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The Lonely Century: A Call to Reconnect
by Noreena Hertz'If I could issue a reading list to 10 Downing Street, I'd put this book near the top.' Guardian 'Destined to be a classic' Nouriel Roubini'Fascinating' Sathnam Sanghera, The Times'A hopeful book that couldn't be more important or timely' Philippa Perry 'Timely and important' Charlie BrookerA hopeful and empowering vision for how to reconnect with each other and heal our divides.Even before a global pandemic introduced us to terms like social distancing, loneliness was already becoming the defining condition of the twenty-first century. But it's also one we have the power to reverse. Combining a decade of research with first-hand reporting, Noreena Hertz takes us from a 'how to communicate in real life' class for smartphone-addicted university students to bouncy castles at Belgian far-right gatherings, from 'renting a friend' and paying for cuddles in the U.S. to nursing home residents knitting bonnets for their robot caregivers in Japan.Packed with bold solutions that we can apply at home, at work and in our neighbourhoods, and with a clear vision for what businesses and governments must do, she explores how our increasing dependence on technology, radical changes to the workplace and decades of policies that have placed self-interest above the collective good, are making us more isolated than ever before.Noreena Hertz helps us to understand why this is the lonely century, how we got here and what each of us can do to help reduce loneliness for ourselves and our communities.
The Lonely Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World That's Pulling Apart
by Noreena HertzA bold, hopeful, and thought-provoking account by &“one of the world&’s leading thinkers&” (The Observer) of how we built a lonely world, how the pandemic accelerated the problem, and what we must do to come together again &“A compelling vision for how we can bridge our many divides at this time of great change and disruption.&”—Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY WIRED (UK) AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPHLoneliness has become the defining condition of the twenty-first century. It is damaging our health, our wealth, and our happiness and even threatening our democracy. Never has it been more pervasive or more widespread, but never has there been more that we can do about it. Even before a global pandemic introduced us to terms like &“social distancing,&” the fabric of community was unraveling and our personal relationships were under threat. And technology isn&’t the sole culprit. Equally to blame are the dismantling of civic institutions, the radical reorganization of the workplace, the mass migration to cities, and decades of neoliberal policies that have placed self-interest above the collective good.This is not merely a mental health crisis. Loneliness increases our risk of heart disease, cancer, and dementia. Statistically, it&’s as bad for our health as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. It&’s also an economic crisis, costing us billions annually. And it&’s a political crisis, as feelings of marginalization fuel divisiveness and extremism around the world. But it&’s also a crisis we have the power to solve.Combining a decade of research with firsthand reporting, Noreena Hertz takes us from a &“how to read a face&” class at an Ivy League university to isolated remote workers in London during lockdown, from &“renting a friend&” in Manhattan to nursing home residents knitting bonnets for their robot caregivers in Japan.Offering bold solutions ranging from compassionate AI to innovative models for urban living to new ways of reinvigorating our neighborhoods and reconciling our differences, The Lonely Century offers a hopeful and empowering vision for how to heal our fractured communities and restore connection in our lives.
The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character (Abridged)
by Nathan Glazer David Riesman Reuel DenneyAbridged and revised with a forward by professor Todd Gitlin, "The Lonely Crowd" is indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to understand the social character of the United States. Its now-classic analysis of the "new middle class" opens exciting new dimensions in our understanding of the psychological, political, and economic problems that confront the individual in contemporary American society.
The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character (Veritas Paperbacks)
by Nathan Glazer David Riesman Reuel Denney&“One of the most important books of the twentieth century.&”—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker Considered by many to be one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, The Lonely Crowd opened exciting new dimensions in our understanding of the problems confronting the individual in twentieth-century America. Richard Sennett&’s new introduction illuminates the ways in which Riesman&’s analysis of a middle class obsessed with how others lived still resonates in the age of social media. &“Indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to understand American society. After half a century, this book has lost none of its capacity to make sense of how we live.&”—Todd Gitlin
The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq
by Helen BenedictThe Lonely Soldier--the inspiration for the documentary The Invisible War--vividly tells the stories of five women who fought in Iraq between 2003 and 2006--and of the challenges they faced while fighting a war painfully alone.More American women have fought and died in Iraq than in any war since World War Two, yet as soldiers they are still painfully alone. In Iraq, only one in ten troops is a woman, and she often serves in a unit with few other women or none at all. This isolation, along with the military's deep-seated hostility toward women, causes problems that many female soldiers find as hard to cope with as war itself: degradation, sexual persecution by their comrades, and loneliness, instead of the camaraderie that every soldier depends on for comfort and survival. As one female soldier said, "I ended up waging my own war against an enemy dressed in the same uniform as mine."In The Lonely Soldier, Benedict tells the stories of five women who fought in Iraq between 2003 and 2006. She follows them from their childhoods to their enlistments, then takes them through their training, to war and home again, all the while setting the war's events in context. We meet Jen, white and from a working-class town in the heartland, who still shakes from her wartime traumas; Abbie, who rebelled against a household of liberal Democrats by enlisting in the National Guard; Mickiela, a Mexican American who grew up with a family entangled in L.A. gangs; Terris, an African American mother from D.C. whose childhood was torn by violence; and Eli PaintedCrow, who joined the military to follow Native American tradition and to escape a life of Faulknerian hardship. Between these stories, Benedict weaves those of the forty other Iraq War veterans she interviewed, illuminating the complex issues of war and misogyny, class, race, homophobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Each of these stories is unique, yet collectively they add up to a heartbreaking picture of the sacrifices women soldiers are making for this country.Benedict ends by showing how these women came to face the truth of war and by offering suggestions for how the military can improve conditions for female soldiers-including distributing women more evenly throughout units and rejecting male recruits with records of violence against women. Humanizing, urgent, and powerful, The Lonely Soldier is a clarion call for change.From the Hardcover edition.
The Long Evolution of Brains and Minds
by Gerhard RothThe main topic of the book is a reconstruction of the evolution of nervous systems and brains as well as of mental-cognitive abilities, in short "intelligence" from simplest organisms to humans. It investigates to which extent the two are correlated. One central topic is the alleged uniqueness of the human brain and human intelligence and mind. It is discussed which neural features make certain animals and humans intelligent and creative: Is it absolute or relative brain size or the size of "intelligence centers" inside the brains, the number of nerve cells inside the brain in total or in such "intelligence centers" decisive for the degree of intelligence, of mind and eventually consciousness? And which are the driving forces behind these processes? Finally, it is asked what all this means for the classical problem of mind-brain relationship and for a naturalistic theory of mind.
The Long Goodbye
by Meghan O'RourkeWhat is it like to mourn today, in a culture that has largely set aside rituals that acknowledge grief? After her mother died of cancer at the age of fifty-five, Meghan O'Rourke found that nothing had prepared her for the intensity of her sorrow. She began to create a record of her interior life as a mourner, trying to capture the paradox of grief--its monumental agony and microscopic intimacies--an endeavor that ultimately bloomed into a profound look at how caring for her mother during her illness changed and strengthened their bond. With lyricism and unswerving candor, The Long Goodbye captures the fleeting moments of joy that make up a life and the way memory can lead us out of the jagged darkness of loss. Effortlessly blending research and reflection, the personal and the universal, it is a love letter from a daughter to a mother that will touch any reader who has felt the powerful ties of familial love.
The Long Goodbye
by Meghan O'RourkeFrom one of America's foremost young literary voices, a transcendent portrait of the unbearable anguish of grief and the enduring power of familial love. What does it mean to mourn today, in a culture that has largely set aside rituals that acknowledge grief? After her mother died of cancer at the age of fifty-five, Meghan O'Rourke found that nothing had prepared her for the intensity of her sorrow. In the first anguished days, she began to create a record of her interior life as a mourner, trying to capture the paradox of grief-its monumental agony and microscopic intimacies-an endeavor that ultimately bloomed into a profound look at how caring for her mother during her illness changed and strengthened their bond. O'Rourke's story is one of a life gone off the rails, of how watching her mother's illness-and separating from her husband-left her fundamentally altered. But it is also one of resilience, as she observes her family persevere even in the face of immeasurable loss. With lyricism and unswerving candor, The Long Goodbye conveys the fleeting moments of joy that make up a life, and the way memory can lead us out of the jagged darkness of loss. Effortlessly blending research and reflection, the personal and the universal, it is not only an exceptional memoir, but a necessary one.
The Long Grief Journey: How Long-Term Unresolved Grief Can Affect Your Mental Health and What to Do About It
by Pamela Blair PhD Bradie McCabe Hansen MAAn essential grief guide and recovery workbook for those who have said, "I thought I'd feel better by now."Grief does not follow a timeline or a set path. It is nonlinear and messy, doubling back on itself just when you thought you were out of the woods. Those who have experienced the loss of a loved one know this unequivocally, but Western society still seems to think that grief should only last six months to a year—tops—when in fact, grief can last throughout a person's entire life and manifest as serious mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, anger, and despair.The Long Grief Journey, co-written by a psychotherapist and a clinical psychologist who have both worked with grieving individuals for decades, is for the people who are past the acute pain and effects of a sudden loss and are now learning to live beyond that. It is for those who by all appearances seem to have "moved on." They're working, carrying out their responsibilities, showing up for important life events, yet they quietly bear the weight of their sadness and longing for their loved one. There's a name for this type of long-term, unresolved grief. In fact, there are several: complicated grief, traumatic grief, complex bereavement, prolonged grief, extended grief, abnormal grief, exaggerated grief, and pervasive grief disorder. If you feel "stuck" after experiencing the death of a loved one, even if much time has passed, this book is for you.With exercises, journal prompts, and rituals that will further help readers along their grief path, The Long Grief Journey, co-written by one of the authors of the classic grief book, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye, is designed to educate, support, and coach you to rekindle a desire to live life fully, all while still cherishing and embracing the memories of your loved one.Named one of Choosing Therapy's "14 Best Books on Losing a Parent for 2022."
The Long Journey Home: A Memoir
by Margaret RobisonFirst introduced to the world in her sons’ now-classic memoirs—Augusten Burroughs’s Running with Scissors and John Elder Robison’s Look Me in the Eye—Margaret Robison now tells her own haunting and lyrical story. A poet and teacher by profession, Robison describes her Southern Gothic childhood, her marriage to a handsome, brilliant man who became a split-personality alcoholic and abusive husband, the challenges she faced raising two children while having psychotic breakdowns of her own, and her struggle to regain her sanity. Robison grew up in southern Georgia, where the façade of 1950s propriety masked all sorts of demons, including alcoholism, misogyny, repressed homosexuality, and suicide. She met her husband, John Robison, in college, and together they moved up north, where John embarked upon a successful academic career and Margaret brought up the children and worked on her art and poetry. Yet her husband’s alcoholism and her collapse into psychosis, and the eventual disintegration of their marriage, took a tremendous toll on their family: Her older son, John Elder, moved out of the house when he was a teenager, and her younger son, Chris (who later renamed himself Augusten), never completed high school. When Margaret met Dr. Rodolph Turcotte, the therapist who was treating her husband, she felt understood for the first time and quickly fell under his idiosyncratic and, eventually, harmful influence. Robison writes movingly and honestly about her mental illness, her shortcomings as a parent, her difficult marriage, her traumatic relationship with Dr. Turcotte, and her two now-famous children, Augusten Burroughs and John Elder Robison, who have each written bestselling memoirs about their family. She also writes inspiringly about her hard-earned journey to sanity and clarity. An astonishing and enduring story, The Long Journey Home is a remarkable and ultimately uplifting account of a complicated, afflicted twentieth-century family.From the Hardcover edition.
The Long Journey Home: Revisioning the Myth of Demeter and Persephone for Our Time
by Christine DowningThe story of the mother-and-daughter goddesses Demeter and Persephone has seized the imagination of people in every age, from ancient times to the present. Considered today by many to be the archetypal myth for women, it touches on timeless themes in every life, such as the male-female relationship, love between women, initiations into puberty and old age, the mother-daughter bond, death, and ecological renewal. Christine Downing has combined essays, prose, poetry, and even performance art with her own insightful commentary to shed new light on the myth's ancient meanings and to offer new insights in its implications for contemporary men and women.
The Long Search (Claire Aldington St. Anselm's Mystery #5)
by Isabelle HollandAttractive and ambitious, Janet Covington seemed the epitome of a successful and happy career woman on her way up. She had recently been promoted to a top editorial position at a leading New York publisher. Her job was important and satisfying, but so, too, was her personal life. For a number of years she had shared her life and her Greenwich Village apartment with the attractive Paul Davenport. To all who knew them, the couple seemed devoted and happy. Only Janet knew how fragile her present happiness was and how quickly it would crumble if the secrets of her past were revealed. She would do almost anything to keep that from happening. Then, on an otherwise perfectly ordinary day at the office, the first of a chain of events takes place that threatens to undo all of her careful planning. Confused, scared and panicked, she turns to Claire Aldington, minister at St. Anselm's Church and a highly successful amateur detective. Claire wants to help, and tries to, but as the days pass she becomes convinced that there is one final secret that Janet cannot reveal... even to herself. All of the books in the Claire Aldington St. Anselm's series are in Bookshare's library. Look for: #1 A Death At St. Anselm's, #2 Flight of the Archangel, #3 A Lover Scorned and #4 A Fatal Advent In addition Isabelle Holland has written over 45 novels for children and adults. For adults look for Grenelle, a suspense novel, For Children there is The Christmas Cat
The Long Shadow of Temperament
by Jerome Kagan Nancy C. SnidmanWe have seen these children--the shy and the sociable, the cautious and the daring--and wondered what makes one avoid new experience and another avidly pursue it. At the crux of the issue surrounding the contribution of nature to development is the study that Jerome Kagan and his colleagues have been conducting for more than two decades. In The Long Shadow of Temperament, Kagan and Nancy Snidman summarize the results of this unique inquiry into human temperaments, one of the best-known longitudinal studies in developmental psychology. These results reveal how deeply certain fundamental temperamental biases can be preserved over development. Identifying two extreme temperamental types--inhibited and uninhibited in childhood, and high-reactive and low-reactive in very young babies--Kagan and his colleagues returned to these children as adolescents. Surprisingly, one of the temperaments revealed in infancy predicted a cautious, fearful personality in early childhood and a dour mood in adolescence. The other bias predicted a bold childhood personality and an exuberant, sanguine mood in adolescence. These personalities were matched by different biological properties. In a masterly summary of their wide-ranging exploration, Kagan and Snidman conclude that these two temperaments are the result of inherited biologies probably rooted in the differential excitability of particular brain structures. Though the authors appreciate that temperamental tendencies can be modified by experience, this compelling work--an empirical and conceptual tour-de-force--shows how long the shadow of temperament is cast over psychological development.
The Long Sleep: A Practical Guide to Supporting Young People with Suicidal Thoughts
by Kate Hill'This book isn't just a guide; it's a lifeline' Shirley Ballas, head judge, Strictly Come Dancing, and ambassador for CALM and Suicide&CoWorldwide, suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young people, and numbers continue to increase. Many young people have experienced suicidal thoughts, self-harmed or attempted suicide. What makes someone particularly vulnerable? Why do proportionally more young men than women resort to suicide? What can be done to support people and prevent young deaths?The Long Sleep explores the origins, symptoms and meanings of young peoples' suicidal crises and argues the need for sensitive responses and improved understanding if current rates are to be curbed. Combining moving accounts from relatives and young people who have attempted suicide with the evidence of extensive research into the subject, Kate Hill offers important and timely insights into an area fraught with fear and denial.This classic self-help book has been fully revised and considers:● Current perspectives around mental and physical healthcare development● Social, environmental and personal factors that may be triggers● How to listen to and support young people at risk● Where and when to seek professional help and support'[The Long Sleep] has incredible breadth and depth which offers real insights into the minds of those who are suicidal, together with practical guidance on supporting young people and challenging the myths around suicide' Professor Rory O'Connor, Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory, University of Glasgow, author of When It Is Darkest
The Long Sleep: A Practical Guide to Supporting Young People with Suicidal Thoughts
by Kate Hill'This book isn't just a guide; it's a lifeline' Shirley Ballas, head judge, Strictly Come Dancing, and ambassador for CALM and Suicide&CoWorldwide, suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young people, and numbers continue to increase. Many young people have experienced suicidal thoughts, self-harmed or attempted suicide. What makes someone particularly vulnerable? Why do proportionally more young men than women resort to suicide? What can be done to support people and prevent young deaths?The Long Sleep explores the origins, symptoms and meanings of young peoples' suicidal crises and argues the need for sensitive responses and improved understanding if current rates are to be curbed. Combining moving accounts from relatives and young people who have attempted suicide with the evidence of extensive research into the subject, Kate Hill offers important and timely insights into an area fraught with fear and denial.This classic self-help book has been fully revised and considers:● Current perspectives around mental and physical healthcare development● Social, environmental and personal factors that may be triggers● How to listen to and support young people at risk● Where and when to seek professional help and support'[The Long Sleep] has incredible breadth and depth which offers real insights into the minds of those who are suicidal, together with practical guidance on supporting young people and challenging the myths around suicide' Professor Rory O'Connor, Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory, University of Glasgow, author of When It Is Darkest
The Long Week-End 1897-1919: Part of a Life
by Wilfred R. BionReminiscence of the first twenty-one years of Wilfred Bion's life: eight years of childhood in India, ten years at public school in England, and three years of life in the army.
The Long-Distance Relationship Survival Guide: Secrets and Strategies from Successful Couples Who Have Gone the Distance
by Kate Brauer-Bell Chris BellSkyrocketing phone bills. Layovers and missed flights. Countless hours spent pining, worrying, and wondering, Why do we do this to ourselves? Long-distance love can be one challenge afteranother, but as most committed couples will tell you, the rewards well outweigh the stresses. In this sensitive yet sensible guide, long-distance veterans Chris and Kate provide strategies for making the distance seem shorter and outline eight essential skills for relationship success:Communicating effectivelyEstablishing mutual goals and expectationsDealing with issues of trust, fidelity, and independenceHaving fun in spite of the distanceManaging time, schedules, and stressKeeping the relationship realBalancing sex and emotional intimacyMaking the transition to same-city livingBased on interviews with more than 100 couples and packed with knowledgeable tips and honest advice, THE LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP SURVIVAL GUIDE proves that, with patience and dedication, a loving relationship can not only survive but also thrive across the miles.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Long-Term Effects of Educational Development Programmes: Collaboration, Trust and Leadership
by Gabriela PleschováThis book investigates the long-term effects of educational development (ED) programmes on teaching perceptions and practices. The research draws comparisons between an ED programme at a university in the United Kingdom dedicated to advancing teaching, an international university where high-quality education is central to its mission, and two universities in Central and Eastern Europe with an ambition to rise in rankings and attract international students. It examines collaboration, trusting relationships and leadership as key drivers of effective practices. The book is a valuable resource for researchers, educational developers and higher education leaders .
The Longest Kill: The Story of Maverick 41, One of the World's Greatest Snipers
by Craig HarrisonPowerful and compelling, Craig Harrison's The Longest Kill is a must-read for fans of military memoirs.It takes a tough mindset to be a successful sniper, to be able to dig in for days on your own as you wait for your target, to stay calm on a battlefield when you yourself have become the target the enemy most want to take out. Craig Harrison has what it takes and in November 2009 in Afghanistan, under intense pressure, he saved the lives of his comrades with the longest confirmed sniper kill - 2,475 meters.In this unflinching autobiography, Craig catapults us into the heat of the action as he describes his active service in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, and gives heart-stopping accounts of his sniper ops as he fought for his life on the rooftops of Basra and the barren hills of Helmand province. Craig was blown up by an IED in Afghanistan and left battling severe PTSD. After his identity was revealed in the press he also had to cope with al Qaeda threats against him and his family. For Craig, the price of heroism has been devastatingly high.
The Longest Night
by Otto de KatA masterpiece of literary craft and concision; sparse, beautiful and hugely affecting - Daily MailSince the liberation of the Netherlands, Emma Verweij has been living in Rotterdam, in a street which became a stronghold of friendships for its inhabitants during the Second World War. She marries Bruno, they have two sons, and she determines to block out the years she spent in Nazi Berlin during the war, with her first husband Carl. But now, ninety-six years old and on the eve of her death, long- forgotten memories crowd again into her consciousness, flashbacks of happier years, and the tragedy of the war, of Carl, of her father, and of the friends she has lost. In The Longest Night, his impressive, reflective new novel after News from Berlin, Otto de Kat deftly distils momentous events of 20th-century history into the lives of his characters. In Emma, the past and the present coincide in limpid fragments of rare, melancholy beauty.Translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson
The Longest Night
by Otto de KatA masterpiece of literary craft and concision; sparse, beautiful and hugely affecting - Daily MailSince the liberation of the Netherlands, Emma Verweij has been living in Rotterdam, in a street which became a stronghold of friendships for its inhabitants during the Second World War. She marries Bruno, they have two sons, and she determines to block out the years she spent in Nazi Berlin during the war, with her first husband Carl. But now, ninety-six years old and on the eve of her death, long- forgotten memories crowd again into her consciousness, flashbacks of happier years, and the tragedy of the war, of Carl, of her father, and of the friends she has lost. In The Longest Night, his impressive, reflective new novel after News from Berlin, Otto de Kat deftly distils momentous events of 20th-century history into the lives of his characters. In Emma, the past and the present coincide in limpid fragments of rare, melancholy beauty.Translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson
The Longest War: A Psychotherapist's Experience of Divorce, Custody, and Power
by Catherine Harrington PhDAs a naive freshman, Catherine meets Walter, a senior and Big Man on Campus whose sophistication, confidence, and wealth both intimidate and excite her. A three-year absentee courtship follows, during which time the idea of Walt tethers Catherine to safety. She was programmed to marry someone like him, so she ignores the warning signs that they might not be a good match. Hoping to please her mother and seeking refuge from her fraught childhood, she marries and has children with him—but the marriage doesn’t last. Once divorced, Catherine finds herself in a war with Walt over money, and then over access to her children—and suddenly, she can no longer ignore her childhood trauma. The high stakes of her battle with her ex-husband forge her like steel, finding every vulnerability where she needs to heal. Gradually, she develops a backbone, relinquishes her trauma-induced, people-pleasing ways, and steps into her own power. Honest and unflinching, The Longest War reminds us that there’s always a way through when we access the courage within ourselves. No matter how painful life’s difficulties, they offer us the opportunity to heal ourselves and evolve into more open, loving, compassionate people. The choice is ours.
The Longevity Project
by Friedman Howard S. Leslie R. MartinSurprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study Drs. Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin studied 1,500 people at Stanford University to find out who lives the longest and why. Their book documents the findings of this study, discusses the character traits they found associated with long life, and addresses some of the common myths about longevity. We've been told that to live long we should obsess over what we eat, how much we stress, and how fast we run. But based on the most extensive study of longevity ever conducted, eating your vegetables, exercising, and relaxation - though important - are not the critical components to long life. Here, Drs. Friedman and Martin bust many a myth. People do not die from working long hours at a challenging job. Getting and staying married is not the magic ticket to long life, especially if you're a woman. It's not the happy-go-lucky people who thrive.
The Look Book: Spring 2017 Sampler
by Michael Bennett Genevieve Graham Sarah Bennett Glenn Dixon Sharon ButalaNavigating the mysteries of the heart, The Look Book offers a road map for every stage of love with the best in fiction and nonfiction from across the Spring 2017 Simon & Schuster Canada list.Travel to Verona, Italy, where one man embarks on a quest to find true love. Learn the practical tips and advice to find and maintain a thriving relationship from a psychiatrist and his comedy-writing daughter (don’t worry—they’re funny). Let yourself be whisked away to 1755 Acadia where a looming war threatens to tear a young couple apart. Read about one woman’s profound journey through grief and loss to a place of renewal and hope as she remembers the greatest love of her life. With chapter excerpts from the following Spring 2017 new releases: Juliet’s Answer: One Man’s Search for Love and the Elusive Cure for Heartbreak, by Glenn Dixon F*ck Love: One Shrink’s Sensible Advice for Finding a Lasting Relationship, by Michael I. Bennett, MD, and Sarah Bennett Promises to Keep, by Genevieve Graham Where I Live Now: A Journey through Love and Loss to Healing and Hope, by Sharon Butala We hope your heart finds what it needs. The team at Simon & Schuster Canada
The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back
by Jacob WardThis eye-opening narrative journey into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence reveals the dangerous ways AI is exploiting the unconscious habits of our minds, and the real threat it poses to humanity: "The best book I have ever read about AI" (New York Times bestselling author Roger McNamee). Artificial intelligence is going to change the world as we know it. But the real danger isn't some robot that's going to enslave us: It's our own brain. Our brains are constantly making decisions using shortcuts, biases, and hidden processes—and we're using those same techniques to create technology that makes choices for us. In The Loop, award-winning science journalist Jacob Ward reveals how we are poised to build all of our worst instincts into our AIs, creating a narrow loop where each generation has fewer, predetermined, and even dangerous choices. Taking us on a world tour of the ongoing, real-world experiment of artificial intelligence, The Loop illuminates the dangers of writing dangerous human habits into our machines. From a biometric surveillance state in India that tracks the movements of over a billion people, to a social media control system in China that punishes deviant friendships, to the risky multiple-choice simplicity of automated military action, Ward travels the world speaking with top experts confronting the perils of their research. Each stop reveals how the most obvious patterns in our behavior—patterns an algorithm will use to make decisions about what's best for us—are not the ones we want to perpetuate. Just as politics, marketing, and finance have all exploited the weaknesses of our human programming, artificial intelligence is poised to use the patterns of our lives to manipulate us. The Loop is call to look at ourselves more clearly—our most creative ideas, our most destructive impulses, the ways we help and hurt one another-so we can put only the best parts of ourselves into the thinking machines we create.