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Why the West Rules For Now
The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future
An archaeologist and historian offers his view on why the West has dominated the globe for the past two hundred years and whether or not its power will last, examining the past fifty thousand years of human history and predicting what the next one hundred years will bring.
News and Reviews
Cows Save the Planet
And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth
This book explains the role of soil in ecology and the economy, and reveals how treating soil in an environmentally sensitive way can bring about positive changes with respect to climate change, biodiversity loss, obesity, and other crises.
News and Reviews
The Deserters
A Hidden History of World War II
A narrative history of World War II from the perspective of deserters reveals how desertion was often experienced as a natural part of conflict, sharing the stories of a decorated soldier-turned-gangster and a three-time deserter who eventually lost his legs in combat.
News and Reviews
American Gun
A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms
Former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle examines the most important American firearms. He uses them as a window into United States history and shows how the American story has been tied to, and shaped by, guns.
News and Reviews
Out of Our Heads
Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness
A noted philosopher and member of the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Science examines flaws in current understandings about consciousness while proposing a radical solution that argues that consciousness must not be limited to the confines of the brain.
News and Reviews
One and Only
The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One
A prominent journalist, only child, and mother of an only child presents a case in support of one-child family life, offering perspectives on how single-child families can benefit the economy and environment while promoting child and parent autonomy.
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The Finish
The Killing of Osama Bin Laden
The Finish recounts the hunt for Osama bin Laden. It draws on primary sources to trace how key decisions were made leading up to his death, and reveals events from the perspectives of President Obama and an increasingly despondent bin Laden.
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The Telling Room
A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese
The author of the best-selling Driving Mr. Albert recounts his visit to the medieval Castilian village of Guzman as part of a decade-long effort to taste the world's finest cheese, an encounter that involved him in long-held regional secrets and the story of a heartbroken genius cheesemaker.
News and Reviews
The Black Count
Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, And The Real Count Of Monte Cristo
Gen. Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was one of the heroes of the French Revolution, leading armies of thousands in triumph through the snows of the Alps and the sands of Egypt. Today, he is almost forgotten, though he lives on in his son's stories. The son of a Haitian slave and a French nobleman, this mixed-race swordsman was the father of novelist Alexandre Dumas, and his adventures helped inspire The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Tom Reiss' biography of the elder Dumas explores the real-life adventures behind these classic novels.NPR Bestseller
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Why Does The World Exist?
An Existential Detective Story
The search for the origins of the universe extends beyond God and the Big Bang theory; a philosopher explores the bizarre possibilities inspired by physicists, theologians, mathematicians and even novelists.NPR Bestseller
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The Swerve
How the World Became Modern
A humanities professor describes the impact of the translation of the last remaining manuscript of On the Nature of Things by Roman philosopher Lucretius, which fueled the Renaissance and inspired artists, great thinkers and scientists.NPR Bestseller, Literary Award Winner
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In The Garden Of Beasts
Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
The best-selling author of Devil in the White City documents the efforts of William E. Dodd, the first American ambassador to Hitler's Germany, to acclimate to a residence in an increasingly violent city where he is forced to associate with the Nazis while his daughter pursues a relationship with Gestapo chief Rudolf Diels. NPR Bestseller
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The Long Walk
A Story of War and the Life That Follows
A memoir by a bomb-disposal veteran of the Iraq War traces his three tours of duty in the Middle East and his team's daily life-threatening efforts to stop roadside bombers, sharing additional coverage of the challenges he faced while reacclimating to civilian life. 75,000 first printing.
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The Billionaire's Apprentice
The Rise of the Indian-American Elite and the Fall of the Galleon Hedge Fund
Depicts the collapse of a multi-billion dollar South Asian hedge fund due to insider trading and describes the case brought against them by the son of Indian immigrants who went up against the corporation's founder.
News and Reviews
The Oath
The Obama White House and the Supreme Court
President Obama and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts both went to Harvard Law School and worked on the Harvard Law Review, but their similar legal backgrounds have led to dramatically different conclusions. Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Nine, presents an insider's account of an ideological war between the Roberts Supreme Court and the Obama administration. Toobin argues that the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision and the Affordable Care Act ruling show how the Constitution is being reinterpreted — and how Supreme Court precedent is being quickly overturned.NPR Bestseller
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What Soldiers Do
Sex and the American GI in World War II France
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Escape From Camp 14
One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West
Until his early 20s, the only life Shin Dong-hyuk had ever known was one of constant beatings, near starvation and snitching on others to survive. Born into one of the worst of North Korea's system of prison camps, Shin was doomed to a life of hard labor and an early death. But when he was 23, he managed to elude the guards and escape. Reporter Blaine Harden tells the tale of Shin's imprisonment and astounding getaway.NPR Bestseller
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Double Cross
The True Story of the D-Day Spies
Early in 1944, American, British and Canadian soldiers gathered in Southern England and prepared to invade Nazi-occupied Europe. It was hard to hide the largest invasion force in history, so Great Britain instead tried to deceive the Germans into believing that the D-Day attacks would be anywhere but Normandy. As Ben MacIntyre explains, a sophisticated operation of deception began, in which extraordinary spies — including untrustworthy double agents, West End set designers and at least one pigeon handler — successfully fooled the Germans and saved thousands of lives.NPR Bestseller
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Brotherhood
Dharma, Destiny, and the American Dream
Traces the lives of the Chopra brothers from India to the United States, where they both excelled in healing, one as a world-renowned spiritual teacher, the other as a professor at Harvard Medical School.
News and Reviews
American Bee
The National Spelling Bee And the Culture Of Word Nerds: The Lives Of Five Top Spellers As They Compete For Glory And Fame
A narrative portrait of the America's national spelling bee competition offers insight into its subculture of young wordsmiths, competitive parents, and spectator tension, sharing the stories of five top contestants to offer insight into their ambitions and winning strategies.
News and Reviews
Tubes
A Journey To The Center Of The Internet
Journalist Andrew Blum journeys inside the Internet's physical infrastructure to uncover the buildings and compounds where our data are stored and transmitted. He explains how the Internet is not a single entity; instead, data centers, Internet exchange points and fiber-optic cables combine to form what most people take for granted as the "cloud." Along the way, Blum documents the spaces most vital to the Internet as we know it — from the room in L.A. where the Internet came to life to the buildings in the Pacific Northwest where Google, Microsoft and Facebook have built huge data centers.
News and Reviews
A Death in the Lucky Holiday Hotel
Murder, Money, and an Epic Power Struggle in China
Pin Ho and Wenguang Huang document the scandalous corruption of the Bo Xilai family while offering insight into its implications at the height of a transformational power shift in China. The writers draw on high-level sources and insider information to cover such topics as the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, Bo's celebrity lovers and his wife's trial.
News and Reviews
The Gateway Arch
A Biography
A surprising history of the spectacular Gateway Arch in St. Louis details the competing agendas of its supporters and the mixed results of their ambitious plan.
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The Last of the Doughboys
The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War
Richard Rubin presents interviews with the last remaining World War I veterans, aged 101 to 113, to paint a picture of a time and a generation that, despite memorials and history lessons, is quickly fading away.
News and Reviews
Cooked
A Natural History of Transformation
Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. There, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements — fire, water, air and earth — to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. And he discovers that the cook occupies a special place in the world, standing squarely between nature and culture.NPR Bestseller
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The Guns At Last Light
The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945
The final volume of the World War II trilogy brings to life the Allies' brutal struggles in Normandy and at the Battle of the Bulge. It also illustrates the freeing of Paris as experienced by participants from every level of the military.NPR Bestseller
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Help, Thanks, Wow
The Three Essential Survival Prayers
Help, Thanks, Wow describes the three simple prayers — asking for assistance from a higher power, expressing gratitude and feeling awe — that help to deal with the hardships of daily life.NPR Bestseller
