🧠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.
Competitive duck painting "borders on . . . obsession," making this book about the Federal Duck Stamp Contest "a surprisingly compelling read" (Los Angeles Times).The basis for the documentary film, The Million Dollar Duck, Martin J. Smith's The Wild Duck Chase...
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**“A Gen-X This Boy’s Life...Music and his fierce brilliance boost Jollett; a visceral urge to leave his background behind propels him to excel... In the end, Jollett shakes off the past to become the captain of his own soul....
A lively account of the dinosaur's role in Gilded Age America, examining the connection between business, paleontology, and museums.Although dinosaur fossils were first found in England, a series of dramatic discoveries during the late 1800s turned North America into...
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...