Editied by, Nasser Weddady & Sohrab Ahmari
“You are now holding an exceptional book. It is particularly now when
the eyes of the whole world are anxiously set on the Middle East that I
am so eagerly looking forward to getting to know the stories which often
do not make themselves heard among the brouhaha in the media. The
essays collected here are a particularly important testimony and close
to my heart as they are written by young courageous people who dare to
dream of the things their parents never dreamt of. The book clearly
demonstrates that no matter where we live or what religion we follow,
certain fundamental values are universal.”—Lech Walesa, Nobel Peace
Prize recipient, and the former President of Poland
by, Agustin Fuentes
“There are three major myths of human nature: humans are divided into
biological races; humans are naturally aggressive; men and women are
truly different in behavior, desires, and wiring. In an engaging and
wide-ranging narrative Agustín Fuentes counters these pervasive and
pernicious myths about human behavior. Tackling misconceptions about
what race, aggression, and sex really mean for humans, Fuentes
incorporates an accessible understanding of culture, genetics, and
evolution requiring us to dispose of notions of “nature or nurture.”
Presenting scientific evidence from diverse fields, including
anthropology, biology, and psychology, Fuentes devises a myth-busting
toolkit to dismantle persistent fallacies about the validity of
biological races, the innateness of aggression and violence, and the
nature of monogamy and differences between the sexes. A final chapter
plus an appendix provide a set of take-home points on how readers can
myth-bust on their own. Accessible, compelling, and original, this book
is a rich and nuanced account of how nature, culture, experience, and
choice interact to influence human behavior.
by, Steve Coll
In Private Empire Steve Coll investigates the largest and most
powerful private corporation in the United States, revealing the true
extent of its power. ExxonMobil's annual revenues are larger than the
economic activity in the great majority of countries. In many of the
countries where it conducts business, ExxonMobil's sway over politics
and security is greater than that of the United States embassy. In
Washington, ExxonMobil spends more money lobbying Congress and the White
House than almost any other corporation. Yet despite its outsized
influence, it is a black box.
“Private Empire is meticulous, multi-angled and valuable…
It’s among this book’s achievements that it attempts to view a
dysfunctional energy world, as often as not, through Exxon Mobil’s eyes…
Mr. Coll’s prose sweeps the earth like an Imax camera.”
Editied by, Robin Wright
USIP senior fellow Robin Wright
edited and wrote an overview chapter for the volume, which assesses
the politics, intentions and capabilities of the many Islamist parties
with millions of followers that have gained greater prominence since
the uprisings of the Arab Spring. Their growing power has prompted
widespread worries about the Islamists' new clout, and Wright said the
book "tries to restore a bit of sanity to what has sometimes been a
hysterical debate."
With 10 experts in addition to Wright contributing chapters, The Islamists Are Coming
examines the broad spectrum of political philosophies that distinguish
the Islamist movements, as well as the economic and social pressures
that will shape the agendas of those that do come to govern.
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Povety
by, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?
“A brilliant and uplifting book—yet also a deeply disturbing wake-up call. Acemoglu and Robinson lay out a convincing theory of almost everything to do with economic development. Countries rise when they put in place the right pro-growth political institutions and they fail—often spectacularly—when those institutions ossify or fail to adapt. Powerful people always and everywhere seek to grab complete control over government, undermining broader social progress for their own greed. Keep those people in check with effective democracy or watch your nation fail.” —Simon Johnson, co-author of 13 Bankers and professor at MIT Sloan
by, John Gertner
A sweeping, atmospheric history of Bell Labs
that highlights its unparalleled role as an incubator of innovation and
birthplace of the century's most influential technologies.
Written with a novelist's gift for pacing and an ability to convey the thrill of innovation, The Idea Factory
yields a revelatory take on the business of invention. What are the
principles of innovation? How do new technology and new ideas begin? Are
some environments more favorable than others? How should they be
structured, and how should they be governed? Can strokes of genius be
accelerated, replicated, standardized? The history of Bell Labs provides
crucial answers that can and should be applied today by anyone who
wants to understand where good ideas come from.
“This collection brings together Paul Thagard's latest interdisciplinary
insights into the workings of science, drawing on his extensive work in
historical, philosophical, cognitive, and computational approaches. The
broad range of topics here provides an agenda and new directions for
future work in the cognitive science of science, especially on the
oft-neglected topic of scientific discovery. Anyone taking up the topic
will want to see the far reach of Thagard's account of conceptual
combination.”
—Lindley Darden, University of Maryland, College Park
by, Ruchir Sharma
“The head of Morgan Stanley’s emerging markets division conducts a brisk
worldwide tour in search of new markets ready for takeoff. No
first-book jitters for Sharma, longtime columnist for the likes of
Newsweek and the
Wall Street Journal.
His smooth, almost chummy style suits him ideally for guiding civilians
through the sometimes-arcane thicket of the dismal science, looking for
those emerging markets likely to disappoint or exceed expectations in
the coming years... Confining his predictions to the near future,
Sharma refreshingly comes across as that rare thing Harry Truman once
sought: a 'one-handed economist' willing to stake his reputation without
resort to “on the other hand” equivocation. For investors looking to
place their bets and for general readers looking to understand the
global economic landscape in the wake of the Great Recession.” —
Kirkus Reviews
The Social Conquest of Earth
by, Edward O. Wilson
From the most celebrated heir to Darwin comes a groundbreaking book on
evolution, the summa work of Edward O. Wilson's legendary career.
“E. O. Wilson’s passionate curiosity—the hallmark of his remarkable
career—has led him to these urgent reflections on the human condition.
At the core of
The Social Conquest of Earth is the unresolved,
unresolvable tension in our species between selfishness and altruism.
Wilson brilliantly analyzes the force, at once creative and destructive,
of our biological inheritance and daringly advances a grand theory of
the origins of human culture. This is a wonderful book for anyone
interested in the intersection of science and the humanities.” —
Stephen
Greenblatt, author of
The Swerve: How the World Became
Modern
