-Titulo Original : 1848 Year Of Revolution-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: A lively, panoramic history of a revolutionary year (New York Times) In 1848, a violent storm of revolutions ripped through Europe. The torrent all but swept away the conservative order that had kept peace on the continent since Napoleons defeat at Waterloo in 1815 -- but which in many countries had also suppressed dreams of national freedom. Political events so dramatic had not been seen in Europe since the French Revolution, and they would not be witnessed again until 1989, with the revolutions in Eastern and Central Europe. In 1848, historian Mike Rapport examines the roots of the ferment and then, with breathtaking pace, chronicles the explosive spread of violence across Europe. A vivid narrative of a complex chain of interconnected revolutions, 1848 tells the exhilarating story of Europes violent Spring of Nations and traces its reverberations to the present day. Review A lively, panoramic new history ... a good yarn, with a keen eye for ground-level details. New York TimesA fully nuanced portrait of a tumultuous year. Wall Street JournalAbsorbing.... Rapport writes with vigor and has a good ear for memorable details.... Anyone wishing a vivid account of a crucial period in European history can spend many hours engrossed in this book. Seattle TimesAs a guide to who the revolutionaries were and what they wanted, Rapport is impeccable. Literary Review (London)Cleverly and sensitively chronicled, this is a pacy, learned history that makes sense of an extraordinary year. Observer (London)Rapports vivid tour dhorizon reminds us of the dramatic birth-pangs associated with the arrival of modernity...an absorbing account of a phenomenon that seeded two world wars. Independent (London)Mike Rapport picks a judicious and vividly presented path through a complex year and skilfully juggles political thought and popular experience. The Daily Telegraph (London) About the Author Dr. Michael Rapport is a professor of history at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. The author of numerous books, Rapport lives in Stirling, Scotland...

-Titulo Original : The Myth Of The Strong Leader Political Leadership In The Modern Age-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: From one of the worlds preeminent political historians, a magisterial study of political leadership around the world from the advent of parliamentary democracy to the age of Obama. All too frequently, leadership is reduced to a simple dichotomy: the strong versus the weak. Yet, there are myriad ways to exercise effective political leadership -- as well as different ways to fail. We blame our leaders for economic downfalls and praise them for vital social reforms, but rarely do we question what makes some leaders successful while others falter. In this magisterial and wide-ranging survey of political leadership over the past hundred years, renowned Oxford politics professor Archie Brown challenges the widespread belief that strong leaders -- meaning those who dominate their colleagues and the policy-making process -- are the most successful and admirable. In reality, only a minority of political leaders will truly make a lasting difference. Though we tend to dismiss more collegial styles of leadership as weak, it is often the most cooperative leaders who have the greatest impact. Drawing on extensive research and decades of political analysis and experience, Brown illuminates the achievements, failures and foibles of a broad array of twentieth century politicians. Whether speaking of redefining leaders like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Margaret Thatcher, who expanded the limits of what was politically possible during their time in power, or the even rarer transformational leaders who played a decisive role in bringing about systemic change -- Charles de Gaulle, Mikhail Gorbachev and Nelson Mandela, among them -- Brown challenges our commonly held beliefs about political efficacy and strength. Overturning many of our assumptions about the twentieth centurys most important figures, Browns conclusions are both original and enlightening. The Myth of the Strong Leader compels us to reassess the leaders who have shaped our world - and to reconsider how we should choose and evaluate those who will lead us into the future. From Booklist Oxford politics scholar Brown (The Rise and Fall of Communism, 2009) examines the nature of political leadership and challenges the notion that so-called strong leaders are the most effective. Even in a democracy, he suggests, we the people often prefer to hand executive power to charismatic, opinionated, sometimes even aggressive individuals, who dominate other policy-makers to achieve their agendas. But setting leaders above and apart from the ruling group as a whole makes leaders prone to vanity and self-deception and, in antagonizing other policy-makers, sets daunting obstacles in even the most driven leader’s path. Such has been the case for many U.S. presidents whose ambitious agendas were ultimately thwarted by Congress or the Supreme Court. Those political leaders who are best able to effect dramatic change may be those who, like Mikhail Gorbachev and Deng Xiaoping, understood the importance of collegiality and collaboration even as they transformed the systems that brought them to power. Reviewing and categorizing dozens of heads of state past and present, Brown raises important questions about the nature of leadership and the expectations we have for our leaders. --Brendan Driscoll Review ...an important and unusual read ... Brown does a wonderful job of showing how the same qualities that can seem so appealing in strong leaders can lead, in the mildest cases, to bad decision-- and, in the most extreme cases, to death and suffering on a massive scale ... Though The Myth of the Strong Leader is about political leadership, you come away from Browns book with a deeper understanding of leadership in general. Bill Gates Favorite Books of 2016Counter-intuitive but splendidly argued ... This is an ambitious work made more compelling by its breadth. Washington PostRich and multidimensional. Foreign AffairsIt is a pleasure to f...

-Titulo Original : A Mathematician Plays The Stock Market-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: Can a renowned mathematician successfully outwit the stock market? Not when his biggest investment is WorldCom. In A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market , best-selling author John Allen Paulos employs his trademark stories, vignettes, paradoxes, and puzzles to address every thinking readers curiosity about the market -- Is it efficient? Is it random? Is there anything to technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and other supposedly time-tested methods of picking stocks? How can one quantify risk? What are the most common scams? Are there any approaches to investing that truly outperform the major indexes? But Pauloss tour through the irrational exuberance of market mathematics doesnt end there. An unrequited (and financially disastrous) love affair with WorldCom leads Paulos to question some cherished ideas of personal finance. He explains why data mining is a self-fulfilling belief, why momentum investing is nothing more than herd behavior with a lot of mathematical jargon added, why the ever-popular Elliot Wave Theory cannot be correct, and why you should take Warren Buffets fundamental analysis with a grain of salt. Like Burton Malkiels A Random Walk Down Wall Street , this clever and illuminating book is for anyone, investor or not, who follows the markets -- or knows someone who does. Review With accustomed humor and apt examples, Paulos tackles complex computations that are vaguely understood and frequently misapplied by Wall Street pros. About the Author John Allen Paulos is a professor of mathematics at Temple University. His books include the bestseller Innumeracy, A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market, and Irreligion. He lives in Philadelphia...

-Titulo Original : The Mousedriver Chronicles The True-life Adventures Of Two First-time Entrepreneurs-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: When John Lusk and Kyle Harrison graduated from Wharton in 1999, nearly all of their entrepreneurially minded classmates set their sights on conquering the dot-com world. To the almost universal disdain of their friends and professors, these two turned down tempting job offers, borrowed money from friends and family, loaded up on credit card debt, and decided to start a single-product company to manufacture and market a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf club. They watched enviously as nearly all of their friends became millionaires in the dot-com boom, but they persevered and forged their own path. To chart their progress and to keep themselves motivated against the odds, they kept a diary that recorded the realities of their everyday life as entrepreneurs. Out of their diary entries grew The MouseDriver Chronicles, an intimate, insightful, and often funny look into the minds of two entrepreneurs and how they brought a simple idea to market. From The MouseDriver Chronicles: School was just about over, and the wondrous combination of brick-baking heat and relentless high humidity that defines summer in south Philadelphia wasnt too far off. We couldnt afford to wait around for it. We needed to blaze to San Francisco and get rolling. Fine. No problem. Except we didnt yet have an office in San Francisco. Or a place to live. Or MouseDrivers in stock. We had all our plans and ambition, but everything real about running a business was ahead of us. Immediately ahead. Review An entertaining and informative read...successfully captures the shadow that inevitably falls between business ideas--even tiny ones--and their execution. -- Boston GlobeWonderfully engaging. [One] of the rare business books where giving away the ending would spoil the enjoyment. -- USA Today[A] fun and hopeful book. -- Los Angeles Times About the Author John Lusk spent four years as a management consultant in the Information Technology Group at Ernst & Young. In 1997, he enrolled in the Wharton School of Business, where he met Kyle Harrison. Together they founded Platinum Concepts, Inc., a company specializing in technology consumer products. Both authors live in San Francisco, California. Visit their website at mousedriver ...

-Titulo Original : Who Really Cares The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: We all know we should give to charity, but who really does? In his controversial study of Americas giving habits, Arthur C. Brooks shatters stereotypes about charity in America-including the myth that the political Left is more compassionate than the Right. Brooks, a preeminent public policy expert, spent years researching giving trends in America, and even he was surprised by what he found. In Who Really Cares, he identifies the forces behind American charity: strong families, church attendance, earning ones own income (as opposed to receiving welfare), and the belief that individuals-not government-offer the best solution to social ills. But beyond just showing us who the givers and non-givers in America really are today, Brooks shows that giving is crucial to our economic prosperity, as well as to our happiness, health, and our ability to govern ourselves as a free people. Review Who Cares is not just about how we contribute time and money; it is also about how our culture may affect our politics and our economy. It is the best study of charity that I have read. -- James Q. Wilson About the Author Arthur C. Brooks is President of the American Enterprise Institute, a public policy think tank in Washington, DC. He is the author of nine books, including The Battle, Gross National Happiness, and Who Really Cares. Until 2009, Brooks was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University. Previously, Brooks spent twelve years as a professional French hornist with the City Orchestra of Barcelona and other ensembles. He is a native of Seattle and currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife Ester and their three children...

-Titulo Original : The Vanishing Face Of Gaia A Final Warning-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: The global temperature is rising, the ice caps are melting, and levels of pollution across the world have reached unprecedented heights. According to eminent scientist James Lovelock, in order to survive an assault from her dependents, the Earth is lurching ever closer to a permanent hot state. Within the next century, we will almost certainly be forced to give up many of the comforts of western living as supplies are threatened. Only the fittest -- and the smartest -- will survive. A reluctant jeremiad from one of the environmental movements elder statesmen, The Vanishing Face of Gaia offers an essential wake-up call for the human race. About the Author James Lovelock is the author of more than two hundred scientific papers and the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis (now Gaia Theory). In September 2005, Prospect magazine named him as one of the worlds top 100 global public intellectuals. He lives in Louceston, England...

-Titulo Original : The Ego Tunnel The Science Of The Mind And The Myth Of The Self-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: Examine the inner workings of the mind and learn what consciousness and a sense of self really means - and if it even exists. Were used to thinking about the self as an independent entity, something that we either have or are. In The Ego Tunnel, philosopher Thomas Metzinger claims otherwise: No such thing as a self exists. The conscious self is the content of a model created by our brain-an internal image, but one we cannot experience as an image. Everything we experience is a virtual self in a virtual reality.But if the self is not real, why and how did it evolve? How does the brain construct it? Do we still have souls, free will, personal autonomy, or moral accountability? In a time when the science of cognition is becoming as controversial as evolution, The Ego Tunnel provides a stunningly original take on the mystery of the mind. Review Library Journal Metzingers intended audience is the lay reader, and he does a superb job of presenting his theory and introducing philosophical issues related to consciousness.” Booklist Groundbreaking. This sophisticated understanding of the brain as an ego machine accounts remarkably well for the lived experience of being someone, a someone who transforms a bombardment of stimuli into a seamless present while still engaging in off-line planning for the future and reflection on the past. Bookforum Metzinger is crisp in his arguments and has a keen appreciation of essential ideas.” About the Author Thomas Metzinger directs the Theoretical Philosophy Group at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, and is an Adjunct Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Study. He is the former president of the German Cognitive Science Society and one of the founders of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness. He has written and edited several books, among them Being No One; Conscious Experience; and Neural Correlates of Consciousness. He lives in Germany...

-Titulo Original : A Different Universe Reinventing Physics From The Bottom Down-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: A Nobel-winning physicist argues that fundamental physical laws are found not in the world of atoms, but in the macroscopic world around us In this age of superstring theories and Big Bang cosmology, were used to thinking of the unknown as impossibly distant from our everyday lives. But in A Different Universe, Nobel Laureate Robert Laughlin argues that the scientific frontier is right under our fingers. Instead of looking for ultimate theories, Laughlin considers the world of emergent properties-meaning the properties, such as the hardness and shape of a crystal, that result from the organization of large numbers of atoms. Laughlin shows us how the most fundamental laws of physics are in fact emergent. A Different Universe is a truly mind-bending book that shows us why everything we think about fundamental physical laws needs to change. Review I started reading, and cliche though it be I couldnt stop... A Different Universe should be required reading for physics researchers, teachers and students... New Scientist An important, brain-tickling new book. New York Times Science buffs and young scientists will find this a worthwhile challenge to business as usual in physics. Publishers Weekly This is an absolutely delightful book. It is charmingly written, bright, cheerful, funny, irreverent, and full of amusing stories. It also tells more about how the very strange world of quantum behavior blends into the very familiar world of everyday experience than any book I know...Laughlin really does know what he is talking about. George Whitesides, professor of chemistry, Harvard University About the Author Robert B. Laughlin is the Robert M. and Anne Bass Professor of Physics at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1985. In 1998 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the fractional quantum Hall effect. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He lives in Palo Alto, California...

-Titulo Original : Our Final Hour A Scientists Warning-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: A scientist known for unraveling the complexities of the universe over millions of years, Sir Martin Rees now warns that humankind is potentially the maker of its own demise -- and that of the cosmos. Though the twenty-first century could be the critical era in which life on Earth spreads beyond our solar system, it is just as likely that we have endangered the future of the entire universe. With clarity and precision, Rees maps out the ways technology could destroy our species and thereby foreclose the potential of a living universe whose evolution has just begun. Rees boldly forecasts the startling risks that stem from our accelerating rate of technological advances. We could be wiped out by lethal engineered airborne viruses, or by rogue nano-machines that replicate catastrophically. Experiments that crash together atomic nuclei could start a chain reaction that erodes all atoms of Earth, or could even tear the fabric of space itself. Through malign intent or by mistake, a single event could trigger global disaster. Though we can never completely safeguard our future, increased regulation and inspection can help us to prevent catastrophe. Reess vision of the infinite future that we have put at risk -- a cosmos more vast and diverse than any of us has ever imagined -- is both a work of stunning scientific originality and a humanistic clarion call on behalf of the future of life. Review Heady, scary--and very scholarly--Stuff.... Rees writes with beautiful simplicity. This is a conversational book, totally accessible to a general reader. About the Author Martin Rees is a leading researcher on cosmic evolution, black holes, and galaxies. He has himself originated many key ideas, and brings a unique perspective to themes discussed in this book. He is currently a Royal Society Research Professor, and Great Britains Astronomer Royal. Through based in Cambridge University for most of his career, he travels extensively, and collaborates wit many colleagues in the U.S. and elsewhere. He is an enthusiast for international collaboration in research, and is a member of several foreign academies...

-Titulo Original : The Nazi Doctors Medical Killing And The Psychology Of Genocide-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize With a new preface by the author In his most powerful and important book, renowned psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton presents a brilliant analysis of the crucial role that German doctors played in the Nazi genocide. Now updated with a new preface, The Nazi Doctors remains the definitive work on the Nazi medical atrocities, a chilling expose of the banality of evil at its epitome, and a sobering reminder of the darkest side of human nature. Review A powerful reminder not only of what happened, but of the monumental evil done by particular human beings who were trained to heal and cure. Robert Coles, Boston Globe This is not only one of the most important works on medical ethics yet written. It also breaks through the frontiers of historiography to provide a convincing psychological interpretation of the Third Reich and the crimes of National Socialism. No one will be able in my view to write perceptively about those times in the future without referring to this interpretation. Neal Ascherson, New York Review of Books A must read.... The book as a whole stands without competition in the English language. Raul Hilberg, author of Destruction of the European Jews This profound study ranks with the most insightful books on the Holocaust. PublishersWeekly About the Author Robert Jay Lifton is Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at John Jay College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is also director of the Center on Violence and Human Survival. Dr. Lifton is the author of many books, including The Nazi Doctors and Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima, which won the National Book Award...

-Titulo Original : Womens Ways Of Knowing (10th Anniversary Edition) The Development Of Self, Voice, And Mind-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: Despite the progress of the womens movement, many women still feel silenced in their families and schools. This moving and insightful bestseller, based on in-depth interviews with 135 women, explains why they feel this way. Updated with a new preface exploring how the authors collaboration and research developed, this tenth anniversary edition addresses many of the questions that the authors have been asked repeatedly in the years since Womens Ways of Knowing was originally published. Review Womens Ways of Knowing offers new and useful understandings of the epistemology (methods and basis) of the development of womens knowledge. While this already classic scholarly work is neither easily nor quickly read, there are many excellent reasons to read, use, and appreciate it. Earlier research in this field concentrated on predominately undergraduate middle- and upper-class Caucasian males. Based on interviews with 135 women of various ages from a variety of cultural and economic backgrounds, Womens Ways of Knowing creates five not necessarily fixed, exhaustive, or universal categories of how women know what we know. The results of this study are insightful and applicable to everyday life. The authors, instead of speaking from the distant land of objectivity and the omnipotent one, say we and talk about their process: how and why they did this study, the details of their planning, what surprised them, how the results affected their thinking, plans, and progress. A good example of whats possible when love informs science, Womens Ways of Knowing illuminates - with warm and welcome light - scholarly theories about how people learn and know. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out . -- From ; review by Jesse Larsen About the Author Mary Field Belenky is a consultant on human development and an associate research professor at the University of Vermont. she lives in Marshfield, Vermont and New York City. Blythe McVicker Clinchy is a professor of psychology at Wellesley College and lives in Boston, Massachusetts and Marshfield, Vermont. Nancy Rule Goldberger is a member of the psychology faculty of The Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, California, and lives in Housatonic, Massachusetts and New York City. Jill Mattuck Tarule is a professor and the dean of the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont and lives in Essex, Vermont...

-Titulo Original : Quirkology How We Discover The Big Truths In Small Things-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: For over twenty years, psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman has examined the quirky science of everyday life. In Quirkology , he navigates the backwaters of human behavior, discovering the tell-tale signs that give away a liar, the secret science behind speed-dating and personal ads, and what a persons sense of humor reveals about the innermost workings of their mind- all along paying tribute to others who have carried out similarly weird and wonderful work. Wisemans research has involved secretly observing people as they go about their daily business, conducting unusual experiments in art exhibitions and music concerts, and even staging fake sainces in allegedly haunted buildings. With thousands of research subjects from all over the world, including enamored couples, unwitting pedestrians, and guileless dinner guests, Wiseman presents a fun, clever, and unexpected picture of the human mind. About the Author Richard Wiseman, Ph.D., is Professor of Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He is also a practicing magician and was one of the youngest members of The Magic Circle. Wiseman has published over forty papers in academic journals, and gained an international reputation for research into unusual areas of psychology, including deception, luck, and the paranormal. He is the author of several books, including The Luck Factor, which has been sold in twenty-five countries. He lives in London, England...

-Titulo Original : One Renegade Cell How Cancer Begins (science Masters Series)-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: Cancer research has reached a major turning point. The quality and quantity of information gathered about this disease in the past twenty years has revolutionized our understanding of its origins and behavior. No one is better qualified to comment on these dramatic leaps forward than molecular biologist Robert A. Weinberg, director of one of the leading cancer research centers in the world. In One Renegade Cell , Weinberg presents an accessible and state-of-the-art account of how the disease begins and how, one day, it will be cured. Weinberg tells how the roots of cancer were uncovered in 1909 and when the first cancer-causing virus was discovered. He then moves forward to the discovery of the role of chemical carcinogens and radiation in triggering cancer, and relates the remarkable story of the discoveries of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, the master controllers of normal and malignant cell proliferation. This book, which presumes little prior knowledge of biology, describes the revolution in biomedical research that has finally uncovered the forces driving malignant growth. Drawing on insights that simply were not available until recently, the discoveries presented in One Renegade Cell have already begun to profoundly alter the way that we diagnose and treat human cancers. About the Author A Founding Member of Whitehead Institute, Robert A. Weinberg is a pioneer in cancer research most widely known for his discoveries of the first human oncogene -- a gene that causes normal cells to form tumors -- and the first tumor suppressor gene. Weinberg, who received his PhD in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969, has held research positions at the Weizmann Institute and the Salk Institute. In 1982, Weinberg helped found Whitehead Institute, joined the faculty as a professor of biology at MIT, and published his landmark paper Mechanism of Activation of a Human Oncogene in the journal Nature. In 1999, another major paper, Creation of Human Tumor Cells with Defined Genetic Elements, was also published in Nature...

-Titulo Original : Brainwashed The Seductive Appeal Of Mindless Neuroscience-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: This provocative account of our obsession with neuroscience brilliantly illuminates what contemporary neuroscience and brain imaging can and cannot tell us about ourselves, providing a much-needed reminder about the many factors that make us who we are. What cant neuroscience tell us about ourselves? Since fMRI -- functional magnetic resonance imaging -- was introduced in the early 1990s, brain scans have been used to help politicians understand and manipulate voters, determine guilt in court cases, and make sense of everything from musical aptitude to romantic love. >In Brainwashed, psychiatrist and AEI scholar Sally Satel and psychologist Scott O. Lilienfeld reveal how many of the real-world applications of human neuroscience gloss over its limitations and intricacies, at times obscuring -- rather than clarifying -- the myriad factors that shape our behavior and identities. Brain scans, Satel and Lilienfeld show, are useful but often ambiguous representations of a highly complex system. Each region of the brain participates in a host of experiences and interacts with other regions, so seeing one area light up on an fMRI in response to a stimulus doesnt automatically indicate a particular sensation or capture the higher cognitive functions that come from those interactions. The narrow focus on the brains physical processes also assumes that our subjective experiences can be explained away by biology alone. As Satel and Lilienfeld explain, this neurocentric view of the mind risks undermining our most deeply held ideas about selfhood, free will, and personal responsibility, putting us at risk of making harmful mistakes, whether in the courtroom, interrogation room, or addiction treatment clinic. Although brain scans and other neurotechnologies have provided groundbreaking insights into the workings of the human brain, Brainwashed shows readers that the increasingly fashionable idea that they are the most important means of answering the enduring mysteries of psychology is misguided -- and potentially dangerous. Review Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity This thoughtful, provocative book provides a needed counterbalance to the arrogant neuromythology that purports to explain all of human behavior through brain imaging. It makes a strong moral argument that we are, ultimately, creatures of choice who can exercise will; it grapples boldly with a science that has sometimes threatened our understanding of what it is to be human.” Charles Murray, author of Coming Apart Science develops new tools that have promise for illuminating age-old questions, and those new tools are then misused or oversold until expectations are finally reconciled with reality. Sally Satel and Scott Lilienfield tell the story of neurosciences real and illusory contribution to goals that range from treating addiction and detecting lies to mapping the neural underpinnings of morality. It is a daunting topic, but Brainwashed somehow manages to blend the authors mastery of their subject with compulsive readability.” Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing A smart and sometimes devastating critique of neurobollocks… this book is a brisk read, but a good one - and, I would argue, an important one.” Nature Satel and Lilienfeld provide an engaging overview of the technical and conceptual factors that complicate the interpretation of brain scans obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging and other techniques.... Brainwashed offers much to bolster popular understanding of what brain imaging can and cannot achieve.” Huffington Post [An] important new book.... Brainwashed is not an anti-neuroscience book by any means. Indeed, the authors celebrate the new insights into human thought and behavior that brain studies have yielded. But the book does take a hard stand against the prevailing neurocentrism, and aims to restore some balance to our understanding of h...

-Titulo Original : What The F What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, And Ourselves-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: It may be starred, beeped, and censored -- yet profanity is so appealing that we cant stop using it. In the funniest, clearest study to date, Benjamin Bergen explains why, and what that tells us about our language and brains. Nearly everyone swears-whether its over a few too many drinks, in reaction to a stubbed toe, or in flagrante delicto. And yet, we sit idly by as words are banned from television and censored in books. We insist that people excise profanity from their vocabularies and we punish children for yelling the very same dirty words that well mutter in relief seconds after they fall asleep. Swearing, it seems, is an intimate part of us that we have decided to selectively deny. Thats a damn shame. Swearing is useful. It can be funny, cathartic, or emotionally arousing. As linguist and cognitive scientist Benjamin K. Bergen shows us, it also opens a new window onto how our brains process language and why languages vary around the world and over time. In this groundbreaking yet ebullient romp through the linguistic muck, Bergen answers intriguing questions: How can patients left otherwise speechless after a stroke still shout Goddamn! when they get upset? When did a cock grow to be more than merely a rooster? Why is crap vulgar when poo is just childish? Do slurs make you treat people differently? Why is the first word that Samoan children say not mommy but eat shit? And why do we extend a middle finger to flip someone the bird? Smart as hell and funny as fuck, What the F is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to know how and why we swear. Review A delightful investigation of profanity. New York Times Book Review A sweeping book, exploring not just the history of English profanity in words and in gestures, but also the impact that swears and other taboo words can have on the human brain...a valuable addition to the literature about profanity. Atlantic In What the F, a self-proclaimed book-length love letter to profanity, cognitive scientist Benjamin K. Bergen succeeds in bringing me around to appreciate the broader context, as well as the finer points, of the role bad words play in human society. Science Offers useful information. New York Review of Books Some prospective readers may avoid this book because of its subject matter. That would be a gosh-darned shame. Science News Interesting and insightful National Review A fascinating journey to the crossroads of etymology, neuroscience and culture. Discover Full of cute tidbits you can drop at cocktail parties.... Its a quick read, not a detailed, academic dissection. But dont mistake breeziness for triviality: cursing plays a central role in our lives. Ars Technica An illuminating read, and makes the case for swears as a salutary aspect of our lexicon. A.V. Club Oh, its a lot of fun, and scientifically sound too! Language Hat What the F is rigorous enough to guide future scientific inquiry, and casual enough to be read by any ordinary bastard with a passing interest. At the very least, this book reassured me of the profundity of my own human capacity for expression when I rolled out of bed last month to find out who got elected President of the United States and could only utter that one favorite curse word. PopMatters This book is a surprisingly engaging introduction to a topic rarely discussed or examined...Highly recommended. Choice A lively study with the potential to offend just about anyone.... From a linguistic and sociological viewpoint, the book is illuminating, even playful...an entertaining...look at an essential component of language and society. Publishers Weekly A winner for the psycholinguistics nerd in the house. Kirkus Reviews Theres something here guaranteed to offend everyone (the book wouldnt be doing its job otherwise), but...lovers of language will savor every word. Booklist What the F is accessible and engaging, and ...

-Titulo Original : Lactivism How Feminists And Fundamentalists, Hippies And Yuppies, And Physicians And Politicians Made Breastfeeding Big Business And Bad Policy-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: Social scientist and mother Courtney Jung explores the ever-expanding world of breastfeeding advocacy, shining a new light on the diverse communities who compose it, the dubious science behind it, and the pernicious public policies to which it has given rise Is breast really best? Breastfeeding is widely assumed to be the healthiest choice, yet growing evidence suggests that its benefits have been greatly exaggerated. New moms are pressured by doctors, health officials, and friends to avoid the bottle at all costs-often at the expense of their jobs, their pocketbooks, and their well-being. In Lactivism, political scientist Courtney Jung offers the most deeply researched and far-reaching critique of breastfeeding advocacy to date. Drawing on her own experience as a devoted mother who breastfed her two children and her expertise as a social scientist, Jung investigates the benefits of breastfeeding and asks why so many people across the political spectrum are passionately invested in promoting it, even as its health benefits have been persuasively challenged. What emerges is an eye-opening story about class and race in America, the big business of breastfeeding, and the fraught politics of contemporary motherhood. Review Publishers Weekly Jung makes some thoughtful points against seeing the practice [of breastfeeding] as the most or only acceptable option for mothers.... [H]er intersectional perspective, which looks at how feminist concerns mesh with those related to race and class, may encourage advocates to approach new moms with more sensitivity, and to view the ubiquity of breast pumps with a slightly more dubious eye.” Shelf Awareness [Jungs] research is extensive.... Lactivism illustrates how a womans choice has become a matter of public health and a socially enforced necessity. A critical look at policies that have cemented poor science and damaged womens rights in the United States.” Kirkus Reviews Jung offers readers an inside look at the modern world of breast-feeding, which has undergone transformative changes since its revival in the United States in the 1970s.... Using solid evidence to back her statements, the author analyzes how the simple act of breast-feeding has shifted into a mechanical process through the use of breast pumps, with a salable commodity: the breast milk.... A levelheaded, well-researched analysis of the many trappings of contemporary breastfeeding culture.” Jungs book is a bold challenge to the prevailing parenting orthodoxy. National Post The truths [Jung] uncovers may make your jaw drop.... But perhaps most interesting is Jungs astute observation that what is being so ardently promoted isnt actual breast-feeding--whereby a baby is fed from the breast--but human milk as a product, creating pressure for working mothers of all income levels to pump in less than ideal conditions, when what might benefit them and their babies most is paid maternity leave (or simply using formula).... [Jungs] keen analyses and wry humor keep the reader engaged. Lori Gottlieb, New York Times Book Review [Jung] makes a provocative case that [breast-feedings] benefits have been drastically oversold.... [She] is particularly sharp in describing how 21st-century policy makers have turned breast-feeding into a consensus issue. Wall Street Journal [A] groundbreaking new book.... Jungs subject in Lactivism isnt nursing itself, but a strain of advocacy that prizes feeding babies breast milk above all else, no matter the cost to their mothers or, in some cases, the babies themselves.... [An] important book. Michelle Goldberg, Slate XX Highly readable.... [Jung] makes a strong argument: If women are supposed to have a choice about their reproductive activities, why cant they choose how to nourish the offspring that might emerge? Weekly Standard [Jungs] research is extensive.... Lactivism illustrates how a womans choice has become a matter...

-Titulo Original : The Essential Difference Male And Female Brains And The Truth About Autism-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: We all appreciate that there are differences in the typical psychology of men and women. Yet underlying these subtle differences, Simon Baron-Cohen believes, there is one essential difference, and it affects everything we do: Men have a tendency to analyze and construct systems while women are inclined to empathize. With fresh evidence for these claims, Baron-Cohen explores how these sex differences arise more from biological than cultural causes and shows us how each brain type contributes in various ways to what we think of as intelligence. Emphasizing that not all men have the typically male brain, which he calls Type S, and not all women have the typically female brain (Type E), Baron-Cohen explores the cutting-edge research that illuminates our individual differences and explains why a truly balanced brain is so rare. Filled with surprising and illuminating case studies, many from Baron-Cohens own clinical practice, The Essential Difference moves beyond the stereotypes to elucidate over twenty years of groundbreaking research. From gossip to aggression, Baron-Cohen dissects each brain type and even presents a new theory that autism (as well as its close relative, Aspergers syndrome) can be understood as an extreme form of the male brain. Smart and engaging, this is the thinking persons guide to gender difference, a book that promises to change the conversation about-and between-men and women. Review Baron-Cohen offers curious lay readers a provocative discussion of male-female differences. -- - Publishers Weekly About the Author Simon Baron-Cohen is professor of psychology and psychiatry and director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University. He is the author of six hundred scientific articles and four books, including The Science of Evil and The Essential Difference...

-Titulo Original : The Physics Of Consciousness The Quantum Mind And The Meaning Of Life-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: For decades, neuroscientists, psychologists, and an army of brain researchers have been struggling, in vain, to explain the phenomenon of consciousness. Now there is a clear trail to the answer, and it leads through the dense jungle of quantum physics, Zen, and subjective experience, and arrives at an unexpected destination. In this tour-de-force of scientific investigation, Evan Harris Walker shows how the operation of bizarre yet actual properties of elementary particles support a new and exciting theory of reality, based on the principles of quantum physics-a theory that answers questions such as What is the nature of consciousness, of will? What is the source of material reality? and What is God? Review ... juicy, vigorous account of the revolution in physics engendered by quantum theory and its replacement of the classical Newtonian worldview. -- Publishers Weekly About the Author Evan Harris Walker, founder of the Walker Cancer Institute, has made major scientific contributions in astronomy, astrophysics, physics, neurophysiology, psychology, and medicine. Since he received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Maryland in 1964, he has published more than a hundred papers in scientific journals and holds a dozen patents. He lives in Aberdeen, Maryland...

-Titulo Original : Freud And Beyond A History Of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: The classic, in-depth history of psychoanalysis, presenting over a hundred years of thought and theories Sigmund Freuds concepts have become a part of our psychological vocabulary: unconscious thoughts and feelings, conflict, the meaning of dreams, the sensuality of childhood. But psychoanalytic thinking has undergone an enormous expansion and transformation since Freuds death in 1939. With Freud and Beyond, Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black make the full scope of twentieth century psychoanalytic thinking-from Harry Stack Sullivan to Jacques Lacan; D.W. Winnicott to Melanie Klein-available for the first time. Richly illustrated with case examples, this lively, jargon-free introduction makes modern psychoanalytic thought accessible at last. Review Whenever I have been asked to recommend a fundamental text for graduate students and young professionals, or even for those expressing an initial interest in psychotherapy, Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Blacks Freud and Beyond has been my go to text. The new edition, including an excellent preface highlighting recent developments in the field, remains the best survey of the history and development of psychoanalysis and the essential guide to its many schools, approaches and innovations. Brilliantly explaining theory and elucidating clinical practice with elegant and compelling case illustrations, this comprehensive introduction remains the best place to start in understanding Freud and his legacy. Lewis Aron, Ph.D., Director, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis is only valuable as uncommon common sense. Freud and Beyond is such an impressive and useful book because it makes psychoanalysis even more interesting by making it accessible. Adam Phillips, author of Missing Out The best treatment of psychoanalytic theories, classical and current. Choice A fascinating, lucid, and surprisingly comprehensive overview of the development of psychoanalytic theory and practice since Freud. Readings [ Freud and Beyond] is remarkably coherent in a field notorious for the density of its technical prose. Authors such as Otto Kernberg and Jacques Lacan... are presented with great clarity. Boston Book Review This is a marvelous book which gives an overview of the work of just about all Freuds important disciples and dissenters. It is well recommended. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Review Mitchell and Black offer a compelling vision of a profession struggling to expand and redefine itself. Boston Phoenix Literary Section The advantage of this book lies in its relative simplicity. Writing for the reader with little psychoanalytic training, the authors share the myths, developments, and inadequacies in psychoanalytic thought over time. Clinical Social Work Journal Inclusive, integrated, and lively, this book sets a new high standard as an introduction to contemporary psychoanalysis. Library Journal About the Author Stephen A. Mitchell (1946-2000) was a leader in the field of modern psychoanalysis. An adjunct professor and clinical supervisor at New York Universitys postdoctoral program in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, Mitchells emphasis on the relational perspective shaped the way that American psychoanalysts practice their profession. He was the founding editor of the journal Psychoanalytic Dialogues and the author of several influential books, including Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory and Hope and Dread in Psychoanalysis. Margaret J. Black, LCSW, is founding board member of the Stephen Mitchell Center for Relational Studies. She is also a board director of the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, a founding board member and vice president of International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, an associate editor of Psychoanalytic Dialogues, and a member of the editorial board for Studies in Ge...

-Titulo Original : The Einstein Syndrome Bright Children Who Talk Late-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: The Einstein Syndrome is a follow-up to Late-Talking Children, which established Thomas Sowell as a leading spokesman on the subject of late-talking children. While many children who talk late suffer from developmental disorders or autism, there is a certain well-defined group who are developmentally normal or even quite bright, yet who may go past their fourth birthday before beginning to talk. These children are often misdiagnosed as autistic or retarded, a mistake that is doubly hard on parents who must first worry about their apparently handicapped children and then see them lumped into special classes and therapy groups where all the other children are clearly very different. Since he first became involved in this issue in the mid-90s, Sowell has joined with Stephen Camarata of Vanderbilt University, who has conducted a much broader, more rigorous study of this phenomenon than the anecdotes reported in Late-Talking Children. Sowell can now identify a particular syndrome, a cluster of common symptoms and family characteristics, that differentiates these late-talking children from others; relate this syndrome to other syndromes; speculate about its causes; and describe how children with this syndrome are likely to develop. About the Author Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the author of dozens of books including Charter Schools and Their Enemies, winner of the 2021 Hayek Book Prize. He is the recipient of numerous other awards, including the National Humanities Medal, presented by the President of the United States in 2003...

-Titulo Original : Girls On The Edge Why So Many Girls Are Anxious, Wired, And Obsessed--and What Parents Can Do-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: A parenting expert reveals the four biggest threats to girls psychological growth and explains how parents can help their daughters develop a healthy sense of self. In Girls on the Edge, psychologist and physician Leonard Sax argues that many girls today have a brittle sense of self-they may look confident and strong on the outside, but theyre fragile within. Sax offers the tools we need to help them become independent and confident women, and provides parents with practical tips on everything from helping their daughter limit her time on social media, to choosing a sport, to nurturing her spirit through female-centered activities. Compelling and inspiring, Girls on the Edge points the way to a new future for todays girls and young women. Review The best book about the current state of girls and young women in America. Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic Packed with advice and concrete suggestions for parents, Girls on the Edge is a treasure trove of rarely seen research on girls, offering families guidance on some of the most pressing issues facing girls today. Dr. Saxs commitment to girls success comes through on every page. Rachel Simmons, author of Odd Girl Out,The Curse of the Good Girl, and Enough As She Is Crucial. . . . Parents of tween and teen girls would do well to check this book. The Chronicle of Higher Education Dr. Sax once again combines years of experience with compelling research and common sense to intelligently challenge the status quo of what it means to raise a healthy daughter. Girls on the Edge offers skills parents can incorporate to feel more competent with our girls and young women. Florence Hilliard, director of the Gender Studies Project, University of Wisconsin-Madison The world is way different from what it was a couple of years ago; this is essential reading for parents and teachers, and one of the most thought-provoking books on teen development available. Library Journal Fortunately, [Leonard] Sax is up to more here than pronouncing young women irrevocably doomed. . . . Girls on the Edge doesnt dramatize the self-destructive behavior it describes . . . [and it] speaks exclusively to parents and offers concrete ways to help their daughters cultivate stronger personal identities. Slate /Double X Turn off your cell phones and computers and read this book! You will connect with your daughter in new ways, and she will thank you. Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, author ofGods Paintbrush and In Gods Name Leonard Sax brings together a rare combination of psychoanalytic training with a deep empathy for girls and their stories in this important book. His argument that girls are struggling to find their centers will resonate and his recommendations for how to locate them will inspire. Courtney E. Martin, author ofPerfect Girls, Starving Daughters Dr. Saxs deep commitment to girls developing a positive sense of self is woven into the fabric of this book. Girls on the Edge is a must-read for every parent of a girl as well as for every adult who teaches girls. Dr. Mary Seppala, head of school,Agnes Irwin School, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Leonard Sax sounds a crucial warning to parents of teenage girls. No matter how attentive and savvy you are, the lives of girls today are like nothing you ever knew. The obsessions are worse, nastiness is rampant (especially on the web), drinking is up, and sexuality keeps creeping down the age ladder. Girls need girl-specific interventions, Sax insists, and Girls on the Edge explains why-and also how to do it. Mark Bauerlein, PhD, professor, Emory University About the Author Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D. , is a practicing family physician, a PhD psychologist, and a speaker for community groups, schools, and professional organizations. His scholarly work has been published in a wide variety of journals including American Psychologist , Annals of Family Medicine, Behavioral Neuroscience , Environmenta...

-Titulo Original : The Psychology Of The Child-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: The definite account of psychologist Jean Piagets work Jean Piagets influence on psychology has been profound. His pathbreaking investigations and theories of cognitive development have set child psychology moving in entirely new directions. His bold speculations have provided the inspiration for the work of others. His studies have been the subject of many books and countless articles. And, significantly, his influence has spread to other disciplines and is having an ever-growing impact on the general culture at large. Here Jean Piaget, with the assistance of his long-time collaborator BA¤el Inhelder, offers a definitive presentation of the developmental psychology he has elaborated over the last forty years. This comprehensive synthesis traces each stage of the childs cognitive development, over the entire period of childhood, from infancy to adolescence. About the Author Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the major figures of twentieth-century psychology and a pioneer in the study of child development...

-Titulo Original : Multiple Intelligences New Horizons In Theory And Practice-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: The most complete account of the theory and application of Multiple Intelligences available anywhere. Howard Gardners brilliant conception of individual competence, known as Multiple Intelligences theory, has changed the face of education. Tens of thousands of educators, parents, and researchers have explored the practical implications and applications of this powerful notion, that there is not one type of intelligence but several, ranging from musical intelligence to the intelligence involved in self-understanding. Multiple Intelligences distills nearly three decades of research on Multiple Intelligences theory and practice, covering its central arguments and numerous developments since its introduction in 1983. Gardner includes discussions of global applications, Multiple Intelligences in the workplace, an assessment of Multiple Intelligences practice in the current conservative educational climate, new evidence about brain functioning, and much more. Review Whenever Howard Gardner focuses his synthesizing mind and vast erudition on any topic, we can be sure that an exciting intellectual adventure is in store. If his manifesto were heeded, the future of our children would benefit immensely. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Were we to apply even a fraction of the knowledge Gardner marshals for us, education might finally lead to the deeper understanding that should be its primary goal. Rexford Brown For those of us who suspect that intelligence is too complex a phenomenon to be measured by the single number of Q.Q. derived from an intelligence test, Gardners book is a refreshing experience and an open door into a whole new way of looking at human beings. Isaac Asimov About the Author Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero. The author of more than twenty books and the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and twenty-one honorary degrees, he lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts...

-Titulo Original : Basic Freud-Fabricante : Basic Books-Descripcion Original: In Basic Freud, noted psychologist Michael Kahn shows that, even in the age of psychopharmaceuticals and cognitive therapy, Freuds insights into the unconscious remain unsurpassed tools for understanding our behaviors, motivations, and emotions. In a style accessible to any lay reader or beginning student in psychology, Kahn presents key ideas such as the Oedipus complex, the repetition compulsion, guilt, anxiety, and defense mechanisms, along with recent research that has supported or expanded Freuds findings. He also presents case studies from his own work as a psychotherapist to show how Freudian thought has been instrumental in helping patients discover who they are and escape from destructive patterns. Readers aware of Freuds ideas and those discovering them for the first time will benefit from Kahns fresh, informed, and unpretentious approach. Review A well-written, accessible, and richly anecdotal introduction to Freudian and post-Freudian thinking.... -- Leo Goldberger, Professor of Psychology, New York University About the Author Michael Kahn, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a clinical psychologist in private practice. He is also director of a counseling center at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where he trains psychotherapists. He is the author of The Tao of Conversation and Between Therapist and Client. He lives in Mill Valley, California...