the birth of Silicon Valley."Brilliant and original."―Charles King, author of Gods of the Upper Air and Midnight at the Pera Palace**"It was not the Baby
... Read more
Build

An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making

by Tony Fadell ...

**New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USAToday Bestseller for May 2022**Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.So that’s what this book is. An advice ... Read more

$22.49 USD

**New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USAToday Bestseller for May 2022**Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.So that’s what this book is. An advice
... Read more
The Gulag Archipelago

The Authorized Abridgement

by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn ...

The official, one-volume edition, authorized by Solzhenitsyn"BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE 20TH CENTURY" —TimeThe Nobel Prize winner’s towering masterpiece of world literature and a landmark of Russian history, the searing record of four decades of terror and oppression, in one abridged volume (authorized by the author). Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum."It is impossible to name a book that ... Read more

$12.99 USD

The official, one-volume edition, authorized by Solzhenitsyn"BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE 20TH CENTURY" —TimeThe Nobel Prize winner’s towering masterpiece of world literature and a landmark of Russian history, the searing record of four decades of terror and oppression, in one abridged volume (authorized by the author). Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum."It is impossible to name a book that
... Read more
Livewired

The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain

by David Eagleman ...

**"Eagleman renders the secrets of the brain’s adaptability into a truly compelling page-turner.” *—*Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner“Livewired reads wonderfully like what a book would be if it were written by Oliver Sacks and William Gibson, sitting on Carl Sagan’s front lawn.” —The Wall Street JournalWhat does drug withdrawal have in common with a broken heart? Why is the enemy of ... Read more

Was $12.99 USD Now $9.99 USD

**"Eagleman renders the secrets of the brain’s adaptability into a truly compelling page-turner.” *—*Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner“Livewired reads wonderfully like what a book would be if it were written by Oliver Sacks and William Gibson, sitting on Carl Sagan’s front lawn.” —The Wall Street JournalWhat does drug withdrawal have in common with a broken heart? Why is the enemy of
... Read more
Answers for Aristotle

How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life

by Massimo Pigliucci ...

**A biologist-turned-philosopher shows how scientific discoveries can help resolve some of philosophy's longest-debated issues.“This book will make you reflect on both the meaning of science...and of your own life.” — New Scientist**How should we live? According to philosopher and biologist Massimo Pigliucci, the greatest guidance to this essential question lies in combining the wisdom of 24 ... Read more

Was $18.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

**A biologist-turned-philosopher shows how scientific discoveries can help resolve some of philosophy's longest-debated issues.“This book will make you reflect on both the meaning of science...and of your own life.” — New Scientist**How should we live? According to philosopher and biologist Massimo Pigliucci, the greatest guidance to this essential question lies in combining the wisdom of 24
... Read more
The Dancing Bees

Karl von Frisch and the Discovery of the Honeybee Language

by Tania Munz ...

"A triumph of science writing, a well crafted, deeply researched story of politics, ethics, and the fascinating lives of humans and bees." —Jonathan Eig, New York Times–bestselling authorWe think of bees as being among the busiest workers in the garden, admiring them for their productivity. But amid their buzzing, they are also great communicators—and unusual dancers. As Karl von Frisch (1886–1982 ... Read more

$17.29 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

"A triumph of science writing, a well crafted, deeply researched story of politics, ethics, and the fascinating lives of humans and bees." —Jonathan Eig, New York Times–bestselling authorWe think of bees as being among the busiest workers in the garden, admiring them for their productivity. But amid their buzzing, they are also great communicators—and unusual dancers. As Karl von Frisch (1886–1982
... Read more
Passionate Declarations

Essays on War and Justice

by Howard Zinn ...

“A shotgun blast of revisionism that aims to shatter all the comfortable myths of American political discourse.” — Los Angeles TimesFrom the bestselling author of A People's History of the United States comes this selection of passionate, honest, and piercing essays looking at American political ideology.Howard Zinn brings to Passionate Declarations the same astringent style and provocative point ... Read more

Was $8.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

“A shotgun blast of revisionism that aims to shatter all the comfortable myths of American political discourse.” — Los Angeles TimesFrom the bestselling author of A People's History of the United States comes this selection of passionate, honest, and piercing essays looking at American political ideology.Howard Zinn brings to Passionate Declarations the same astringent style and provocative point
... Read more
Gene Machine

The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome

by Venki Ramakrishnan ...

A Nobel Prize–winning biologist’s “engaging and witty” (Forbes) memoir tells the riveting story of his race to discover the inner workings of biology’s most important moleculeEveryone has heard of DNA. But by itself, DNA is just an inert blueprint for life. It is the ribosome—an enormous molecular machine made up of a million atoms—that makes DNA come to life, turning our genetic code into ... Read more

Was $13.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

A Nobel Prize–winning biologist’s “engaging and witty” (Forbes) memoir tells the riveting story of his race to discover the inner workings of biology’s most important moleculeEveryone has heard of DNA. But by itself, DNA is just an inert blueprint for life. It is the ribosome—an enormous molecular machine made up of a million atoms—that makes DNA come to life, turning our genetic code into
... Read more
The Primacy of Doubt

From Quantum Physics to Climate Change, How the Science of Uncertainty Can Help Us Understand Our Chaotic World

by Tim Palmer ...

“Quite possibly the best popular science book I’ve ever read” (Popular Science) shows how the tools that enabled us to overcome the uncertainty of the weather will enable us to find new answers to modern science's most pressing questionsWhy does your weather app say “There’s a 10% chance of rain” instead of “It will be sunny tomorrow”? In large part this is due to the insight of Tim Palmer, who ... Read more

Was $18.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

“Quite possibly the best popular science book I’ve ever read” (Popular Science) shows how the tools that enabled us to overcome the uncertainty of the weather will enable us to find new answers to modern science's most pressing questionsWhy does your weather app say “There’s a 10% chance of rain” instead of “It will be sunny tomorrow”? In large part this is due to the insight of Tim Palmer, who
... Read more
Tempting Fate

A Philosophical Guide to Risk, Luck, and a Meaningful Life

by Duncan Pritchard ...

A leading philosopher explains how risk-taking can help us live authentic and flourishing livesWe take risks every day—perhaps not the extreme, dangling-off-the-side-of-a-mountain kind of risks, but risks nonetheless, in decisions about careers, marriage, children, moving house, and other matters. Tempting fate is simply what we have to do from time to time in life. But how we should go about ... Read more

$20.19 USD

A leading philosopher explains how risk-taking can help us live authentic and flourishing livesWe take risks every day—perhaps not the extreme, dangling-off-the-side-of-a-mountain kind of risks, but risks nonetheless, in decisions about careers, marriage, children, moving house, and other matters. Tempting fate is simply what we have to do from time to time in life. But how we should go about
... Read more
The Best Science Stories and How They Work

A Collection with Commentary

Edited by Siri Carpenter ...

Series series Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing
An invitation to engage with some of today’s most respected science journalists as they take readers beneath the surface to reveal the making of eleven of the best science stories.With eleven deeply reported, artfully crafted stories and annotations by some of the most thoughtful and respected science journalists working today, The Best Science Stories and How They Work is more than the sum of its ... Read more

$15.89 USD

An invitation to engage with some of today’s most respected science journalists as they take readers beneath the surface to reveal the making of eleven of the best science stories.With eleven deeply reported, artfully crafted stories and annotations by some of the most thoughtful and respected science journalists working today, The Best Science Stories and How They Work is more than the sum of its
... Read more
The Synthetic Age

Outdesigning Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World

by Christopher J. Preston ...

Imagining a future in which humans fundamentally reshape the natural world using nanotechnology, synthetic biology, de-extinction, and climate engineering.We have all heard that there are no longer any places left on Earth untouched by humans. The significance of this goes beyond statistics documenting melting glaciers and shrinking species counts. It signals a new geological epoch. In The ... Read more

$12.99 USD

Imagining a future in which humans fundamentally reshape the natural world using nanotechnology, synthetic biology, de-extinction, and climate engineering.We have all heard that there are no longer any places left on Earth untouched by humans. The significance of this goes beyond statistics documenting melting glaciers and shrinking species counts. It signals a new geological epoch. In The
... Read more

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