-Titulo Original : Tales Of Two Americas Stories Of Inequality In A Divided Nation-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: Thirty-six major contemporary writers examine life in a deeply divided America-including Anthony Doerr, Ann Patchett, Roxane Gay, Rebecca Solnit, Hector Tobar, Joyce Carol Oates, Edwidge Danticat, Richard Russo, Eula Bliss, Karen Russell, and many more America is broken. You don’t need a fistful of statistics to know this. Visit any city, and evidence of our shattered social compact will present itself. From Appalachia to the Rust Belt and down to rural Texas, the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest stretches to unimaginable chasms. Whether the cause of this inequality is systemic injustice, the entrenchment of racism in our culture, the long war on drugs, or immigration policies, it endangers not only the American Dream but our very lives. In Tales of Two Americas, some of the literary world’s most exciting writers look beyond numbers and wages to convey what it feels like to live in this divided nation. Their extraordinarily powerful stories, essays, and poems demonstrate how boundaries break down when experiences are shared, and that in sharing our stories we can help to alleviate a suffering that touches so many people. Review A brilliant anthology... There is so much excellent writing in the pages of Tales of Two Americas. -Salon“Poignant and profound, Tales of Two Americas… unites a multiplicity of voices into a powerful rallying cry.”-NPR.orgEach contribution stands out. Each voice is unique. The only common threads in the collection are theme and excellence... This anthology is spectacular and devastating and provocative. -Minneapolis Star Tribune“…masterful and affecting stories, essays, and poems by 36 writers profoundly attuned to the sources and implications of social rupture. These are sharply inquisitive and provocative works…” -Booklist (starred review)“Urgent, worthy reportage from our fractious, volatile social and cultural moment.” -Kirkus About the Author John Freeman is the editor of Freemans, a literary biannual of new writing, and executive editor of Lit Hub. His books include How to Read a Novelist and The Tyranny of E-mail, as well as Tales of Two Cities, an anthology of new writing about inequality in New York City today. His latest book is Maps, a collection of poems. His work is translated into more than twenty languages, and has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The New York Times. The former editor of Granta, he teaches writing at The New School and New York University...

-Titulo Original : The Inevitable Understanding The 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: “A quintessential work of technological futurism.” - James Surowiecki, strategy business, “Best Business Books 2017 - Innovation”From one of our leading technology thinkers and writers, a guide through the twelve technological imperatives that will shape the next thirty years and transform our livesMuch of what will happen in the next thirty years is inevitable, driven by technological trends that are already in motion. In this fascinating, provocative new book, Kevin Kelly provides an optimistic road map for the future, showing how the coming changes in our lives-from virtual reality in the home to an on-demand economy to artificial intelligence embedded in everything we manufacture-can be understood as the result of a few long-term, accelerating forces. Kelly both describes these deep trends-interacting, cognifying, flowing, screening, accessing, sharing, filtering, remixing, tracking, and questioning-and demonstrates how they overlap and are codependent on one another. These larger forces will completely revolutionize the way we buy, work, learn, and communicate with each other. By understanding and embracing them, says Kelly, it will be easier for us to remain on top of the coming wave of changes and to arrange our day-to-day relationships with technology in ways that bring forth maximum benefits. Kelly’s bright, hopeful book will be indispensable to anyone who seeks guidance on where their business, industry, or life is heading-what to invent, where to work, in what to invest, how to better reach customers, and what to begin to put into place-as this new world emerges. Review “A quintessential work of technological futurism . . . what’s valuable about The Inevitable, from a business perspective, is less what it says about how to innovate, and more what it says about where to innovate.” - James Surowiecki, strategy business, “Best Business Books 2017 - Innovation” Anyone can claim to be a prophet, a fortune teller, or a futurist, and plenty of people do. What makes Kevin Kelly different is that hes right. In this book, youre swept along by his clear prose and unassailable arguments until it finally hits you: The technological, cultural, and societal changes he’s foreseeing really are inevitable. It’s like having a crystal ball, only without the risk of shattering. -David Pogue, Tech This book offers profound insight into what happens (soon!) when intelligence flows as easily into objects as electricity. -Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail “How will the future be made? Kevin Kelly argues that the sequence of events ensuing from technical innovation has its own momentum . . . and that our best strategy is to understand and embrace it. Whether you find this prospect wonderful or terrifying, you will want to read this extremely thought-provoking book.”-Brian Eno, musician and composerKevin Kelly has been predicting our technological future with uncanny prescience for years. Now hes given us a glimpse of how the next three decades will unfold with The Inevitable, a book jam-packed with insight, ideas, and optimism.-Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One As exhilarating as the most outlandish science fiction novel, but based on very real trends. Kevin Kelly is the perfect tour guide for this life-changing future. -Mark Frauenfelder, Boing Boing Creating a fictional future is easy; Kevin Kelly makes a habit of doing the difficult by showing us where were actually going. The Inevitable is an eye-opening roadmap for what lies ahead. Science fiction is on its way to becoming science fact. -Hugh Howey, author of Wool“Automatic must-read.” -Marc Andreessen, co-founder Andreessen Horowitz About the Author Kevin Kellyhelped launch Wired magazine and was its executive editor for its first seven years. He has written for The New York Times, The Economist, Science, Time, and The Wall Street Journal among many other publications. H...

-Titulo Original : Coders The Making Of A New Tribe And The Remaking Of The World-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: s algorithms shaping the news. Self-driving cars roaming the streets. Revolution on Twitter and romance on Tinder. We live in a world constructed of code--and coders are the ones who built it for us. Programmers shape our everyday behavior: When they make something easy to do, we do more of it. When they make it hard or impossible, we do less of it. From acclaimed tech writer Clive Thompson comes a brilliant anthropological reckoning with the most powerful tribe in the world today, computer programmers, in a book that interrogates who they are, how they think, what qualifies as greatness in their world, and what should give us pause.In pop culture and media, the people who create the code that rules our world are regularly portrayed in hackneyed, simplified terms, as ciphers in hoodies. Thompson goes far deeper, taking us close to some of the great programmers of our time, including the creators of s News Feed, , Googles cutting-edge AI, and more. Speaking to everyone from revered 10X elites to neophytes, back-end engineers and front-end designers, Thompson explores the distinctive psychology of this vocation--which combines a love of logic, an obsession with efficiency, the joy of puzzle-solving, and a superhuman tolerance for mind-bending frustration. Along the way, Coders ponders the morality and politics of code, including its implications for civic life and the economy and the major controversies of our era. In accessible, erudite prose, Thompson unpacks the surprising history of the field, beginning with the first coders -- brilliant and pioneering women, who, despite crafting some of the earliest personal computers and programming languages, were later written out of history. At the same time, the book deftly illustrates how programming has become a marvelous new art form--a source of delight and creativity, not merely danger. To get as close to his subject as possible, Thompson picks up the thread of his own long-abandoned coding skills as he reckons, in his signature, highly personal style, with what superb programming looks like. To understand the world today, we need to understand code and its consequences. With Coders, Thompson gives a definitive look into the heart of the machine. Review “Fascinating. Thompson is an excellent writer and his subjects are themselves gripping. . . . [W]hat Thompson does differently is to get really close to the people he writes about: it’s the narrative equivalent of Technicolor, 3D and the microscope. . . . People who interact with coders routinely, as colleagues, friends or family, could benefit tremendously from these insights.” -Nature “With an anthropologist’s eye, [Thompson] outlines [coders’] different personality traits, their history and cultural touchstones. He explores how they live, what motivates them and what they fight about. By breaking down what the actual world of coding looks like . . . he removes the mystery and brings it into the legible world for the rest of us to debate. Human beings and their foibles are the reason the internet is how it is-for better and often, as this book shows, for worse.” -The New York Times Book Review“An outstanding author and long-form journalist. . . . I particularly enjoyed [Thompson’s] section on automation.” -Tim Ferriss “The best survey to date of this world and its people . . . An avalanche of profiles, stories, quips, and anecdotes in this beautifully reported book returns us constantly to people, their stories, their hopes and thrills and disappointments. . . . Fun to read, this book knows its stuff.” -The Philadelphia Inquirer“[An] enjoyable primer on the world of computer programmers. . . . Coders are building the infrastructure on which twenty-first century society rests, and their work has every chance of surviving as long, and being as important, as the Brooklyn Bridge-or, for that matter, the Constitution.” -Bookforum “Thompson delivers again with this...

-Titulo Original : What Technology Wants-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: Review A bold new book ... an engaging journey through the history of the technium, a term [Kelly] uses to describe the global, massively interconnected system of technology vibrating around us. -The New York Times Book Review Kevin Kelly radically rethinks the relationship between humans and technology ... Kellys concept of the technium and his description of how it attains autonomy are original and timely. -Nature ... an exuberant book. -The Washington Post ...consistently provocative and intriguing. -The Economist From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Inevitable- a sweeping vision of technology as a living force that can expand our individual potential In this provocative book, one of todays most respected thinkers turns the conversation about technology on its head by viewing technology as a natural system, an extension of biological evolution. By mapping the behavior of life, we paradoxically get a glimpse at where technology is headed-or what it wants. Kevin Kelly offers a dozen trajectories in the coming decades for this near-living system. And as we align ourselves with technologys agenda, we can capture its colossal potential. This visionary and optimistic book explores how technology gives our lives greater meaning and is a must-read for anyone curious about the future. About the Author Kevin Kelly is the cofounder of Wired magazine and was its executive editor for its first seven years. He has written for The New York Times, The Economist, Science, Time, and The Wall Street Journal. His previous books include the bestselling New Rules for the New Economy...

-Titulo Original : The Code Silicon Valley And The Remaking Of America-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: One of New York Magazines best books on Silicon Valley!The true, behind-the-scenes history of the people who built Silicon Valley and shaped Big Tech in America Long before Margaret OMara became one of our most consequential historians of the American-led digital revolution, she worked in the White House of Bill Clinton and Al Gore in the earliest days of the commercial Internet. There she saw firsthand how deeply intertwined Silicon Valley was with the federal government--and always had been--and how shallow the common understanding of the secrets of the Valleys success actually was. Now, after almost five years of pioneering research, OMara has produced the definitive history of Silicon Valley for our time, the story of mavericks and visionaries, but also of powerful institutions creating the framework for innovation, from the Pentagon to Stanford University. It is also a story of a community that started off remarkably homogeneous and tight-knit and stayed that way, and whose belief in its own mythology has deepened into a collective hubris that has led to astonishing triumphs as well as devastating second-order effects.Deploying a wonderfully rich and diverse cast of protagonists, from the justly famous to the unjustly obscure, across four generations of explosive growth in the Valley, from the forties to the present, OMara has wrestled one of the most fateful developments in modern American history into magnificent narrative form. She is on the ground with all of the key tech companies, chronicling the evolution in their offerings through each successive era, and she has a profound fingertip feel for the politics of the sector and its relation to the larger cultural narrative about tech as it has evolved over the years. Perhaps most impressive, OMara has penetrated the inner kingdom of tech venture capital firms, the insular and still remarkably old-boy world that became the cockpit of American capitalism and the crucible for bringing technological innovation to market, or not. The transformation of big tech into the engine room of the American economy and the nexus of so many of our hopes and dreams--and, increasingly, our nightmares--can be understood, in Margaret OMaras masterful hands, as the story of one California valley. As her majestic history makes clear, its fate is the fate of us all. Review Shortlisted for the J. Anthony Lukas Book PrizeA Financial Times Best Book of 2019A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019Longlisted for the Porchlight Business Book Awards 2019 “How an otherwise unexceptional swath of suburbia came to rule the world is the central question animating “The Code,” Margaret O’Mara’s accessible yet sophisticated chronicle of Silicon Valley. An academic historian blessed with a journalist’s prose, O’Mara focuses less on the actual technology than on the people and policies that ensured its success. . . . O’Mara toggles deftly between character studies and the larger regulatory and political milieu.” -New York Times Book Review Condensing this range of stories into a compact narrative isn’t a task for the timid, but Margaret O’Mara, a historian at the University of Washington, has pulled off the feat with panache in The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. She distills voluminous monographs and biographies, newspaper articles and trade-industry publications, unpublished company materials and transcripts that she gleaned from various university archives into a briskly paced narrative. She also enlivens the book with the reflections of dozens of participants who played roles in the Valley early on, obtained through interviews she conducted and from oral histories collected by others. . . . The Code is a wise chronicle of the accretion and deployment of power and is especially sharp in tracking the Valley’s evolving relationship to Washington, D.C. By taking the long view, Ms. O’Mara provides us with the ability to see the roots of contemporary ...

-Titulo Original : Triumph Of The City How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, And Happier-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Best Book of the Year Award in 2011“A masterpiece.” -Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics“Bursting with insights.” -The New York Times Book ReviewA pioneering urban economist presents a myth-shattering look at the majesty and greatness of citiesAmerica is an urban nation, yet cities get a bad rap: theyre dirty, poor, unhealthy, environmentally unfriendly . . . or are they? In this revelatory book, Edward Glaeser, a leading urban economist, declares that cities are actually the healthiest, greenest, and richest (in both cultural and economic terms) places to live. He travels through history and around the globe to reveal the hidden workings of cities and how they bring out the best in humankind. Using intrepid reportage, keen analysis, and cogent argument, Glaeser makes an urgent, eloquent case for the citys importance and splendor, offering inspiring proof that the city is humanitys greatest creation and our best hope for the future. Review “A masterpiece.” -Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics“Bursting with insights.” -The New York Times Book Review About the Author Edward L. Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He studies the economics of cities, housing, segregation, obesity, crime, innovation and other subjects, and writes about many of these issues for Economix. He serves as the director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston. He is also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1992...

-Titulo Original : Tools And Weapons The Promise And The Peril Of The Digital Age-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: The New York Times bestseller, now updated with new material on cyber attacks, digital sovereignty, and tech in a pandemic.From Microsofts president and one of the tech industrys broadest thinkers, a frank and thoughtful reckoning with how to balance enormous promise and existential risk as the digitization of everything accelerates.“A colorful and insightful insiders’ view of how technology is both empowering and threatening us. From privacy to cyberattacks, this timely book is a useful guide for how to navigate the digital future.” -Walter IsaacsonMicrosoft president Brad Smith operates by a simple core belief: When your technology changes the world, you bear a responsibility to help address the world you have helped create. In Tools and Weapons, Brad Smith and Carol Ann Browne bring us a captivating narrative from the top of Microsoft, as the company flies in the face of a tech sector long obsessed with disruption as an end in itself, and in doing so navigates some of the thorniest issues of our time-from privacy to cyberwar to the challenges for democracy, far and near. As the tumultuous events of 2020 brought technology and Big Tech even further into the lives of almost all Americans, Smith and Browne updated the book throughout to reflect a changed world. With three new chapters on cybersecurity, technology and nation-states, and tech in the pandemic, Tools and Weapons is an invaluable resource from the cockpit of one of the world’s largest tech companies. Review “A clear, compelling guide to some of the most pressing debates in technology today.” -Bill Gates, from the foreword “Taming Big Tech will not be easy, but this book . . . shows where to start.” -The Financial Times “Smith’s book is not the typical vanity project churned out by so many Fortune 500 leaders, the generic tomes on leadership and teamwork stocked at airport bookstores near the neck pillows. Tools and Weapons is a glimpse behind the curtain as Microsoft reckoned with the Snowden revelations, defended against the vicious cyberattacks, and took both the Obama and Trump administrations to court.” -Rolling Stone“‘When your technology changes the world,’ writes Smith, ‘you bear a responsibility to help address the world you have helped create.’ In Tools and Weapons, Smith and co-author Carol Ann Browne, make a persuasive, pragmatic case for owning that responsibility, in everything from digital privacy and surveillance to cybersecurity and social fragmentation to artificial intelligence and facial-recognition technology.” -Seattle Times “Casual readers who know Microsoft primarily for Windows, Office and maybe Xbox will be surprised by the level of insight Smith brings to some of the biggest issues facing not just the industry but humanity. [Tools and Weapons] is written for a mass market, not just tech and policy wonks. It offers a framework for everyday readers to understand and think about the implications of powerful new forms of technology. . . . It’s full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, from internal Microsoft meetings to high-level sessions at the Obama and Trump White Houses. It makes ample use of historical references to put modern trends and technologies in context.” -GeekWire“Coming from an industry driven by disruption, it’s refreshing to read Brad Smith’s call for the tech sector to assume more responsibility. In Tools and Weapons, Brad and Carol Ann Browne wrestle with some of the world’s toughest technology challenges with common sense and valuable insight reflecting their inside experience. The ideas in Tools and Weapons won’t solve all our problems, but they’re a very good place to start.” -Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix “At a time when many leaders in tech want to avoid a discussion of the social, economic, and security ramifications of the products they’ve built, it’s refreshing to see Brad Smith step up, urge the industry to take action, and acknowledge the need for smart regulation. This book of...

-Titulo Original : A First-rate Madness Uncovering The Links Between Leadership And Mental Illness-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: The New York Times bestseller“A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders . . .” -The Boston Globe“A provocative thesis . . . Ghaemi’s book deserves high marks for original thinking.” -The Washington Post“Provocative, fascinating.” -Salon Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike: Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: The very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincolns depressive realism to the lackluster leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind. Review “A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders . . . A First-Rate Madness is carefully plotted and sensibly argued.” -The Boston Globe“Ghaemi isn’t the first to claim that madness is a close relative of genius, or even the first to extend the idea into politics. But he does go further than others . . . His explanations are elegant, too-intuitively accurate and banked off the latest psychiatric research.” -Newsweek“A provocative thesis . . . Ghaemi’s book deserves high marks for original thinking.” -The Washington Post “Ghaemi is a remarkably disciplined writer, and he examines both psychiatry and history with impressive clarity and sensitivity. A First-Rate Madness will almost certainly be one of the most fascinating books of the year, not just because of the authors lucid prose and undeniable intelligence, but because of his provocative thesis: For abnormal challenges, abnormal leaders are needed.” -NPR.org“Provocative, fascinating.” -Salon About the Author Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., is a professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He has published more than a hundred scientific articles and several books on psychiatry...

-Titulo Original : The Meritocracy Trap How Americas Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles The Middle Class, And Devours The Elite-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: A revolutionary new argument from eminent Yale Law professor Daniel Markovits attacking the false promise of meritocracy It is an axiom of American life that advantage should be earned through ability and effort. Even as the country divides itself at every turn, the meritocratic ideal - that social and economic rewards should follow achievement rather than breeding - reigns supreme. Both Democrats and Republicans insistently repeat meritocratic notions. Meritocracy cuts to the heart of who we are. It sustains the American dream. But what if, both up and down the social ladder, meritocracy is a sham? Today, meritocracy has become exactly what it was conceived to resist: a mechanism for the concentration and dynastic transmission of wealth and privilege across generations. Upward mobility has become a fantasy, and the embattled middle classes are now more likely to sink into the working poor than to rise into the professional elite. At the same time, meritocracy now ensnares even those who manage to claw their way to the top, requiring rich adults to work with crushing intensity, exploiting their expensive educations in order to extract a return. All this is not the result of deviations or retreats from meritocracy but rather stems directly from meritocracy’s successes. This is the radical argument that Daniel Markovits prosecutes with rare force. Markovits is well placed to expose the sham of meritocracy. Having spent his life at elite universities, he knows from the inside the corrosive system we are trapped within. Markovits also knows that, if we understand that meritocratic inequality produces near-universal harm, we can cure it. When The Meritocracy Trap reveals the inner workings of the meritocratic machine, it also illuminates the first steps outward, towards a new world that might once again afford dignity and prosperity to the American people. Review “Ambitious and disturbing. . . Markovits forcefully interrupts the comfortable bath of self-flattery in which our well-graduated professionals pass their hours.” - New York Times Book Review“An imaginative new book that will prompt endless debate in the faculty lounge, the country-club tap room, and the family dinner table. . . a book that will jolt and provoke the reading public . . . Markovits produces shocking figures about the yawning wealth gap on leafy campuses.” - The Boston GlobeThe Meritocracy Trap defines a central issue of our age: the rise of new elites who, unlike their aristocratic forebears, seem to have the moral high ground. The system is rigged in a different way, but it’s still rigged all right. -Sunday Times“We’ve been waiting for the Big Book that explains Americas wrong turn. Daniel Markovits has supplied it. The Meritocracy Trap is a sociological masterpiece - a damning indictment of parenting and schools, an unflattering portrait of a ruling class and the economy it invented. Far too many readers will recognize themselves in his brilliant critique, and they will feel a rush of anger, a pang of regret, and a burning desire to remake the system.” -Franklin Foer, author of World Without Mind “Provocatively weighing in on growing inequality, Daniel Markovits weaves a disturbing tale of merit and social division. Pulling no punches, he warns us that meritocracy is a trap, fetishizing certain skills and endless assessments. Markovitz shows - in exquisite detail - the perverse link between an upper class education and elite jobs and how together they enrich the few, while devaluing and demoralizing the rest.” -Jerry Brown, former governor of California “At once wide-ranging and rigorous, subtle and penetrating, Markovits’s book is revelatory both in its particulars and in its big picture. Anyone who wants to argue about the merits of meritocracy must take account of this book.” -Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law, NYU and author of The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity “Daniel Markovits has...

-Titulo Original : The End Of Poverty Economic Possibilities For Our Time-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: Book and man are brilliant, passionate, optimistic and impatient . . . Outstanding. -The EconomistThe landmark exploration of economic prosperity and how the world can escape from extreme poverty for the worlds poorest citizens, from one of the worlds most renowned economists Hailed by Timeas one of the worlds hundred most influential people, Jeffrey D. Sachs is renowned for his work around the globe advising economies in crisis. Now a classic of its genre, The End of Poverty distills more than thirty years of experience to offer a uniquely informed vision of the steps that can transform impoverished countries into prosperous ones. Marrying vivid storytelling with rigorous analysis, Sachs lays out a clear conceptual map of the world economy. Explaining his own work in Bolivia, Russia, India, China, and Africa, he offers an integrated set of solutions to the interwoven economic, political, environmental, and social problems that challenge the worlds poorest countries. Ten years after its initial publication, The End of Poverty remains an indispensible and influential work. In this 10th anniversary edition, Sachs presents an extensive new foreword assessing the progress of the past decade, the work that remains to be done, and how each of us can help. He also looks ahead across the next fifteen years to 2030, the United Nations target date for ending extreme poverty, offering new insights and recommendations. Review Jeffrey Sachs is that rare phenomenon: an academic economist famous for his theories about why some countries are poor and others rich, and also famous for his successful practical work in helping poor countries become richer. In this long-awaited, fascinating, clearly and movingly written book, he distills his experience to propose answers to the hard choices now facing the world. -Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and SteelBook and man are brilliant, passionate, optimistic and impatient . . . Outstanding. -The EconomistIf there is any one work to put extreme poverty back onto the global agenda, this is it. -Publishers Weekly (starred review)Paul Wolfowitz should read Jeffrey Sachs’s compelling new book. -Fareed Zakaria,Newsweek“Professor Sachs has provided a compelling blueprint for eliminating extreme poverty from the world by 2025. Sachs’s analysis and proposals are suffused with all the practical experience of his twenty years in the field-working in dozens of countries across the globe to foster economic development and well-being.” -George Soros, financier and philanthropistSachs proposes a many-pronged, needs-based attack . . . that is eminently practical and minimally pipe-dreamy . . . A solid, reasonable argument in which the dismal science offers a brightening prospect for the worlds poor. -KirkusThis is an excellent, understandable book on a critical topic and should be required reading for students and participants in public policy as well as those who doubt the problem of world poverty can be solved. -Mary Whaley, Booklist About the Author Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, as well as Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Health Policy and Management. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals. He has twice been named among Time Magazines 100 most influential world leaders. He was called by the New York Times, probably the most important economist in the world, and by Time Magazine the worlds best known economist. A recent survey by The Economist ranked Sachs as among the worlds three most influential living economists of the past decade. His other books include Common Wealth, The Price of Civilization, To Move the World, and The Age of Sustainable Development. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The path from poverty to development has come incredibly f...

-Titulo Original : Plutocrats The Rise Of The New Global Super-rich And The Fall Of Everyone Else-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: A Financial Times Best Book of the YearShortlisted for the Lionel Gelber PrizeThere has always been some gap between rich and poor in this country, but recently what it means to be rich has changed dramatically. Forget the 1 percent-Plutocrats proves that it is the wealthiest 0.1 percent who are outpacing the rest of us at breakneck speed. Most of these new fortunes are not inherited, amassed instead by perceptive businesspeople who see themselves as deserving victors in a cutthroat international competition. With empathy and intelligence, Plutocrats reveals the consequences of concentrating the world’s wealth into fewer and fewer hands. Propelled by fascinating original interviews with the plutocrats themselves, Plutocrats is a tour de force of social and economic history, the definitive examination of inequality in our time. Review A Financial Times Best Book of the YearShortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize*“Just in time - if not too late - comes this definitive examination of inequality in our time. I think it’s the bookend to the Hacker-Pierson book, Winner-Take-All Politics. These two are essential reading for anybody who wants to understand where we are.”-Bill Moyers, Moyers & Company “Freeland is an insightful and indefatigable reporter… Freeland concludes by reminding us of Venice, which 700 years ago made itself a wealthy imperial power through commerce. The city fell into decline when its own plutocrats tried to cement their advantages, thereby stifling the openness that accounted for the society’s dynamism. Today, of course, Venice is sinking. Freeland’s book will make people wonder if we are, too.” --Bloomberg Businessweek “Timely and absorbing... this is no voyeuristic glimpse into the fabulous lifestyles of the rich and famous. Freeland charts the rise of this class by examining global trends and exploring the consequences of the creation of such a money-laden elite, shifting smoothly from dense academic studies and interviews with George Soros to grappling with the success of Lady Gaga… Her findings are fleshed out with fine research, strong statistics and neat nuggets of information.” --The Guardian (UK)“Plutocrats isn’t a book about the lifestyles of the fabulously wealthy, but rather the global trends the book’s titular class surfed to success… it’s rife with impressive analysis. In a chapter on the so-called superstar effect-“the tendency of both technological change and globalization to create winner-take-all economic tournaments”-Ms. Freeland glides from the writings of Soviet intellectuals, MIT and Princeton economists and the apostle Matthew to the careers of 18th century diva Elizabeth Billington, Lady Gaga, white-shoe lawyer David Boies, Yves St. Laurent, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and Albert Einstein… the thoroughness with which Ms. Freeland surrounds the ideas is satisfying.” --The New York Observer“A portrait of the ultra-rich that few other journalists have had the access to capture… Unlike some critics on the left, Freeland does not vilify her super-rich protagonists - a nonpartisan approach that helps make Plutocrats harder to ignore.” --USA Today“Rising inequality is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Chrystia Freelands Plutocrats provides us with a glimpse of the lives of Americas elites and a disquieting look at the society that produces them. This well-written and lively account is a good primer for anyone who wants to understand one extreme of America today. --Joseph Stiglitz, author of The Price of Inequality; University Professor, Columbia University Mix crisp economics, ripe history, and two pinches of salty gossip, and you have the flavor of Chrystia Freeland’s entertaining book. From the opulent Bradley Martin ball of 1897 to its modern echoes in Sun Valley and Davos, Plutocrats chronicles the habits of the workaholic overclass-its taste for British public schools, its immodest philanthropy, its fundamental rootlessness. Eve...

-Titulo Original : Deluxe How Luxury Lost Its Luster-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: “With Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, [Dana] Thomas-who has been the cultural and fashion writer for Newsweek in Paris for 12 years-has written a crisp, witty social history that’s as entertaining as it is informative.” -New York TimesFrom the author of Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncover all the secrets that Prada, Gucci, and Burberry dont want us to know. Deluxe is an uncompromising look behind the glossy façade that will enthrall anyone interested in fashion, finance, or culture. Review “With Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, [Dana] Thomas-who has been the cultural and fashion writer for Newsweek in Paris for 12 years-has written a crisp, witty social history that’s as entertaining as it is informative.” -New York Times About the Author Dana Thomas is the author of Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes, Gods and Kings and the New York Times bestseller Deluxe. She began her career writing for the Style section of The Washington Post, and she has served as a cultural and fashion correspondent for Newsweek in Paris. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times Style section and has written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and Architectural Digest. In 2016, the French Minister of Culture named Thomas a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. She lives in Paris...

-Titulo Original : For All The Tea In China How England Stole The Worlds Favorite Drink And Changed History-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: If ever there was a book to read in the company of a nice cuppa, this is it. -The Washington Post In the dramatic story of one of the greatest acts of corporate espionage ever committed, Sarah Rose recounts the fascinating, unlikely circumstances surrounding a turning point in economic history. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the British East India Company faced the loss of its monopoly on the fantastically lucrative tea trade with China, forcing it to make the drastic decision of sending Scottish botanist Robert Fortune to steal the crop from deep within China and bring it back to British plantations in India. Fortunes danger-filled odyssey, magnificently recounted here, reads like adventure fiction, revealing a long-forgotten chapter of the past and the wondrous origins of a seemingly ordinary beverage. Review A wonderful combination of scholarship and storytelling -Guy Raz, NPR host All Things Considered. With her probing inquiry and engaging prose, Sarah Rose paints a fresh and vivid account of life in rural 19th-century China and Fortunes fateful journey into it...if ever there was a book to read in the company of a nice cuppa, this is it. -Washington Post The plot for Sarah Roses For All the Tea in China seems tailor-made for a Hollywood thriller...a story that should appeal to readers who want to be transported on a historic journey laced with suspense, science and adventure. -Associated Press An enthusiastic tale of how the humble leaf became a global addiction. -The Financial Times A delicious brew of information on the history of tea cultivation and consumption in the Western world...a remarkably riveting tale. -Booklist, (starred review) In For All the Tea in China, the most eventful era of the tea plant gets the inspired treatment it deserves. -Minneapolis Star Tribune Sarah Rose steeps us in the story of Robert Fortune. -National Geographic Traveler Pause to reflect that the tea you are enjoying is totally hot - as in, stolen! Nabbed! Ripped off! Nothing more than the subject of international corporate espionage! -Chicago Sun Times In this lively account of the adventures (and misadventures) that lay behind Robert Fortunes bold acquisition of Chinese tea seedlings for transplanting in British India, Sarah Rose demonstrates in engaging detail how botany and empire- building went hand in hand. -Jonathan Spence, author of The Search for Modern China As a lover of tea and a student of history, I loved this book. Sarah Rose conjures up the time and tales as British Legacy Teas are created before our eyes. We drink the delicious results of Robert Fortunes adventures every day. -Michael Harney, author of The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea For All The Tea In China is a rousing Victorian adventure story chronicling the exploits of botanical thief Robert Fortune, who nearly single- handedly made the British tea industry possible in India. Sarah Rose has captured the thrill of discovery, the dramatic vistas in the Wuyi Mountains, and the near-disasters involved in Fortunes exploits. For tea-lovers, history buffs, or anyone who enjoys a ripping good read. -Mark Pendergrast, author of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World. About the Author Sarah Rose is a journalist and author of the critically acclaimed For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History. As a journalist, Rose has covered a broad range of beats, including international politics and economics during the Hong Kong handover, finance and business during the end of the dot-com bubble, and the environment. She now writes about food and travel for the Wall Street Journal, Men’s Journal, and Bon Appetit, among others...

-Titulo Original : The Second Shift Working Families And The Revolution At Home-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: An updated edition of a standard in its field that remains relevant more than thirty years after its original publication.Over thirty years ago, sociologist and University of California, Berkeley professor Arlie Hochschild set off a tidal wave of conversation and controversy with her bestselling book, The Second Shift. Hochschilds examination of life in dual-career housholds finds that, factoring in paid work, child care, and housework, working mothers put in one month of labor more than their spouses do every year. Updated for a workforce that is now half female, this edition cites a range of updated studies and statistics, with an afterword from Hochschild that addresses how far working mothers have come since the books first publication, and how much farther we all still must go. About the Author Arlie Russell Hochschild is the author of The Time Bind and most recently Global Woman, which she edited with Barbara Ehrenreich. She is a tenured professor at University of California, Berkeley...

-Titulo Original : Work A Deep History, From The Stone Age To The Age Of Robots-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: This book is a tour de force. --Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and TakeA revolutionary new history of humankind through the prism of work by leading anthropologist James SuzmanWork defines who we are. It determines our status, and dictates how, where, and with whom we spend most of our time. It mediates our self-worth and molds our values. But are we hard-wired to work as hard as we do? Did our Stone Age ancestors also live to work and work to live? And what might a world where work plays a far less important role look like?To answer these questions, James Suzman charts a grand history of work from the origins of life on Earth to our ever more automated present, challenging some of our deepest assumptions about who we are. Drawing insights from anthropology, archaeology, evolutionary biology, zoology, physics, and economics, he shows that while we have evolved to find joy, meaning and purpose in work, for most of human history our ancestors worked far less and thought very differently about work than we do now. He demonstrates how our contemporary culture of work has its roots in the agricultural revolution ten thousand years ago. Our sense of what it is to be human was transformed by the transition from foraging to food production, and, later, our migration to cities. Since then, our relationships with one another and with our environments, and even our sense of the passage of time, have not been the same. Arguing that we are in the midst of a similarly transformative point in history, Suzman shows how automation might revolutionize our relationship with work and in doing so usher in a more sustainable and equitable future for our world and ourselves. Review “Magisterial.” -The Nation “His book meticulously charts the evolution of labour over 300,000 years, a strategy that brings welcome perspective to our current economic woes. While ostensibly a science book, it is also a devastating critique of consumer capitalism and a kind of self-help guide, underlying just how abnormal our lives are by our ancestors’ standards.” -The Irish Times “A fascinating exploration that challenges our basic assumptions on what work means. As automation threatens to completely disrupt the global job market, it is urgent to rethink the economic, psychological and even spiritual importance of work. By examining the lives of hunter-gatherers, apes and even birds, Suzman highlights that what we consider ‘natural’ is often just the questionable legacy of industrial gurus and agricultural religions. Knowing the history of how we have spent our time in the past will hopefully enable us to make more sensible choices in the future.” -Yuval Noah Harari, New York Times bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind“Here is one of those few books that will turn your customary ways of thinking upside down. An incisive and original new history that invites us to rethink our relationship with work-and to reimagine what it means to be human in an ever-more automated future.” -Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking “Deeply researched, broad in scope and filled with insight, this is a modern classic. Every page brings something worth thinking hard about.” -Seth Godin, New York Times bestselling author of This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See “Ingenious . . . All living organisms expend energy (i.e., work), but humans have transformed this with spectacular creativity that began with stone tools and led to cities, nations, and networks of energy-hungry machines. Anthropologists specialize in describing this process, and Suzman delivers a delightful account of their findings without ignoring the occasions when colleagues missed the boat . . . A fascinating history of humankind as a consumer of energy.” -Kirkus (starred review)“For too long, our notions of work have been dominated by economists...

-Titulo Original : The Deep State The Fall Of The Constitution And The Rise Of A Shadow Government-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: The New York Times bestselling author of The Party Is Over delivers a no-holds-barred expose of who really wields power in Washington Every four years, tempers are tested and marriages fray as Americans head to the polls to cast their votes. But does anyone really care what we think? Has our vaunted political system become one big, expensive, painfully scripted reality TV show? In this powerful expose of the sins and excesses of Beltwayland, a longtime Republican party insider argues that we have become an oligarchy in form if not in name. Hooked on war, genuflecting to big donors, in thrall to discredited economic theories and utterly bereft of a moral compass, America’s governing classes are selling their souls to entrenched interest while our bridges collapse, wages, stagnate, and our water is increasingly undrinkable. Mike Lofgren was the first to use the term Deep State, in an essay and exclusive interview on Moyers and Company, to refer to a web of entrenched interests in the US government and beyond (most notably Wall Street and Silicon Valley, which controls access to our every click and swipe) that dictate America’s defense decisions, trade policies and priorities with little regard for the actual interests or desires of the American people. In this essential and eye-opening book Lofgren takes his argument one step further. Drawing on insights gleaned over three decades on Capitol Hill, much of it on the Budget Committee, he paints a gripping portrait of the dismal swamp on the Potomac and the revolution it will take to reclaim our government and set us back on course. Review “Lofgren puts a name and a shape to a problem that has often been only nebulously defined…. The logic and sophistication of his argument is hard to resist.” - Salon “The book’s greatest value is Lofgren’s description of Washington DC” - Financial TimesI could not put this book down. . . . This should be required reading not just for every student but for every American and probably every citizen of the world. --Frank Murano Lofgren leaves no president or party unscathed. . . Although The Deep State might sound like an expose on, say, the governments assasination of JFK, or a cover-up of UFOs, the real story is much more insidious, realistic and troubling.-Pittsburg Post-GazetteWith echoes of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address warning in 1961 about the military-industrial complex, Lofgren offers a compelling vision of what happens when a democracy becomes a plutocracy, when political dysfunction reigns supreme over democratic deliberation, and when the war on terrorism leads to the militarization of our foreign policy. . . A must-read for anyone interested in the health and sanity of our body politic.-Library JournalPraise for The Party Is Over:A fast-moving, hard-hitting, dryly witty account of the radicalization of the Republican Party, the failures of Democratic rivals and the appalling consequences for the country at large. The Party is Over is forceful, convincing and seductive.--The Washington Post Lofgrens often comedic take on the grim political reality in Washington is no joke. . . . He wields not only a rare integrity in this town, but credibility, too.--The American ConservativeLofgren describes the Republic Party as an apocalyptic cult given to lying and delusional thinking. . . . He writes about how the party took advantage of a profoundly ignorant electorate, an easily conned and distracted media, and a cowed Democratic Party to press the ideological struggle in spite of the deep unpopularity of many of its positions. If all of this had come from a Nation columnist, it would have been unremarkable. Instead, it came from a mild, inconspicuous Hill staffer who hadnt written a political word in thirty years in Washington [and] had the feel of a long-repressed confession and the authority of an insiders testimony, like the anti-war views of a decorated infantry officer.--Ge...

-Titulo Original : Coffeeland One Mans Dark Empire And The Making Of Our Favorite Drug-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice“Extremely wide-ranging and well researched . . . In a tradition of protest literature rooted more in William Blake than in Marx.” -Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker The epic story of how coffee connected and divided the modern world Coffee is an indispensable part of daily life for billions of people around the world. But few coffee drinkers know this story. It centers on the volcanic highlands of El Salvador, where James Hill, born in the slums of Manchester, England, founded one of the world’s great coffee dynasties at the turn of the twentieth century. Adapting the innovations of the Industrial Revolution to plantation agriculture, Hill helped turn El Salvador into perhaps the most intensive monoculture in modern history-a place of extraordinary productivity, inequality, and violence. In the process, both El Salvador and the United States earned the nickname “Coffeeland,” but for starkly different reasons, and with consequences that reach into the present. Provoking a reconsideration of what it means to be connected to faraway people and places, Coffeeland tells the hidden and surprising story of one of the most valuable commodities in the history of global capitalism. Review A New York Times Book Review Editors Choice“[A] beautifully written, engaging and sprawling portrait of how coffee made modern El Salvador, while it also helped to remake consumer habits worldwide.” -Lizabeth Cohen, New York Times Book Review “Throughly engrossing . . . [Sedgewicks] literary gifts and prodigious research make for a deeply satisfying reading experience studded with narrative surprise.”-Michael Pollan, bestselling author of This is Your Mind on Plants“Extremely wide-ranging and well researched, Sedgewick’s story reaches out into American political history, not to mention the history of American breakfast, but it is mostly set in El Salvador, where a large-scale monoculture of coffee began, at the turn of the twentieth century, under the fiendishly brilliant direction of a British expat named James Hill [. . .] The originality and ambition of Sedgewick’s work is that he insistently sees the dynamic between producer and consumer-Central American peasant and North American proletarian-not merely as one of exploited and exploiter but as a manufactured co-dependence between two groups both exploited by capitalism.” -Adam Gopnik,The New Yorker “Sedgewicks gripping book exposes the dark heart of what goes into making a ubiquitous commodity, cherished every morning, enshrined in the workplace and appreciated after a meal. It provides a devastating answer to the question: ‘What does it mean to be connected to faraway people and places through everyday things?” -Colin Greenwood, The Spectator (UK)“Wonderful, energizing . . . Coffeeland is a data-rich piece of original research that shows in compelling detail how coffee capitalism has delivered both profit and pain, comfort and terror to different people at different times over the past 200 years . . . Sedgwicks great achievement is to clothe macroeconomics in warm, breathing flesh.”-Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian“Meticulously researched, vivid in its scene-setting, fine-toothed in its sociopolitical analysis . . . Coffeeland lays bare the history and reality behind that cup of joe you’re drinking.”-Boston Globe“Epic, illuminating.”-Daily Telegraph (UK) Impressive . . . A powerful indictment of labour relations in El Salvador and capitalism in general.” -Times Literary Supplement (UK)“There is much here to entertain, educate and-dare one say it of a book about coffee-stimulate.” -Financial Times “Artfully blending together all these strands, and juggling a wide cast of characters, Mr. Sedgewicks book is a parable of how a commodity can link producers, consumers, markets and politics in unexpected ways. Like the drink it describes, it is an eye-opening, stimulating brew.” -The Economist “With a forensic grasp of de...

-Titulo Original : Airline Maps A Century Of Art And Design-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: A nostalgic and celebratory look back at one hundred years of passenger flight, featuring full-color reproductions of route maps and posters from the worlds most iconic airlines, from the author of bestselling cult classic Transit Maps of the World.In this gorgeously illustrated collection of airline route maps, Mark Ovenden and Maxwell Roberts look to the skies and transport readers to another time. Hundreds of images span a century of passenger flight, from the rudimentary trajectory of routes to the most intricately detailed birds-eye views of the land to be flown over. Advertisements for the first scheduled commercial passenger flights featured only a few destinations, with stunning views of the countryside and graphics of biplanes. As aviation took off, speed and mileage were trumpeted on bold posters featuring busy routes. Major airlines produced highly stylized illustrations of their global presence, establishing now-classic brands. With trendy and forward-looking designs, cartographers celebrated the coming together of different cultures and made the earth look ever smaller. Eventually, fleets got bigger and routes multiplied, and graphic designers have found creative new ways to display huge amounts of information. Airline hubs bring their own cultural mark and advertise their plentiful destination options. Innovative maps depict our busy world with webs of overlapping routes and networks of low-cost city-to-city hopping. But though flying has become more commonplace, Ovenden and Roberts remind us that early air travel was a glamorous affair for good reason. Airline Maps is a celebration of graphic design, cartographic skills and clever marketing, and a visual feast that reminds us to enjoy the journey as much as the destination. Review [A] pictorial history-complete with homages to previous map genres and plenty of art deco and mod aesthetics.-The Atlantic’s CityLab “A celebration of air travel throughout the decades, [and] a visual reminder of how graphic design has evolved over the last hundred years.”-Smithsonian “Beautiful . . . filled with images of vintage airline maps starting as early as 1919 . . . Sure to please armchair globetrotters and graphic designers alike.-Shelf AwarenessPraise for Transit Maps of the World:Ovenden does what no other design history book has ever done. Transit Maps of the World is a must-have.--The New York Times Book Review Fantastic.--LA TimesThe perfect book.--USA Today About the Author Mark Ovenden is a design historian, bestselling author, presenter, broadcaster, and lecturer. Maxwell Roberts is a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex...

-Titulo Original : Crypto How The Code Rebels Beat The Government Saving Privacy In The Digital Age-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: If youve ever made a secure purchase with your credit card over the Internet, then you have seen cryptography, or crypto, in action. From Stephen Levy-the author who made hackers a household word-comes this account of a revolution that is already affecting every citizen in the twenty-first century. Crypto tells the inside story of how a group of crypto rebels-nerds and visionaries turned freedom fighters-teamed up with corporate interests to beat Big Brother and ensure our privacy on the Internet. Levys history of one of the most controversial and important topics of the digital age reads like the best futuristic fiction. Review Gripping and illuminating. -The Wall Street JournalA great David-and-Goliath story-humble hackers hoodwink sinister spooks. -Time About the Author Steven Levy is the author of Hackers, which has been in print for more than fifteen years, as well as Insanely Great: The Life & Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything. He is also Newsweeks chief technology writer and has been a contributing writer to Wired since its inception. He lives in New York City with his wife and son...

-Titulo Original : The Narrow Corridor States, Societies, And The Fate Of Liberty-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: Why is it so difficult to develop and sustain liberal democracy? The best recent work on this subject comes from a remarkable pair of scholars, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. In their latest book, The Narrow Corridor, they have answered this question with great insight. -Fareed Zakaria, The Washington Post From the authors of the international bestseller Why Nations Fail, a crucial new big-picture framework that answers the question of how liberty flourishes in some states but falls to authoritarianism or anarchy in others--and explains how it can continue to thrive despite new threats. In Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson argued that countries rise and fall based not on culture, geography, or chance, but on the power of their institutions. In their new book, they build a new theory about liberty and how to achieve it, drawing a wealth of evidence from both current affairs and disparate threads of world history. Liberty is hardly the natural order of things. In most places and at most times, the strong have dominated the weak and human freedom has been quashed by force or by customs and norms. Either states have been too weak to protect individuals from these threats, or states have been too strong for people to protect themselves from despotism. Liberty emerges only when a delicate and precarious balance is struck between state and society. There is a Western myth that political liberty is a durable construct, arrived at by a process of enlightenment. This static view is a fantasy, the authors argue. In reality, the corridor to liberty is narrow and stays open only via a fundamental and incessant struggle between state and society: The authors look to the American Civil Rights Movement, Europe’s early and recent history, the Zapotec civilization circa 500 BCE, and Lagos’s efforts to uproot corruption and institute government accountability to illustrate what it takes to get and stay in the corridor. But they also examine Chinese imperial history, colonialism in the Pacific, India’s caste system, Saudi Arabia’s suffocating cage of norms, and the “Paper Leviathan” of many Latin American and African nations to show how countries can drift away from it, and explain the feedback loops that make liberty harder to achieve. Today we are in the midst of a time of wrenching destabilization. We need liberty more than ever, and yet the corridor to liberty is becoming narrower and more treacherous. The danger on the horizon is not just the loss of our political freedom, however grim that is in itself; it is also the disintegration of the prosperity and safety that critically depend on liberty. The opposite of the corridor of liberty is the road to ruin. Review One of the Financial Times Best Books of 2019One of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2019Shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber PrizeWhy is it so difficult to develop and sustain liberal democracy? The best recent work on this subject comes from a remarkable pair of scholars, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. In their latest book, The Narrow Corridor, they have answered this question with great insight. -Fareed Zakaria, The Washington Post“What explains the rise and fall of democracy and dictatorship? . . . [Acemoglu and Robinson] offer a provocative framework for analyzing our current moment of democratic crisis. . . . A powerful starting point for understanding the many perils facing aspirations for democracy and liberty today. . . helpfully recalibrates our American tendency to collapse debates over freedom into a binary clash between the narrow liberty of ‘free markets’ on the one hand, and the economic and political freedoms provided by social-democratic ‘big government’ on the other.” -The Washington Post“Crucially and rightly, the book does not see freedom as merely the absence of state oppression . . . This book is more original and exciting than its predecessor. It has gone beyond the focus on institu...

-Titulo Original : What The Dormouse Said How The Sixties Counterculture Shaped The Personal Computer Industry-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: “This makes entertaining reading. Many accounts of the birth of personal computing have been written, but this is the first close look at the drug habits of the earliest pioneers.” -New York TimesMost histories of the personal computer industry focus on technology or business. John Markoff’s landmark book is about the culture and consciousness behind the first PCs-the culture being counter- and the consciousness expanded, sometimes chemically. It’s a brilliant evocation of Stanford, California, in the 1960s and ’70s, where a group of visionaries set out to turn computers into a means for freeing minds and information. In these pages one encounters Ken Kesey and the phone hacker Cap’n Crunch, est and LSD, The Whole Earth Catalog and the Homebrew Computer Lab. What the Dormouse Said is a poignant, funny, and inspiring book by one of the smartest technology writers around. Review “This makes entertaining reading. Many accounts of the birth of personal computing have been written, but this is the first close look at the drug habits of the earliest pioneers.” -New York Times“A lively prehistory of Silicon Valley and its brilliant denizens of yore . . . Technogeeks will know much of this history already, but Markoff does a fine job of distilling it here while pointing out how much bleaker the world might be if the pioneers had just said no.” -Kirkus“Wonderful . . . [It] makes a mind-blowing case that our current silicon marvels were inspired by the psychedelic-tinged, revolution-minded spirit of the sixties. Its a total turn-on.” -Steven Levy, author of Hackers From the Back Cover Wonderful . . . [It] makes a mind-blowing case that our current silicon marvels were inspired by the psychedelic-tinged, revolution-minded spirit of the sixties. It s a total turn-on. Steven Levy, author of Hackers About the Author John Markoff was one of a team of New York Times reporters who won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. He has covered Silicon Valley since 1977, wrote the first account of the World Wide Web in 1993, and broke the story of Google’s self driving car in 2010. He is the author of five books including What the Dormouse Said, Machines of Loving Grace, and Whole Earth...

-Titulo Original : Drunk Tank Pink And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, And Behave-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: A New York Times bestseller! A revelatory look at how our environment unconsciously yet dramatically shapes the judgments and decisions we make every dayMost of us go through life believing that we are in control of the choices we make-that we think and behave almost independently from the world around us. But as Drunk Tank Pink illustrates, the truth is our environment shapes our thoughts and actions in myriad ways without our permission or even our knowledge. Armed with surprising data and endlessly fascinating examples, Adam Alter addresses the subtle but substantial ways in which outside forces influence us-such as color’s influence on mood, our bias in favor of names with which we identify, and how sunny days can induce optimism as well as aggression. Drunk Tank Pink proves that the truth behind our feelings and actions goes much deeper than the choices we take for granted every day. Review Adam Alters book will change the way you look at our world.--Dan Ariely, New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational Youll laugh, youll gasp, youll shake your head in disbelief as Alter shows you that we are all, to some degree, balls in a giant pinball machine. If you want to see the bumpers -- and regain some control of your destiny -- read this delightful book.--Jonathan Haidt, author of New York Times bestseller, The Righteous MindAlter not only explains the source of many cognitive quirks, but convincingly argues that comprehending them affords a better understanding of broader behaviors, from cyclical poverty to altruism... In Alters hands, case studies take on new life... as he fluently moves between psychology, medicine, and cultural history, offering surprises to readers at many levels of expertise.--Publishers Weekly With remarkable clarity and subversive humor, Alter presents a radical new perspective on human nature.--Paul Bloom, author of How Pleasure Works Adam Alter has collected the most wonderfully strange and surprising nuggets of recent psychological research in one book. I guarantee youll be want to share the incredible anecdotes in Drunk Tank Pink with friends.--Joshua Foer, New York Times bestselling author of Moonwalking with Einstein Drunk Tank Pink is a smart and delightful introduction to some of psychologys most curious phenomena and most colorful characters.--Daniel Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on HappinessReading Adam Alters book about the many ways our perceptions are affected is so compelling that it put me in a seriously suspicious frame of mind...he seems to realize that his material does not require much to make it fascinating--not even a fancy font.--The Smithsonian (a Notable Book)Popular NYU psychology and marketing professor Adam Alter has composed a fascinating tome about the hidden things that make us think, act, and feel the way we do. The debut result will please readers of Malcolm Gladwell and other writers about unexpected wonders. Editors recommendation.--Barnes & Noble (A Book of the Month and Editors Recommendation book)Alters findings are intriguing...he peppers his text with illustrative anecdotes, incidents, studies and characters, making the book highly readable and informative.--Kirkus Reviews (A Kirkus Recommended book) About the Author Adam Alter is an associate professor of marketing at New York Universitys Stern School of Business. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave, and has written for the New York Times, New Yorker, Atlantic, WIRED, Slate, Washington Post, and Popular Science, among other publications...

-Titulo Original : Spent Sex, Evolution, And Consumer Behavior-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: A leading evolutionary psychologist probes the unconscious instincts behind American consumer culture Illuminating the hidden reasons for why we buy what we do, Spent applies evolutionary psychology to the sensual wonderland of marketing and perceived status that is American consumer culture. Geoffrey Miller starts with the theory that we purchase things to advertise ourselves to others, and then examines other factors that dictate what we spend money on. With humor and insight, Miller analyzes an array of product choices and deciphers what our decisions say about ourselves, giving us access to a new way of understanding-and improving-our behaviors to become happier consumers. From the Author Follow me on twitter @matingmind About the Author Author of The Mating Mind (2001) and Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (2009); co-editor of Mating Intelligence (2007). Ph.D. from Stanford, B.A. from Columbia. Evolutionary psychology professor at University of New Mexico; also worked at University of Sussex, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research, University College London, and U.C.L.A. Researches consumer behavior, sexuality, evolutionary psychology, behavior genetics, intelligence, personality, creativity, humor, mental disorders. Published over 40 journal papers, over 60 book chapters and other publications; has given over 120 invited talks around the world. Research has been featured in Nature, Science, Time, Wired, New Scientist, The Economist,The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Psychology Today, on NPR and BBC radio, and on CNN, PBS, Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, National Geographic Channel, BBC, and Channel 4. Follow on twitter (@matingmind), goodreads, , linkedin. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1Darwin Goes to the MallConsumerist capitalism: it is what it is, and we shouldn’t pretendotherwise.But what is it, really? Consumerism is hard to describe when it’sthe ocean and we’re the plankton.Faced with the unfathomable, we could start by asking some freshquestions. Here’s one: Why would the world’s most intelligent primatebuy a Hummer H1 Alpha sport- utility vehicle for $139,771? It is not apractical mode of transport. It seats only four, needs fifty- one feet inwhich to turn around, burns a gallon of gas every ten miles, dawdlesfrom 0 to 60 mph in 13.5 seconds, and has poor reliability, accordingto Consumer Reports. Yet, some people have felt the need to buy it- asthe Hummer ads say, “Need is a very subjective word.”Although common sense says we buy things because we think we’llenjoy owning and using them, research shows that the pleasures ofacquisition are usually short- lived at best. So why do we keep ourselveson the consumerist treadmill- working, buying, aspiring?Biology offers an answer. Humans evolved in small social groupsin which image and status were all- important, not only for survival,but for attracting mates, impressing friends, and rearing children.Today we ornament ourselves with goods and services more to makean impression on other people’s minds than to enjoy owning a chunkof matter-a fact that renders “materialism” a profoundly misleadingterm for much of consumption. Many products are signals first andmaterial objects second. Our vast social- primate brains evolved to pursueone central social goal: to look good in the eyes of others. Buyingimpressive products in a money- based economy is just the most recentway to fulfill that goal.Many bright thinkers have tried to understand modern consumerismby framing it in a historical context, asking, for example: Howdid we go from showing off our status with purple- bordered togas inancient Rome to showing it off with Franck Muller watches in modernManhattan? How did we go from the 1908 black Model- T Fordto the 2006 “Flame Red Pearl” Hummer? How did we go from eatingcanned tuna (about $4 per pound) to eating magical plankton(“marine phytoplankto...

-Titulo Original : Know My Name A Memoir-Fabricante : Penguin Books-Descripcion Original: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERKnow My Name is a gut-punch, and in the end, somehow, also blessedly hopeful.--Washington PostUniversally acclaimed, rapturously reviewed, and an instant New York Times bestseller, Chanel Millers breathtaking memoir gives readers the privilege of knowing her not just as Emily Doe, but as Chanel Miller the writer, the artist, the survivor, the fighter. (The Wrap). Her story of trauma and transcendence illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicting a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shining with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic. Review WINNER OF THE RIDENHOUR BOOK PRIZE / THE DAYTON LITERARY PRIZE / THE CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARDBEST BOOK OF THE YEAR in PEOPLE | NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW | WASHINGTON POST | NPR | PARADE | TIME | GLAMOUR | CHICAGO TRIBUNE | MARIE CLAIRE | ELLE | FORTUNE | LIBRARY JOURNAL | KIRKUS | DAILY MAIL| BALTIMORE SUN | SHE READS | MAN REPELLER | BOOKRIOT | SPY.COM She has written a memoir that converts the ongoing experience of sexual assault into literature...Beautiful. The Atlantic“To tell her story at all is enough…the fact that Miller tells it beautifully, caring enough for her reader to spin golden sentences from her pain, is a gift on top of a gift.” VogueKnow My Name is an act of reclamation. On every page, Miller unflattens herself, returning from Victim or Emily Doe to Chanel, a beloved daughter and sister...Know My Name marks the debut of a gifted young writer. Millers words are purpose. They are maps. And she is a treasure who has prevailed. Jennifer Weiner, The New York Times“In this powerful, gutsy memoir, Miller-the sexual assault survivor in the Stanford case-reclaims her name and her story.”-The New York Times Book ReviewKnow My Name is a blistering, beautifully written account of a courageous young womans struggle to hold a sexual predator accountable. Stand back, folks: This book is going to give a huge blast of momentum to the #MeToo movement. Jon Krakauer “She writes exquisitely of her pain, makes us feel every fragment of it, but also expounds on the kindness that nourished her spirit…Miller matters. Readers will see every victim matters.” USA Today “In a perfect world, Know My Name would be required reading for every police officer, detective, prosecutor, provost and judge who deals with victims of sexual assault.” LA TimesMiller is a gifted storyteller...Know her name, know her voice. The New Yorker“Miller provides one of the most moving and humanizing depictions of sexual assault I have ever read…Know My Name features the kind of intimate, coming-of-age storytelling that you don’t find in a typical story about a crime and its aftermath. She lets us see her in quiet moments and jubilant ones, in moments of doubt and moments of strength…In giving us the gift of knowing her, Miller has written a singular testament to the human cost of sexual violence, and a powerful reminder of why we fight.” The Cut “In a world that asks too many survivors to keep their experiences to themselves and shrink their suffering to preserve someone else’s potential, Know My Name stands unapologetically large, asking others to reckon with its author’s dazzling, undiminishable presence. To read it, in spite of everything, inspires hope.”-The GuardianId never read anything that so vividly paints the bewildering maze that a sexually assaulted woman faces...Know My Name raises crucial questions about the way we treat sexual assault and, indeed, sex itself. Katha Pollitt, The Nation “In its rare honesty and in its small details, Know My Name is both an open wound ...