Library - Non-Fiction Books
Several of these publications delve into contentious subjects that are likely to provoke fervent debates, particularly due to the provocative language employed by the authors. I trust that, should you decide to engage with them, you will approach the material with an open mind, appreciating the masterful command of the English language and its profound capacity for expression. Even selective passages from these works will undoubtedly offer you a wealth of intellectual enrichment, providing valuable insights and perspectives.
Corruptible
Brian Klass
Does power corrupt, or do corrupt individuals seek power? Are tyrants born or shaped by circumstances? Do unethical actions by entrepreneurs and law enforcers stem from flawed systems or personal failings? And how would you handle power—would you remain virtuous or succumb to greed and vengeance?
Corruptible explores these questions through over 500 interviews with global leaders, from presidents to dictators, uncovering insights like how facial features influence leader selection, why narcissists earn more, and the hidden benefits of being second-in-command. Blending historical and social science examples, it reveals surprising stories: a ski instructor who ruled Iraq, America’s worst bioterrorist, and how chimpanzees’ inability to play baseball sheds light on human hierarchies. This deeply researched book underscores a critical lesson: when psychopaths expose their nature, institutions must respond decisively and without mercy
The End of Faith
Sam Harris
In The End of Faith, Sam Harris delivers a startling analysis of the clash between reason and religion in the modern world. He offers a vivid, historical tour of our willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs―even when these beliefs inspire the worst human atrocities. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris draws on insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and Eastern mysticism to deliver a call for a truly modern foundation for ethics and spirituality that is both secular and humanistic. Winner of the 2005 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for Nonfiction.
A Universe From Nothing
Lawrence Krauss
One of the few prominent scientists today to have crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss describes the staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories that demonstrate not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With a new preface about the significance of the discovery of the Higgs particle, A Universe from Nothing uses Krauss’s characteristic wry humor and wonderfully clear explanations to take us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting the most recent evidence for how our universe evolved—and the implications for how it’s going to end.
To America
Stephen E. Ambrose
In To America, Stephen E. Ambrose reflects on his career as a historian, exploring the essence of the historian’s craft while celebrating and critiquing America’s journey. He highlights the nation’s resilience, acknowledges its failures—such as racism, the mistreatment of Native Americans, and the Vietnam War—and addresses the contradictions of founders like Washington and Jefferson. Ambrose recounts key historical moments, from Andrew Jackson’s improbable victory in the War of 1812 to Lewis and Clark’s expedition, the transcontinental railroad, and Ulysses S. Grant’s misunderstood presidency. He examines shifts in power under Theodore Roosevelt, World War II’s triumph, and movements for women’s and civil rights. Ambrose also contrasts the leadership of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, and Johnson, while emphasizing the enduring American spirit. Ultimately, he celebrates history as the study of people and their actions, making this work a compelling exploration of patriotism and storytelling.
Franklin & Washington
Edward J. Larson
“Larson’s elegantly written dual biography reveals that the partnership of Franklin and Washington was indispensable to the success of the Revolution.” —Gordon S. Wood
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian comes a masterful, first-of-its-kind dual biography of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, illuminating their partnership’s enduring importance.
Lidership in Turbulent Times
Doris Kearns Goodwin
From Pulitzer Prize–winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, an invaluable guide to the development and exercise of leadership from Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The inspiration for the multipart HISTORY Channel series Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
“After five decades of magisterial output, Doris Kearns Goodwin leads the league of presidential historians” (USA TODAY). In her “inspiring” (The Christian Science Monitor) Leadership, Doris Kearns Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope.
On The Origins of Species
Charles Darwin
In 1859, British biologist Charles Darwin released his revolutionary scientific treatise ‘On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection’ in England. In Darwin’s hypothesis, a process he named “natural selection” is responsible for the steady evolution of life. A species’ general genetic makeup is influenced by natural selection, where animals with genetic variations that are better suited to their environment tend to have more offspring than organisms of the same species that lack the variation. For the most of human history, the general consensus was that the universe was formed in a single instant. That was until scientists began to question it, and Charles Darwin’s book revolutionized our understanding of the process of evolution.
The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump
Brandy Lee, M.D., M.Div.
In THE DANGEROUS CASE OF DONALD TRUMP, twenty-seven psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health experts argue that, in Mr. Trump’s case, their moral and civic “duty to warn” America supersedes professional neutrality. They then explore Trump’s symptoms and potentially relevant diagnoses to find a complex, if also dangerously mad, man.
Philip Zimbardo and Rosemary Sword, for instance, explain Trump’s impulsivity in terms of “unbridled and extreme present hedonism.” Craig Malkin writes on pathological narcissism and politics as a lethal mix. Gail Sheehy, on a lack of trust that exceeds paranoia. Lance Dodes, on sociopathy. Robert Jay Lifton, on the “malignant normality” that can set in everyday life if psychiatrists do not speak up.
His madness is catching, too. From the trauma people have experienced under the Trump administration to the cult-like characteristics of his followers, he has created unprecedented mental health consequences across our nation and beyond.
American History
Thomas S. Kidd
In this combined edition, the full content of volumes 1 and 2 of Thomas Kidd’s American History are brought together in a single, accessible textbook. This sweeping narrative spans the full scope of American history from the first Native American societies to the political and cultural struggles of contemporary times. In clear, readable prose, and with attention to well-known and more obscure figures from American history, Kidd gives a robust account of the events, people, and ideas that gave shape to our nation.
Students will come away from American History well-informed, and better prepared to wrestle with the political and cultural changes that have dramatically transformed contemporary American life.
Letter to a Christian Nation
Sam Harris
Humanity has had a long fascination with blood sacrifice. In fact, it has been by no means uncommon for a child to be born into this world only to be patiently and lovingly reared by religious maniacs, who believe that the best way to keep the sun on its course or to ensure a rich harvest is to lead him by tender hand into a field or to a mountaintop and bury, butcher, or burn him alive as offering to an invisible God. The notion that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that his death constitutes a successful propitiation of a “loving” God is a direct and undisguised inheritance of the superstitious bloodletting that has plagued bewildered people throughout history. . .
