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Supersurvivors: the surprising link between suffering and success
By David B. Feldman, Lee Daniel Kravetz. 2014
Psychologist Feldman and journalist Kravetz profile individuals who suffered various tragedies and went on to achieve phenomenal success. Includes the…
story of Alan Lock, who lost his sight to macular degeneration at the age of twenty-three but later succeeded in rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. 2014
Entitled: How male privilege hurts women
By Kate Manne. 2020
An urgent exploration of men&’s entitlement and how it serves to police and punish women, from the acclaimed author of…
Down Girl &“Kate Manne is a thrilling and provocative feminist thinker. Her work is indispensable.&”—Rebecca Traister NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ATLANTIC In this bold and stylish critique, Cornell philosopher Kate Manne offers a radical new framework for understanding misogyny. Ranging widely across the culture, from Harvey Weinstein and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings to &“Cat Person&” and the political misfortunes of Elizabeth Warren, Manne&’s book shows how privileged men&’s sense of entitlement—to sex, yes, but more insidiously to admiration, care, bodily autonomy, knowledge, and power—is a pervasive social problem with often devastating consequences. In clear, lucid prose, Manne argues that male entitlement can explain a wide array of phenomena, from mansplaining and the undertreatment of women&’s pain to mass shootings by incels and the seemingly intractable notion that women are &“unelectable.&” Moreover, Manne implicates each of us in toxic masculinity: It&’s not just a product of a few bad actors; it&’s something we all perpetuate, conditioned as we are by the social and cultural mores of our time. The only way to combat it, she says, is to expose the flaws in our default modes of thought while enabling women to take up space, say their piece, and muster resistance to the entitled attitudes of the men around them. With wit and intellectual fierceness, Manne sheds new light on gender and power and offers a vision of a world in which women are just as entitled as men to our collective care and concern
How to be perfect: The correct answer to every moral question
By Michael Schur. 2022
From the creator of The Good Place and the cocreator of Parks and Recreation , a hilarious, thought-provoking guide to…
living an ethical life, drawing on 2,500 years of deep thinking from around the world. Read by the author, this one-of-a-kind audio production features guest appearances by members of the cast of The Good Place . Most people think of themselves as "good", but it's not always easy to determine what's "good" or "bad"—especially in a world filled with complicated choices and pitfalls and booby traps and bad advice. Fortunately, many smart philosophers have been pondering this conundrum for millennia and they have guidance for us. With bright wit and deep insight, How to Be Perfect explains concepts like deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, ubuntu, and more, so we can sound cool at parties and become better people. Schur starts off with easy ethical questions like "Should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?" (No.) and works his way up to the most complex moral issues we all face. Such as: Can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people? How much money should I give to charity? Why bother being good at all when there are no consequences for being bad? And much more. By the time the book is done, we'll know exactly how to act in every conceivable situation, so as to produce a verifiably maximal amount of moral good. We will be perfect, and all our friends will be jealous. Okay, not quite. Instead, we'll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every day. How to Be Perfect is narrated by Michael Schur, Kristen Bell, D'Arcy Carden, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Manny Jacinto, Marc Evan Jackson, Jameela Jamil, and Todd May!
Where things touch: A meditation on beauty
By Bahar Orang. 2021
Part lyric essay, part prose poetry, Where Things Touch grapples with the manifold meanings and possibilities of beauty. Drawing on…
her experiences as a physician-in-training, Orang considers clinical encounters and how they relate to the concept and very idea of beauty. Such considerations lead her to questions about intimacy, queerness, home, memory, love, and other aspects of human existence. Throughout, beauty is ultimately imagined as something inextricably tied to care: the care of lovers, of patients, of art and literature, and the various non-human worlds that surround us. Eloquent and meditative in its approach, beauty, here, beyond base expectations of frivolity and superficiality, is conceived of as a thing to recover. Where Things Touch is an exploration of an essential human pleasure, a necessary freedom by which to challenge what we know of ourselves and the world we inhabit
The moral landscape: how science can determine human values
By Sam Harris. 2010
Neuroscientist and the author of The End of Faith (DB 62053) posits that science can help answer questions of morality.…
Suggests that the right human values are those that promote well-being. Discusses moral truth, good and evil, religion, and the future of happiness. 2010
Why Orwell matters
By Christopher Hitchens. 2002
Essayist explores the life and work of George Orwell (1903-1950), best known as the author of 1984 and Animal Farm.…
Discusses Orwell's political beliefs and the ways they were shaped by the times in which he lived. Challenges Orwell's critics and argues that his ideas remain relevant. 2002
The forest unseen: a year's watch in nature
By David George Haskell. 2012
Biology professor recounts what he learned when--guided by the metaphor of the mandala, the contemplation of a small part of…
something to understand the whole--he studied a one-meter circle of old-growth Tennessee woodlands for a year. Details the changing seasons' effects on the forest's plants and animals. 2012
Relire le relié (Essais)
By Michel Serres. 2019
Une variation qui prend pour point de départ les deux origines possibles du mot religion : relire et relier. Elle…
conclut des décennies de réflexion sur la synthèse et la reconstruction, dans une époque qui divise, décompose et détruit. Le philosophe analyse les textes sacrés et propose de considérer les problèmes contemporains à l'aune du religieux, qui relie les hommes entre eux.
The swerve: how the world became modern
By Stephen Greenblatt. 2011
Harvard humanities professor, author of Will in the World (DB 59294), reconstructs the life of Poggio Bracciolini, a Renaissance book…
hunter who rediscovered the lost poem On the Nature of Things (DB 37721) by Lucretius. Emphasizes the importance of Bracciolini's find and its impact on Western culture. Nat 'l Bk Award, Pulitzer. Bestseller. 2011
It gets better: coming out, overcoming bullying, and creating a life worth living
By Dan Savage, Terry Miller. 2011
More than one hundred essays and testimonials from celebrities, politicians, and others inspired by the It Gets Better Project, which…
sex-advice columnist Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, created to provide support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. For senior high and older readers. 2011
The best advice I ever got: lessons from extraordinary lives
By Katie Couric. 2011
News anchor shares advice and anecdotes she has collected from nearly one hundred notable personalities, including Maya Angelou, Beyoncé, Michael…
Bloomberg, Drew Brees, Bill Clinton, and Suze Orman. Contributors and Couric herself discuss courage, hard work, tenacity, and other components of success. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2011
Why does the world exist?: an existential detective story
By Jim Holt. 2012
Examination of competing theories on the origin of the universe. Author gives equal time to divine interpretations of creation and…
scientific causes. Explores the ideas of Nobel Laureate in physics Steven Weinberg, Christian theologian and philosopher Richard Swinburne, novelist John Updike, and others. 2012
Philosophy bites back
By David Edmonds, Nigel Warburton. 2012
The hosts of the Philosophy Bites podcast publish twenty-seven transcripts of the show. Includes A.W. Moore, a philosophy professor at…
Oxford University, discussing Immanuel Kant's investigations into metaphysics and Peter Singer, a bioethics professor at Princeton University, expounding on Victorian-era philosopher Henry Sidgwick's thoughts on ethics. 2012
And I shall have some peace there: trading in the fast lane for my own dirt road
By Margaret Roach. 2012
Roach recounts when, as a single woman in her fifties, she left her executive position with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia…
and moved to upstate New York. Describes adjusting to the lonely rural lifestyle, coping with winter, and finding happiness in her garden and blog. Some strong language. 2011
Philosophy bites
By David Edmonds, Nigel Warburton. 2010
The hosts of the Philosophy Bites podcast publish twenty-five transcripts of the show. Includes an interview with University of Oxford…
professor of ethics Julian Savulescu on the concept of "yuk," and one with author Alain de Botton covering the aesthetics of architecture. 2010
Soul repair: recovering from moral injury after war
By Rita Nakashima Brock, Gabriella Lettini. 2012
Explores the idea and effect of moral injury--the violation of core beliefs--on military personnel following their return from combat to…
civilian life. Discusses the symptoms, coping methods, and healing techniques to prevent suicide and other mental issues. Highlights four vets' experiences. Violence. 2012
On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times
By Michael Ignatieff. 2021
Timely and profound philosophical meditations on how great figures in history, literature, music, and art searched for solace while facing…
tragedies and crises, from the internationally renowned historian of ideas and Booker Prize-finalist Michael Ignatieff.When someone we love dies, when we suffer loss or defeat, when catastrophe strikes--war, famine, pandemic--we go in search of consolation. Once the province of priests and philosophers, the language of consolation has largely vanished from our modern vocabulary, and the places where it was offered, houses of religion, are often empty. Rejecting the solace of ancient religious texts, humanity since the sixteenth century has increasingly placed its faith in science, ideology, and the therapeutic.How do we console each other and ourselves in an age of unbelief? In a series of lapidary meditations on writers, artists, musicians, and their works--from the books of Job and Psalms to Albert Camus, Anna Akhmatova, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Primo Levi--esteemed writer and historian Michael Ignatieff shows how men and women in extremity have looked to each other across time to recover hope and resilience. Recreating the moments when great figures found the courage to confront their fate and the determination to continue unafraid, On Consolation takes those stories into the present, movingly contending that we can revive these traditions of consolation to meet the anguish and uncertainties of our precarious twenty-first century.
Mastermind: how to think like Sherlock Holmes
By Maria Konnikova. 2013
Psychologist and columnist examines the thought and deduction processes of the character of Sherlock Holmes and explains ways to use…
them in everyday practice. Emphasizes self-knowledge and suggests leveraging it into a greater understanding and observation of the world around you. 2013
Be good: how to navigate the ethics of everything
By Dave Hopkins, Randy Cohen. 2012
The author of the now-defunct "The Ethicist" column in the New York Times presents some of the moral dilemmas that…
readers have sent him. Offers advice on topics ranging from family, war, school, love and sex, civil life, and more. 2012
Bullspotting: finding facts in the age of misinformation
By Loren Collins. 2012
Attorney explores the draw of conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, hoaxes, and other fallacies. Addresses fake quotes attributed to famous figures, Holocaust…
denialism, and false stories about the moon landings and 9/11 terrorist attacks. Advocates greater skepticism and presents techniques for critical thinking. Young adult appeal. 2012