Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year. * The author of The New York Times bestseller The Stuff of Thought* offers a controversial history of violence.
Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, pogroms, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened?
This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives- the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away-and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society. Views: 682
Lancaster and York. For much of the fifteenth century, these two families were locked in battle for control of the English throne. Kings were murdered and deposed. Armies marched on London. Old noble names were ruined while rising dynasties seized power and lands. The war between the royal houses of Lancaster and York, the most complex in English history, profoundly altered the course of the monarchy. Alison Weir, one of the foremost authorities on British history, brings brilliantly to life both the war itself and the larger-tha-life figures who fought it on the great stage of England. The Wars of the Roses is history at its very best—swift and compelling, rich in character, pageantry, and drama, and vivid in its re-creation of an astonishing period of history.
Look for special features inside.
Join the Circle for author chats and more.
RandomHouseReadersCircle.com Views: 681
A lady’s lessons... ...in temptation!
When her almost fiancé proposes to someone else, Lady Eleanor is suddenly the talk of the ton! With her family in financial dire straits, Eleanor must marry before the end of the Season. Secret lessons with Charles, the dashing, infuriating—and devastatingly charming—Duke of Somersville, should help Eleanor shake off her shameful Ice Queen moniker. But how can she tempt a prospective husband when it’s the duke who ignites her desire? Views: 680
A plea for unity.Together Conservatives, tea partiers, Libertarians, Anarchists, minorities, and homosexuals greatly outnumber Progressives who seek to enslave us all. But Progressives win with the strategy of Divide & Conquer. As long as we insist on our own narrow interests rather than uniting in defense of liberty, Progressives will continue to advance their totalitarian agenda.A plea for unity.Together Conservatives, tea partiers, Libertarians, Anarchists, minorities, anti-war protestors and homosexuals greatly outnumber Progressives who seek to enslave us all. But Progressives win with the strategy of Divide & Conquer. As long as we insist on our own narrow interests rather than uniting in defense of liberty, Progressives will continue to advance their totalitarian agenda. Views: 680
The alpha Project sends colonising spaceships to nearby stars. With crews hibernated the ships fly to their destinations. Book one charts the progress of Alpha Four as it awakes to its destination and a perilous and expedition-threatening emergencyThe promised day has come, when all of humanity seeks judgment for its greatest sin: existence.But there are those who oppose the machinations of Fate, and choose to bare their teeth at what lay beyond. Heretics, damned souls -- the Ascended, they are called, cursed to wander the Earth lifetime after lifetime, vestigial, humanoid weapons once wielded by both angels... and demons in a proxy war that tore the world apart.Hope lies with a single young man, blissfully unaware of the hidden world and secret war that rages around him: a first-generation Ascended with the unique power to shape and redefine the very laws of the universe.Yet Seven Kharaos vaguely does know the extent of his own destiny, haunted by prophetic dreams of pure white wings. Terrified of such portents, he chose to run from his fate. For Seven Kharaos, inevitably, is the man who will destroy the world.The F-Infinity Saga is an episodic series updated every few weeks! Please check back often to find more cantos, and learn the answer to the question: Who, exactly, is Seven Kharaos? Views: 678
Gail Hollyworth has lost her wedding ring. Her husband won't take too kindly to that, particularly because she probably left it in the bedroom of Highgate's handsome leather worker, Thom. Damndest thing, though - she doesn't remember taking it off while she was with him. Alicanto is the fifth story in the Bestiary Tales.Vincent had not been happy with Nancy Beth and had taken steps to remove her from his life so that he could seek a better partner. Susan Wilkerson seemed to be the ideal replacement. One happy experience with her was followed by another, then another. There came a time when she cooked a splendid dinner for him. It had been a meal to end all meals. See whether you can guess what happened after this sumptuous repast. Views: 678
An intelligent youth discovers an alien device of staggering power, and he eventually intuits its function. In doing so, he discovers that capability without wisdom is dangerous, including for him. Time, space and creation are at his command, and ultimately he does great harm before all becomes rolled up in a surprise ending.The Brane Skip device designed in the twenty-second century is intended to move a spaceship between the membranes of reality in order to get around the universal speed limit: 'Thou shall not go faster than light'. The theory behind the device is unproven, the technology experimental, but if there are side paths through the universe of normal space, there should be short cuts where speed limits simply don't apply.The unmanned tests of the Brane Skip are inconclusive. The probes wink out and then back into existence, but all they record in between is a mysterious gray haze. No one knows where they go. But they must go somewhere. The automated systems can't say. It's time to send volunteers.The Brane Skip seems like magic to Lisa Chang, the young engineer in command the first crewed test flight, and Chang doesn't believe in magic. But she does believe in the mission. Humanity must explore space in order to survive and prosper, and she feels honored to be among the first to go where no one has gone before. She does not know what will happen when the Brane Skip device engages. She thinks it will do nothing. She fears it will explode. What she does not expect is popping out adrift in space and on a collision course with a fantasy version of Earth, complete with dragons, orcs, and wizards.Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens. Views: 678
From the bestselling author of STRIKE BACK, Chris Ryan returns with the second in his new action-packed series.Tough enough? Smart enough? Jack will require all his skills just to stay alive as a Special Forces Cadet . . .In this second book, the cadets are sent to North Korea. A British agent investigating the rogue state's nuclear capabilities has gone missing. The secretive nature of life in Pyongyang means that unfamiliar adults would be attract suspicion and fall under immediate surveillance. So the cadets form part of a young pioneers tour to the North Korean capital. Once there, they must use their skills and training to find out more about the missing agent.In the course of their investigations, they forget the one rule every undercover operator must obey: trust nobody. When a local teenager they befriend betrays his suspicions to the North Korean secret police, the young cadets must use all their skill to escape the authorities and the country. But can... Views: 677
Introducing Lisa Blake, the purrfect pet sitter! When Lisa Blake’s life in London falls apart, she returns to her hometown rebranding herself as ‘the purrfect petsitter’ – which may or may not be false advertising as she has a rather unfortunate habit of (temporarily) losing dogs! But being back where she grew up, Lisa can’t escape her past. There’s her estranged best friend Flick who she bumps into in an embarrassing encounter in a local supermarket. And her first love, Nathan Baker, who, considering their history, is sure to be even more surprised by her drunken Facebook friend request than Lisa is. As she becomes involved in the lives of her old friends Lisa must confront the hurt she has caused, discover the truth about her mysterious leather-clad admirer, and learn how to move forward when the things she wants most are affected by the decisions of her past. Views: 676
An everyday story of innocence from 1972 about playing in a band and discovering the opposite sex. The Drummer's Tale is a funny and heartwarming story about the naivety of teenage ambition and the frustrations of unrequited love.An everyday story of innocence from 1972 about playing in a band and discovering the opposite sex."I'm Tom Kellaway, not quite old enough to vote, living a humdrum existence on the wrong side of the River Mersey in my parent’s terraced house of tangerine ceilings, farting upholstery, and dubious oil paintings of naked women. However, 1972 is shaping up to be a good year. I have formed a band with my friends, and I’m the drummer, or at least I will be when I get some drums. I have also met the beautiful Sofia, who might just be the girl of my dreams, although she is understandably more preoccupied with her rugged boyfriend who looks like a male model. The Liverpool Stadium and true love await. Unfortunately, knowing my luck, it is all destined to end in disappointment. Or is it?"The Drummer's Tale is a funny and heartwarming story about the naivety of teenage ambition and the frustrations of unrequited love Views: 674
Bestselling author Kathryn Lasky takes flight once more with a brand-new Guardians of Ga'Hoole novel!
Far off in the ice-choked land of the Northern Kingdoms, a young screech owl is marked by destiny. He is Ezylryb, an owl who will rise through the ranks of the Killian Army to become the commander of a battalion of snakes. But although Ezylryb is touched by greatness, his battle-filled life is punctuated by tragedy--from the attack that leaves his father flightless forever, to a terrible betrayal by Ezylryb's own brother. But the young owl--with the support of a snake named Octavia--rises above it all, rises high on strong wings.
For Ezylryb is no ordinary owl.
He's the stuff of legends.
He's a Guardian of Ga'Hoole. Views: 673
The seventeenth-century philosopher-statesman Francis Bacon famously declared that nothing had changed the world more profoundly than three great inventions: gunpowder, printing and the compass. What he didn't know was that the Chinese had been successfully using all three long before the West ever 'invented' them. And yet it was another 300 years before a remarkable man called Joseph Needham embarked on his lifetime's work which would finally set the record straight. Inspired by a wartime mission to occupied China, he wrote a twenty-four-volume masterpiece, chronicling the nation's astonishing history of invention and technology over five thousand years.
In 'Bomb, book and compass' Simon Winchester tells the story of Joseph Needham, his magnificent book, the passion that inspired it, and the remarkable rise of the Chinese nation that continues to this day Views: 672
