Smarter

Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin, three men of one generation who changed history, each of whom acknowledged their debts to their mothers as influences crucial to their paths. And yet, these mothers — Louise, Alberta and Berdis —...

'It's just a brute fact that we don't throw virgins into volcanoes any more. We don't execute people for shoplifting a cabbage. And we used to.'-Steven Pinker 'The idea that because things have gotten better in the past they will continue to do so in the...

An instant New York Times Bestseller!“Unreasonably entertaining . . . reveals how geometric thinking can allow for everything from fairer American elections to better pandemic planning.” —The New York...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • An enduring account of joy and sorrow from one of the great writers of our time, The New Yorker’s Kathryn Schulz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.“I...

Adorned with stunning full-colour illustrations, the first volume of the graphic adaptation of Harari’s bestselling Sapiens charts the origins of humankind up until the rise of empires.   One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER   This second volume of Sapiens: A Graphic History, the full-color graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari’s #1 New York Times bestseller, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution—when humans fell into a trap we’ve yet to escape:...

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A renowned historian traces the life of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women to craft a “deeply layered and...

From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. Millions visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. Fans ask him a lot of strange...

Eighty Black writers and 10 Black poets, 400 years of history, told in five-year increments — this is a work of counterpoint and panorama, a book wholly its own, wonderfully unique. Read it slowly and with intention, allowing the voices and histories to...

(Available after 3-20 days)Bestselling author and creativity expert Jeff Goins dismantles the myth that being creative is a hindrance to success by revealing how an artistic temperament is in fact a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The Starving...

From Norman Davies, the acclaimed author of Europe: A History, comes the magical history of Europe's lost realms, selected as a Book of the Year by the Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, Independent, Guardian and Financial Times. Europe's...

'Utterly fascinating' -- Daisy Goodwin, Sunday TimesBenjamin Franklin took daily naked air baths and Toulouse-Lautrec painted in brothels. Edith Sitwell worked in bed, and George Gershwin composed at the piano in pyjamas. Freud worked sixteen hours a...

Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock?Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our...

“One of the deepest, most illuminating books about the history of life to have been published in recent years.” —The Economist. The Earth teems with life: in its oceans, forests, skies and cities. Yet there’s a black hole at the...

The Courage to Write is an invaluable book and essential reading for anyone who wishes to learn how to write well.Katherine Anne Porter called courage "the first essential" for a writer. "I have to talk myself into bravery with every sentence," agreed...

A New York Times bestseller: "A passionate and convincing case for the sophistication of nonhuman minds." —Alison Gopnik, The Atlantic   Hailed as a classic, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of...

The irresistible, ever-curious, and always best-selling Mary Roach returns with a new adventure to the invisible realm we carry around inside.   “America’s funniest science writer” (Washington Post) takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour. The...

(Available after 3-20 days)Being wrong is an inescapable part of being alive. And yet we go through life tacitly assuming (or loudly insisting) that we are right about nearly everything - from our political beliefs to our private memories, from our grasp...

The New York Times bestseller that's changing America's diet is now perfect for younger readers"What's for dinner?" seemed like a simple question-until journalist and supermarket detective Michael Pollan delved behind the scenes. From fast food and big...

UPDATED FOR 2020 WITH A NEW PREFACE BY NATE SILVER"One of the more momentous books of the decade." —The New York Times Book ReviewNate Silver built an innovative system for predicting baseball performance, predicted the 2008 election within a hair’s...