"Like the rest of us, Jason Gay never anticipated where we've found ourselves. Challenged by the pandemic, frightened by political and societal divisiveness, awash in a digital world that dramatically changes how we think and interact, and all wondering what kind of calamity could possibly happen next. With a series of topical and interconnected personal pieces, Gay does his best to have some fun with all of it, looking for the optimism and joy in...

Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of microorganisms and galaxies; it shapes the capabilities of our extraordinarily large brains and the fortunes of our economies. Growth is manifested in annual increments of continental crust, a rising gross domestic product, a child's growth chart, the spread of cancerous cells. In this magisterial book, Vaclav Smil offers systematic...

"During the long centuries of Iberian and British imperial rule, the quest for new forms of energy led to the development of the colonial sugar plantation as a uniquely profitable kind of commerce. In a time when issues of race and social justice have arisen with pressing urgency, the book explains how the plantation's extraordinary profitability relied on a production system that literally worked the slaves to death, creating an insatiable appetite...

The cacophony of modern life can be deafening, leaving us feeling frazzled and uneasy. In this book, Prem Rawat teaches us how to turn down the noise to "hear ourselves"--to listen to the subtle song of peace that sings inside each of us. Once we learn to truly "hear ourselves" and the voice of peace within, then we can hold on to that as we face all the noise of the world. If we allow ourselves to listen, what we hear is the extraordinary miracle...

"Prepare yourself for an unparalleled sensory experience. Filmed over a period of almost five years and in twenty-five countries, SAMSARA explores the wonders of the world from sacred grounds to industrial sites, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man's spirituality and the human experience. Photographed entirely in 70mm, SAMSARA's mesmerizing images of unprecedented clarity illuminate the links between humanity and the rest of nature, showing...

Explores the seminal contributions of Scotland to the development of modern Western civilization, discussing the impact of such ideals as democracy, freedom of speech, equal opportunity, and a commitment to education.

"A collection of the finest New York Times columns written by Roger Cohen, and an extended commentary on the years in which he wrote them"--