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Recommendations based on The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?by Jared Diamond
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
by Jared Diamond
Study of past societies' successes and failures in terms of environmental, economic, and political decisions.
Brilliant, illuminating, and immensely absorbing, Collapse is destined to take its place as one of the essential books of our time, raising the urgent question: How can our world best avoid ... (Goodreads)
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond
Tracing the origins of human civilizations through the lens of geography, technology, and biology.
"Diamond has written a book of remarkable scope ... one of the most important and readable works on the human past published in recent years." Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a national bestseller: ... (Goodreads)
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
An exploration of the two systems of the mind, and how they influence decision-making.
In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow , Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and ... (Goodreads)
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
An exploration of how disorder and chaos can lead to strength and resilience.
From the bestselling author of The Black Swan and one of the foremost philosophers of our time, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a book on how some systems actually benefit from disorder. In The Black Swan ... (Goodreads)
The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal
by Jared Diamond
Study of the evolution and history of the human species, exploring its relationship with other primates.
At some point during the last 100,000 years, humans began exhibiting traits and behavior that distinguished us from other animals, eventually creating language, art, religion, bicycles, spacecraft, ... (Goodreads)
Why Evolution Is True
by Jerry A. Coyne
Comprehensive exploration of the evidence for evolutionary biology.
Why evolution is more than just a theory: it is a fact. In all the current highly publicized debates about creationism and its descendant "intelligent design," there is an element of the controversy ... (Goodreads)
The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins
A study of evolutionary biology, exploring how genes act and how they impact behavior.
Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The ... (Goodreads)
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A study of the role of randomness in life, and how it can lead to unexpected events.
A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear ... (Goodreads)
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
by Steven Pinker
Investigation into the causes of violence and the reasons why it has decreased in modern society.
Believe it or not, today we may be living in the most peaceful moment in our species' existence. In his gripping and controversial new work, New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows that ... (Goodreads)
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
by James Gleick
A comprehensive history of the development of information technology, from ancient times to the digital age.
James Gleick, the author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius , now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly: a revelatory chronicle and meditation that shows how information has become the ... (Goodreads)
The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
by Richard Dawkins
A journey through the history of life on Earth, tracing the emergence of species.
The renowned biologist and thinker Richard Dawkins presents his most expansive work yet: a comprehensive look at evolution, ranging from the latest developments in the field to his own provocative ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are - The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology
by Robert Wright
A scientific exploration of how evolutionary psychology shapes human behavior and morality.
Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animal one of the most provocative science books in recent ... (Goodreads)
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by Richard Dawkins
An exploration of the evidence and science of evolution, highlighting its importance in understanding the history of life on Earth.
Charles Darwin’s masterpiece, On the Origin of Species , shook society to its core on publication in 1859. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke but he would ... (Goodreads)
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
by Daron Acemoğlu
Examination of the economic and political forces that shape the success and failure of nations.
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail, answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health ... (Goodreads)
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America
by Thomas L. Friedman
Urges for a green revolution to combat climate change, population growth, and globalization. Provides solutions for a sustainable future.
In this brilliant, essential book, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas L. Friedman speaks to America's urgent need for national renewal and explains how a green revolution can bring about both a ... (Goodreads)
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A critical examination of the impact of randomness/chance in life and financial markets.
Fooled by Randomness, is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a ... (Goodreads)
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
Re-examination of the pre-Columbian Americas, uncovering new evidence of its history.
In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.,Contrary to what so many ... (Goodreads)
The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
by Ray Kurzweil
A futurist's prediction of a technological singularity where humans merge with machines, leading to a new era of evolution.
For over three decades, Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future. In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines , he argued ... (Goodreads)
The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos
by Brian Greene
A groundbreaking exploration of the multiple universes that may exist beyond our own.
From the best-selling author of, The Elegant Universe, and, The Fabric of the Cosmos, comes his most expansive and accessible book to date—a book that takes on the grandest question: Is ours the only ... (Goodreads)
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't
by Nate Silver
An exploration of the art and science of prediction, examining why some predictions succeed while others fail.
Nate Silver built an innovative system for predicting baseball performance, predicted the 2008 election within a hair's breadth. He solidified his standing as the nation's foremost political ... (Goodreads)
Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
by Yuval Noah Harari
An exploration of humanity's future, and the potential paths of our species.
Yuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed, New York Times, bestseller and international phenomenon, Sapiens, returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning ... (Goodreads)
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
by Charles Duhigg
Uncovering the science of habit formation and how to use it to achieve success.
A young woman walks into a laboratory. Over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. She has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. The patterns ... (Goodreads)
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
by Jonathan Haidt
Exploring the underlying moral foundations of political and religious beliefs and how they shape our views.
An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780307377906 can be found, here., Why can’t our political leaders work together as threats loom and problems mount? Why do people so readily assume the worst about ... (Goodreads)
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
A captivating overview of the natural sciences, spanning the history of the universe.
In Bryson's biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory ... (Goodreads)
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
by Brad Stone
The story of Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, from its humble beginnings to becoming one of the world's largest companies.
The definitive story of Amazon.com, one of the most successful companies in the world, and of its driven, brilliant founder, Jeff Bezos. Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But ... (Goodreads)
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right
by Arlie Russell Hochschild
An exploration of the deep story of the American Right, uncovering the feelings and motivations that drive it.
In Strangers in Their Own Land , the renowned sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild embarks on a thought-provoking journey from her liberal hometown of Berkeley, California, deep into Louisiana bayou ... (Goodreads)
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A comprehensive account of the history and science of cancer, from its origins to modern treatments.
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found, here, and, here,. The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented ... (Goodreads)
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
by Brian Greene
An exploration of space and time in the physical world, looking at the fundamental laws of the universe.
From Brian Greene, one of the world’s leading physicists and author the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Elegant Universe , comes a grand tour of the universe that makes us look at reality in a completely ... (Goodreads)
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate
by Naomi Klein
Examination of global capitalism's role in exacerbating climate change and potential solutions.
Forget everything you think you know about global warming. It's not about carbon—it's about capitalism. The good news is that we can seize this crisis to transform our failed economic system and ... (Goodreads)
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World
by Michael Lewis
A journey through the economic crisis in Europe and the United States, and its global implications.
The tsunami of cheap credit that rolled across the planet between 2002 and 2008 was more than a simple financial phenomenon: it was temptation, offering entire societies the chance to reveal aspects ... (Goodreads)
