Responding to what he calls the culture of the Big Me, which emphasizes external success, Brooks challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “résumé virtues" -- achieving wealth, fame, and status -- and our “eulogy virtues,” those that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed. Looking to some of the world|s greatest thinkers and...

Jon Krakauer's literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders. At the core of his book is an appalling double murder committed by two Mormon Fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their...

"Every so often, you meet people who radiate joy--who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light. This inner peace, David Brooks reveals, comes not from a life of self-centered achievement but a life of interdependence and commitment to others. In The Second Mountain, David Brooks explores the four main commitments that define a virtuous and meaningful life: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy...

Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America today. As we see families forced into shelters, squalid apartments, or more dangerous neighborhoods, we bear witness to the human cost of America's vast inequality-- and to people's determination and intelligence in the face of hardship. Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty...

Just when Glennon Doyle Melton felt she had it all figured out--three happy children, a doting spouse, and a successful writing career --her husband revealed his infidelity and she was forced to realize that nothing was as it seemed. A recovering alcoholic and bulimic, Glennon found that rock bottom was a familiar place. She knew to hold on to what she discovered in recovery: that her deepest pain has always held within it an invitation to a richer...

The epic story and ultimate big history of how human society evolved from intimate chimp communities into the sprawling civilizations of a world-dominating species.

When male students from Briarwood join the all-girl Octavian Country Day at the beginning of eighth grade, Massie makes a rule that none of the girls on the Pretty Committee can have anything to do with them, trying to protect the girls' social status.

Explains why we're not listening, what it's doing to us, and how we can reverse the trend. The author makes accessible the psychology, neuroscience, and sociology of listening while also introducing us to some of the best listeners out there (including a CIA agent, focus group moderator, bartender, radio producer, and top furniture salesman).

The arsons started on a cold November midnight and didn’t stop for months. Night after night, the people of Accomack County waited to see which building would burn down next, regarding each other at first with compassion, and later suspicion. Vigilante groups sprang up, patrolling the rural Virginia coast with cameras and camouflage. The arsonist seemed to target abandoned buildings, but local police were stretched too thin to surveil them all....

Nationally bestselling author Julissa Arce interweaves her own story with cultural commentary in a powerful polemic against the myth that assimilation leads to happiness and belonging for immigrants in America. Instead, she calls for a celebration of our uniqueness, our origins, our heritage, and the beauty of the differences that make us Americans. "You sound like a white girl." These were the words spoken to Julissa by a high school crush as she...