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Recommendations based on Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streetsby Sudhir Venkatesh
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
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)
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
by Michael Lewis
How an unconventional approach to baseball changed the competitive landscape.
Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball , had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every ... (Goodreads)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X
A gripping account of one man's transformation from criminal to civil rights leader.
Alternate cover for ISBN 9780345350688 Through a life of passion and struggle, Malcolm X became one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. In this riveting account, he tells of his ... (Goodreads)
Liar's Poker
by Michael Lewis
A Wall Street insider's look at the culture of high finance and the dynamics of the markets.
The time was the 1980s. The place was Wall Street. The game was called Liar’s Poker. Michael Lewis was fresh out of Princeton and the London School of Economics when he landed a job at Salomon ... (Goodreads)
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
by Christopher McDougall
A thrilling exploration of the Tarahumara tribe and their superhuman running abilities.
Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does ... (Goodreads)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (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 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)
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
by Vincent Bugliosi
A detailed account of the Manson Family and their brutal murders, as well as the trial that followed.
Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial, Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the twentieth century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca ... (Goodreads)
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
by Barry Schwartz
An exploration of how the abundance of choice in modern life can lead to unhappiness and paralysis.
In the spirit of Alvin Tofflers' Future Shock , a social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret. Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ... (Goodreads)
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by Matthew Desmond
An exploration of eviction’s devastating consequences on the lives of the urban poor.
NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF, TIME,’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • One of the most acclaimed books of our time, this modern classic “has set a ... (Barnes & Noble)
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson
A man's mission to build schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan to promote peace.
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard Anyone who despairs of the individual’s ... (Goodreads)
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Exploration of the modern food chain, examining the impact of food choices on our health and the environment.
What should we have for dinner? The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire , how we answer it today, at ... (Goodreads)
When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
by Roger Lowenstein
The story of the hedge fund that almost brought down the financial system in 1998, and the hubris and greed that led to its downfall.
With a new Afterword addressing today’s financial crisis A BUSINESS WEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR In this business classic—now with a new Afterword in which the author draws parallels to the recent ... (Goodreads)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander
Exploring the roots and reality of systemic racism in the U.S. criminal justice system.
"Jarvious Cotton's great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting ... (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)
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
by Richard H. Thaler
A groundbreaking exploration of how subtle influences can shape decisions and improve people's lives.
From the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics, Richard H. Thaler, and Cass R. Sunstein: a revelatory look at how we make decisions,New York Times bestseller,Named a Best Book of the Year by, ... (Goodreads)
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
A comprehensive study of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, and the unique cabinet he assembled.
Winner of the Lincoln Prize Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from ... (Goodreads)
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
by Thomas L. Friedman
An exploration of the rapid globalization of the world, and the implications of this shift.
When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now, and they come to the chapter Y2K to March 2004 , what will they say was the most crucial development? The attacks on the World ... (Goodreads)
Paris to the Moon
by Adam Gopnik
A collection of essays about the author's experiences living in Paris with his family. It explores the city's culture, history, and daily life.
With singular wit and insight, Gopnik weaves the magical with the mundane in a wholly delightful, often hilarious look at what it was to be an American family man in Paris at the end of the twentieth ... (Goodreads)
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
by Steve Martin
A memoir of the comedian's rise to fame, from the early days of stand-up comedy to the heights of success.
In the midseventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. This book is, in his own words, the ... (Goodreads)
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
by Mark Bowden
A detailed account of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, where US soldiers fought Somali militia in a brutal urban warfare.
On October 3, 1993, about a hundred U.S. soldiers were dropped by helicopter into a teeming market in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia, to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. The action ... (Goodreads)
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder
A story of one man's journey to fight poverty, illness, and injustice around the world.
At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, ... (Goodreads)
A People's History of the United States
by Howard Zinn
An examination of American history from a perspective of marginalized people.
In the book, Zinn presented a different side of history from the more traditional "fundamental nationalist glorification of country". Zinn portrays a side of American history that can largely be seen ... (Goodreads)
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J.D. Vance
An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)
SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
by Steven D. Levitt
An exploration of human behavior and economics, challenging accepted social norms and traditional wisdom.
The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling over four million copies in thirty-five languages and changing the way we look at the world. Now, Steven D. Levitt and ... (Goodreads)
Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw
by Mark Bowden
The pursuit of Pablo Escobar and his criminal empire by Colombian and American forces.
A tour de force of investigative journalism-this is the story of the violent rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin cocaine cartel. Escobar's criminal empire held a nation ... (Goodreads)
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America
by Thomas King
A witty and insightful examination of the relationship between Native Americans and the dominant culture of North America.
The Inconvenient Indian is at once a “history” and the complete subversion of a history—in short, a critical and personal meditation that the remarkable Thomas King has conducted over the past 50 ... (Goodreads)
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking
Exploring the depths of time and space and the emergence of the universe.
In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold ... (Goodreads)
Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
by Bill Buford
A culinary journey of personal & professional growth, from apprentice to master.
The book that helped define a genre: Heat is a beloved culinary classic, an adventure in the kitchen and into Italian cuisine, by Bill Buford, author of Dirt . Bill Buford was a highly acclaimed ... (Barnes & Noble)
