🧠Because truth is often stranger—and funnier—than fiction.
Memoirs, essays, and deep dives into everything from psychology to platypuses. Smart reads for curious minds.
A compendium containing the origins and history of some of the most common words and phrases in the English language.Once upon a time . . . Tying the knot actually involved tying a knot—not saying vows. Meanwhile, a thinking cap wasn't just a cute idea for...
"David Sedaris's ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art," (The Christian Science Monitor) is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book. Trying to make coffee when the water is...
The extraordinary true story of a small group of Frenchwomen, all Resistance members, who banded together in a notorious concentration camp to defy the Nazis—from the New York Times bestselling author of Madame Fourcade’s Secret War“At once heartbreaking and...
“Insightful and erudite.”—Adrian Woolfson, Wall Street JournalInside the quest to unlock the mysteries of development—and find the key to transforming our future.Each of us began life as a single cell. From this humble origin, we embarked on a risky journey fraught...
An insightful look at alienation in the modern world from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Art of Loving and Escape from Freedom.Social psychologist Erich Fromm observed the spread of alienation in the 1960s, arguing that humans who were once dynamic,...
In a quest to advocate for her daughter, Pepper Stetler uncovers the dark history of the IQ test, leading her to question what exactly we are measuring when we measure intelligence. When Pepper Stetler learned that her daughter, Louisa, who has Down Syndrome, would be...
"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author."—Bill GatesAn indispensable analysis of how the world really produces and consumes its food—and a scientist's exploration of how we can successfully feed a growing population without killing the planetWe have never had to feed as...
In this thought-provoking memoir, an award-winning journalist explores the chaos, doubt, and search for meaning that come with staying one step ahead of cancer for decades.“An Exercise in Uncertainty has a powerful and restorative story to tell us. Jonathan Gluck’s...
This landmark collection, brimming with his signature wit and incomparable sensibility, is Larry McMurtry’s classic tribute to his home and his people.Before embarking on what would become one of the most prominent writing careers in American literature, spanning...
"Delightful, enlightening . . . The twisty history of the hybrid divider perfectly embodies the transience of language." —VultureThe semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why?...