Book Picks

100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, From Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith

Image of 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, From Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith
Author(s): Sonia Arrison
Publisher: Basic Books (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 272 pages
List Price: $25.99

Product Description from the Publisher
Humanity is on the cusp of an exciting longevity revolution. The first person to live to 150 years has probably already been born.

2009 State of the Future

Image of 2009 State of the Future (The Millennium Project)
Author(s): Jerome C. Glenn, Theodore J. Gordon, Elizabeth Florescu
Publisher: The Millennium Project (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 100 pages
List Price: $49.95

2010 State of the Future

Image of 2010 State of the Future (The Millennium Project)
Author(s): Jerome C. Glenn, Theodore J. Gordon, Elizabeth Florescu
Publisher: The Millennium Project (2010)
Binding: Perfect Paperback, 90 pages
List Price: $49.95

by Jerome C. Glenn. The Millennium Project. 2010. 90 pages plus CD-ROM. $49.95

Human society could grow vastly healthier, more peaceful, and more prosperous later this century, or it could be devastated by ecological damage and domestic strife, according to the 2010 State of the Future, by Jerome Glenn, Theodore Gordon, and Elizabeth Florescu, scholars of the futures-studies think tank Millennium Project. The report calls for decision makers to become more collaborative and responsive to change.

2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow’s Kids

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Author(s): Amy Zuckerman, James Daly
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 32 pages
List Price: $16.99

by Amy Zuckerman and James Daly Dutton. 2009. 32 pages. $16.99.

Kids in 2030 will still have to eat their vegetables, but genetic engineering will make those greens taste far yummier. School will still be in session, but most kids will be excited to go. What child wouldn’t look forward to teacher-led holograph tours of the pyramids of Egypt; multimedia centers where talking computers help students create dynamic video presentations; and gym classes replete with virtual-reality baseball and “smart” trampolines?

2048: Humanity’s Agreement to Live Together

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Author(s): J. Kirk Boyd
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2010)
Binding: Paperback, 192 pages
List Price: $15.95

Since World War II, world leaders have initiated serious discussions about how to turn from a past of worldwide warfare and poverty to a future of global peace and prosperity for all, notes Kirk Boyd, executive director of the nonprofit 2048 Project.

Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think

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Author(s): Peter H. Diamandis, Steven Kotler
Publisher: Free Press (2012)
Binding: Hardcover, 400 pages
List Price: $26.99

In Abundance: Why the Future is Better Than You Think, (Free Press, February 21) Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler offer a vision of the future that’s truly awesome in both the most traditional and modern understandings of the word; it’s as big as it as awe inspiring.

Acceleration: The Forces Driving Human Progress

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Author(s): Ronald G. Havelock
Publisher: Prometheus Books (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 363 pages
List Price: $28.00

Acceleration: The Forces Driving Human Progress by Ronald Havelock. Prometheus. 2011. 318 pages. $18.48.

Antarctica 2041: My Quest to Save the Earth’s Last Wilderness

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Author(s): Robert Swan, Gil Reavill
Publisher: Broadway (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 304 pages
List Price: $24.99

by Robert Swan with Gil Reavill. Broadway. 2009. 290 pages. $24.99.

Antarctica’s long-term survival is in question, warns Robert Swan, a researcher who has led expeditions to both the North and South poles. In 2041, he explains, the international treaty protecting Antarctica from human development is up for review. He fears that human development might win, due to the continent’s vast oil, natural gas, and mineral resources, and the likelihood that—if current consumption trends continue—existing oil wells will be mostly drained and no longer sufficient to sustain industrialized civilization.

Apocalypse Never: Forging the Path to a Nuclear Weapon-Free World

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Author(s): Dr. Tad Daley
Publisher: Rutgers University Press (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 296 pages
List Price: $24.95

by Tad Daley. Rutgers. 2010. 296 pages. $24.95.

Ridding the world of nuclear weapons is both feasible and necessary for survival, argues science journalist Tad Daley. As long as nations keep them, it is only a matter of time before they fire them at each other, he warns.

Blackout: Coal, Climate and the Last Energy Crisis

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Author(s): Richard Heinberg
Publisher: Clairview Books (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 208 pages
List Price:

by Richard Heinberg. New Society. 2009. 200 pages. Paperback. $18.95.

Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water

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Author(s): Peter H. Gleick
Publisher: Island Press (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 232 pages
List Price: $26.95

by Peter H. Gleick. 2010. 211 pages. AMACOM. $26.96.

Consumption of bottled water has skyrocketed over the last few decades, says globally recognized water expert Peter Gleick. However, he thinks that the tide may be turning. In Bottled and Sold, Gleick describes a “war on bottled water” now under way in offices, recreation centers, restaurants, and private homes across the globe.

Brain Sense: The Science of the Senses and How We Process the World Around Us

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Author(s): Faith Hickman Brynie
Publisher: AMACOM (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 288 pages
List Price: $24.00

by Faith Hickman Brynie. AMACOM. 2009. 274 pages. $24.

The brain is much more dynamic than scientists used to think, according to science and health writer Faith Hickman Brynie in Brain Sense. She takes readers on a tour of how the brain and the senses interact, sharing discoveries that she says have dramatic implications for brain research and medical practice. Examples:

But Will the Planet Notice? How Smart Economics Can Save the World

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Author(s): Gernot Wagner
Publisher: Hill and Wang (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 272 pages
List Price: $27.00

Many European nations rank far ahead of the United States in renewable energy, pollution control, and energy conservation, according to Environmental Defense Fund economist Gernot Wagner. He attributes this lead to one factor: market incentives. European governments instituted policies that made clean energy development more cost-effective to use than status-quo fossil-fuel energy.

Calculating Political Risk

Image of Calculating Political Risk (The Earthscan Risk in Society Series)
Author(s): Catherine Althaus
Publisher: Routledge (2008)
Binding: Paperback, 304 pages
List Price: $49.95

Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation

Image of Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation
Author(s): Tim Brown
Publisher: HarperBusiness (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 272 pages
List Price: $27.99

by Tim Brown. HarperCollins. 2009. 260 pages. Paperback. $27.99.

Design executive Tim Brown attributes many of the boldest innovations in business today to “design thinking,” a radical product-development strategy that “pulls design out of the studio” and channels the creativity of everyone in a company or organization, from the CEO down to the entry-level employee.

Change Design: Conversations about Architecture as the Ultimate Business Tool

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Author(s): Nbbj
Publisher: Greenway Communications (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 250 pages
List Price: $59.95

by NBBJ and Bruce Mau. Greenway. 2009. 250 pages. $59.95.

A well-designed building encourages creativity and cooperation within, according to architectural firm NBBJ and design company Bruce Mau. Their jointly authored and richly illustrated book Change Design showcases new buildings that offer new ways of working. Change Design presents real-life stories of 14 organizations that enhanced productivity, employee satisfaction, energy efficiency, or all three by changing the layout of their office buildings.

Change the World, Change Your Life: Discover Your Life Purpose Through Service

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Author(s): Angela Perkey
Publisher: Conari Press (2010)
Binding: Paperback, 224 pages
List Price: $15.95

by Angela Perkey. Conari Press. 2010. 218 pages. Paperback. $15.95.

China's Ascent

Image of China's Ascent: Power, Security, and the Future of International Politics (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
Author(s):
Publisher: Cornell University Press (2008)
Binding: Paperback, 336 pages
List Price: $23.95

A great power transition likely to affect populations around the world is now under way as economic and political clout shifts from the United States to China, according to political-science professor Ross and international-studies professor Feng.

Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will thrive in the Hotter Future

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Author(s): Matthew E. Kahn
Publisher: Basic Books (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 288 pages
List Price: $26.95

by Matthew Kahn. Basic. 2010. 260 pages. Paperback. $26.95.

Collective Visioning: How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable Future

Image of Collective Visioning: How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable Future (BK Currents (Paperback))
Author(s): Linda Stout
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2011)
Binding: Paperback, 240 pages
List Price: $17.95

Collective Visioning: How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable Future by Linda Stout. Berrett-Koehler. 2011. 198 pages. Paperback. $17.95.

Communicating with the Future: How Re-engineering Intentions Will Alter the Master Code of Our Future

A business that wants to survive and thrive must do more than simply plan for the future, says Thomas Frey, the DaVinci Institute’s executive director and senior futurist. He advises future-wary businesses everywhere to take personal ownership stakes in creating the future.

Community Leadership 4.0: Impacting a World Gone Wiki

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Author(s): Carolyn Corbin
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (2011)
Binding: Paperback, 258 pages
List Price: $15.99

As society changes, so must leadership practices, says Carolyn Corbin, president of the think tank Center for the 21st Century, in Community Leadership 4.0. She describes the skills that a twenty-first-century leader must have to navigate globalization and nonstop technological change.

Cosmic Conversations: Dialogues on the Nature of the Universe and the Search for Reality

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Author(s): Stephan Martin
Publisher: New Page Books (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 286 pages
List Price: $16.99

by Stephan Martin. New Page Books. 2010. 287 pages. Paperback. $16.99.

We humans have been trying to understand the cosmos since prehistory and we will keep inquiring well into the future, according to astronomer Stephan Martin. He presents interviews with 20 thinkers, each of whom speaks about the cosmos, but from a spiritual rather than a scientific or materialistic standpoint.

Energy Crisis: Solution from Space

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Author(s): Ralph Nansen
Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc. (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 208 pages
List Price: $24.95

by Ralph Nansen. Apogee. 2009. 203 pages. $24.95.

An energy source that is nondepletable, available to everyone, environmentally clean, and in a form we can easily use—we have yet to find it on Earth, but it is there for the taking in space, argues space engineer Ralph Nansen. He presents a bold and far-reaching plan to deploy satellites that will capture solar radiation from the sun and beam it to earth for use in generating immense new quantities of electricity.

Energy Crisis: Solution from Space

An energy source that is nondepletable, available to everyone, environmentally clean, and in a form we can easily use—we have yet to find it on Earth, but it is there for the taking in space, argues space engineer Ralph Nansen in Energy Crisis: Solution from Space. He presents a bold and far-reaching plan to deploy satellites that will capture solar radiation from the sun and beam it to earth for use in generating immense new quantities of electricity. Plans for such satellites have been under way since the 1970s, he explains, relating the historical background of America’s space program and technical details of the structures that a hypothetical solar-satellite system would include.

Fight for the Bay: Why a Dark Green Environmental Awakening is Needed to Save the Chesapeake Bay

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Author(s): Howard R. Ernst
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 164 pages
List Price: $19.95

by Howard R. Ernst. Rowman & Littlefield. 2009. 144 pages. Paperback. $19.95.

Pollution has reduced more than 400 water ecosystems around the world to “dead zones,” notes U.S. Naval Academy political science professor Howard Ernst in Fight for the Bay. For conservationists trying to save these ecosystems, the eastern United States’ Chesapeake Bay serves a cautionary tale.

Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible

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Author(s): Daniel Burrus
Publisher: HarperBusiness (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 304 pages
List Price: $27.99

Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible by Daniel Burrus with John David Mann. Harper Business. 2011. 268 pages. $27.95.

Forces of Nature: Our Quest to Conquer the Planet

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Author(s): Barry A. Vann
Publisher: Prometheus Books (2012)
Binding: Hardcover, 342 pages
List Price: $26.00

Human population trends have always been at the mercy of Earth’s climate, says geographer Barry A. Vann. Since prehistoric times, nomadic people have migrated to where food and water were plentiful. When scarcities made hunting and gathering no longer an option; then they would settle and commence farming.

Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet

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Author(s): Ibrahim Abdul-Matin
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2010)
Binding: Paperback, 264 pages
List Price: $16.95

Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet by Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. Berrett-Koehler. 2010. 232 pages. $16.95.

Conservation of the earth is integral to Islam, argues Muslim author and policy advisor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. He presents multiple examples of what Muslims are doing and can do to improve human stewardship of the planet and its resources.

How to Catch a Robot Rat: When Biology Inspires Innovation

by Agnès Guillot and Jean-Arcady Meyer. 2010. 226 pages. MIT Press. $29.95.

Human engineers draw some of their best inspirations from nature, according to technology researchers Agnès Guillot and Jean-Arcady Meyer in How to Catch a Robot Rat. The authors introduce readers to “the new bionics,” a field that integrates biology and engineering.

How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times

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Author(s): James Wesley Rawles
Publisher: Plume (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 336 pages
List Price: $17.00

by James Wesley Rawles. Plume. 2009. 153 pages. Paperback. $17.

Civilization is still standing now, but that does not mean it always will, cautions survival expert James Wesley Rawles in How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It.

Integrationalism: Essays on the Rationale of Abundance

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Author(s): James Felton Keith
Publisher: CreateSpace (2010)
Binding: Paperback, 204 pages
List Price: $20.00

Integrationalism is a philosophical framework that is inspiring new thought on the ideal transition from human creation, to human continuity, and finally to human cultivation, by acknowledging the technological extension that have yielded modern discovery, development, and deployment.

Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World

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Author(s): Bob Johansen
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 194 pages
List Price: $28.95

by Bob Johansen. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2009. 191 pages. $26.95.

Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20

Image of Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20: Hypersonic Flight Transport for an Era Beyond Oil
Author(s): Leik N. Myrabo, John S. Lewis
Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc. (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 304 pages
List Price: $29.95

by Leik Myrabo and John S. Lewis. Apogee. 2009. 284 pages. Paperback. $29.95.

Jet airplanes and rocket-propelled spacecraft are profligate fossil-fuel burners and carbon-dioxide emitters, according to aerospace engineer Leik Myrabo and planetary-sciences professor John S. Lewis. They look forward to the debut—possibly by 2025—of carbon-free “lightcraft.”

Making the Invisible Visible: Essays by the Fellows of the International Leadership Forum

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Author(s): Richard Farson
Publisher: Greenway Communications (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 154 pages
List Price: $29.00

edited by Richard Farson. Western Sciences Behavioral Institute. 2009. 153 pages. $29.

Mega Disasters: The Science of Predicting the Next Catastrophe

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Author(s): Florin Diacu
Publisher: Princeton University Press (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 216 pages
List Price: $24.95

by Florin Diacu. Princeton University Press. 2010. 195 pages. $24.95.

It is possible to mathematically predict the directions in which stars, planets, and other objects in space will travel, but can we also predict how things will unfold here on Earth? Yes, in many cases, argues mathematician Florin Diacu.

My Brain Made Me Do It: The Rise of Neuroscience and the Threat to Moral Responsibility

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Author(s): Eliezer J. Sternberg
Publisher: Prometheus Books (2010)
Binding: Paperback, 244 pages
List Price: $21.00

My Brain Made Me Do It: The Rise of Neuroscience and the Threat to Moral Responsibility by Eliezer Sternberg. Prometheus. 2010. 244 pages. $21.

Neuroengineering the Future

Unpublished
Image of Neuroengineering the Future: Virtual Minds and the Creation of Immortality (Computer Science)
Author(s): Bruce F Katz
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers (2008)
Binding: Hardcover, 400 pages
List Price: $60.95

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Odyssey of a Practical Visionary

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Manufacturer: Thistlefield Books
Part Number:
Price:

by Belden Paulson. Thistlefield Books. 2009. 757 pages. $24.95.

In the mid-twentieth century, while communists and anticommunists across the world were locked in ideological warfare, futurist and community organizer Belden Paulson went about his own peaceful quest to change the world. Now he tells his story, with all the people who shared in it and the history he witnessed.

Outrageous Fortunes: The Twelve Surprising Trends That Will Reshape the Global Economy

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Author(s): Daniel Altman
Publisher: Times Books (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 272 pages
List Price: $25.00

by Daniel Altman. 2011. 244 pages. Holt. $25.

China’s seemingly invincible economy won’t flourish forever, says economist Daniel Altman. In Outrageous Fortunes, he forecasts that the Chinese economy’s structural weaknesses will overtake it later this century and cause the nation to grow poorer even after so many decades of growing richer.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

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Author(s): Mary Roach
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 334 pages
List Price: $25.95

by Mary Roach. 2010. 334 pages. W.W. Norton. $25.95.

Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet

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Author(s): Tim Jackson
Publisher: Routledge (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 288 pages
List Price: $95.00

by Tim Jackson. Earthscan. 2009. 264 pages. $22.50.

Race Against The Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy

Why has median income stopped rising in the US?

Why is the share of population that is working falling so rapidly?

Why are our economy and society are becoming more unequal?

A popular explanation right now is that the root cause underlying these symptoms is technological stagnation-- a slowdown in the kinds of ideas and inventions that bring progress and prosperity.

Rethinking Risk: How Companies Sabotage Themselves and What They Must Do Differently

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Author(s): Joseph W. Koletar
Publisher: AMACOM (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 242 pages
List Price: $29.95

by Joseph Kolatar. 2011. 242 pages. AMACOM. $29.95.

Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution

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Author(s): Caroline Fraser
Publisher: Metropolitan Books (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 416 pages
List Price: $28.50

by Caroline Fraser. Metropolitan. 2009. 400 pages. $28.50.

In just one century, we could undo hundreds of millions of years of natural evolutionary processes, according to ecologist Caroline Fraser. She warns that the loss of ecosystems to growing human populations and rampant development could wipe out half the world’s animal and plant species by 2100.

State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures

Image of State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability (State of the World)
Author(s): The Worldwatch Institute, Erik Assadourian
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (2010)
Binding: Paperback, 244 pages
List Price: $23.95

by the Worldwatch Institute. 2010. 244 pages. W.W. Norton. $19.95.

A worldwide binge of material consumerism has been draining the planet’s resources for the last few decades, but a new mass movement toward sustainability seems to be under way at last, according to the Worldwatch Institute’s State of the World 2010.

Streetlights and Shadows: Searching for the Keys to Adaptive Decision Making

Decision makers sometimes put their faith in logic and data when intuitive thinking would really be the better guide, says scientist Gary Klein in Streetlights and Shadows.

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

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Author(s): Chip Heath, Dan Heath
Publisher: Crown Business (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 320 pages
List Price: $26.00

by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

How, exactly, do you motivate people to change their behaviors? According to Chip Heath and Dan Heath in Switch, it boils down to a three-part process: reaching people’s rational minds, appealing to their emotions, and then shaping the environment to make it more conducive to change.

The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop, and Keep Tomorrow’s Employees Today

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Author(s): Jeanne C. Meister, Karie Willyerd
Publisher: HarperBusiness (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 304 pages
List Price: $26.99

The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop, and Keep Tomorrow’s Employees Today by Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd. HarperCollins. 2011. 294 pages. $26.99.

The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods

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Author(s): John McKnight, Peter Block
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 200 pages
List Price: $26.95

The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods by John McKnight and Peter Block. Berrett-Koehler. 2010. 173 pages. $26.95.

The Atlas of New Librarianship

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Author(s): R. David Lankes
Publisher: The MIT Press (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 408 pages
List Price: $55.00

The Atlas of New Librarianship by R. David Lankes. MIT Press. 2011. 408 pages. Illustrated. $55.

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

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Author(s): Steven Pinker
Publisher: Viking Adult (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 832 pages
List Price: $40.00

Humanity is becoming more peaceful, and the proof is all around us, asserts Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. In The Better Angels of Our Nature, he retraces the last few millennia of human history to show a clear evolution across the globe away from violence, war, and exploitation, and toward nonviolence, compassion, and equality.

The Economics of Integrity: From Dairy Farmers to Toyota, How Wealth Is Built on Trust and What That Means for Our Future

Image of The Economics of Integrity: From Dairy Farmers to Toyota, How Wealth Is Built on Trust and What That Means for Our Future
Author(s): Anna Bernasek
Publisher: HarperBusiness (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 208 pages
List Price: $19.99

The businessman who says he created his wealth all by himself is mistaken, states financial reporter Anna Bernasek in The Economics of Integrity. She points out that any successful enterprise is the result of a number of people lending their cooperation and their time. For all these people to cooperate effectively, they must first be able to trust each other.

The Ecotechnic Future: Envisioning a Post-Peak World

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Author(s): John Michael Greer
Publisher: New Society Publishers (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 288 pages
List Price: $18.95

by John Michael Greer. New Society Publishers. 2009. 153 pages. Paperback. $18.95.

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?

by Ian Bremmer. Portfolio. 2010. 221 pages. $26.95.

The free-market economic system of Europe and North America could be undone by a new rival, called state capitalism, warns political consultant Ian Bremmer.

The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change

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Author(s): Philip Conkling, Richard Alley, Wallace Broecker, George Denton
Publisher: The MIT Press (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 232 pages
List Price: $29.95

The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change by Philip Conkling, Richard Alley, Wallace Broecker, and George Denton. Photographs by Gary Comer. MIT Press. 2011. 216 pages. Illustrated. $29.95.

The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You

Image of The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You
Author(s): Eli Pariser
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 304 pages
List Price: $25.95

In December 2009, Google began customizing its search results for each user. Instead of giving you the most broadly popular result, Google now tries to predict what you are most likely to click on. According to MoveOn.org board president Eli Pariser, Google's change in policy is symptomatic of the most significant shift to take place on the Web in recent years-the rise of personalization.

The Flooded Earth: Our Future in a World Without Ice Caps

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Author(s): Peter D. Ward
Publisher: Basic Books (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 272 pages
List Price: $25.95

by Peter Ward. Basic. 2010. 252 pages. Paperback. $25.95.

The Future of God in the Global Village: Spirituality in an Age of Terrorism and Beyond

Image of The Future Of God In The Global Village: Spirituality In An Age Of Terrorism And Beyond
Author(s): Thomas R. McFaul
Publisher: AuthorHouse Publishing (2011)
Binding: Paperback, 208 pages
List Price: $18.04

Religion thrives at the start of the twenty-first century, despite a plethora of predictions that it would die out a century ago, according to retired religion professor Thomas McFaul. In The Future of God in the Global Village, he looks at the myriad faith traditions that flourish today and the reasons for their continuing strength.

The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World

Image of The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World
Author(s): Paul Gilding
Publisher: Bloomsbury Press (2011)
Binding: Hardcover, 304 pages
List Price: $25.00

In World War II, the United States and its Allies rallied their citizens to labor, sacrifice, and produce like never before to defeat fascism. Ecologist Paul Gilding expresses hope in The Great Disruption that, as the depth of the climate crisis hits, the world will in like fashion launch into wartime-like mobilization to avert ecological and socioeconomic catastrophe.

The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity

Image of The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity
Author(s): Richard Florida
Publisher: Harper (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 240 pages
List Price: $26.99

by Richard Florida. HarperCollins. 2010. 225 pages. Paperback. $26.99.

The economic recession is really an economic “reset,” argues economist Richard Florida. We are seeing the demise of obsolete means of production and consumption and their replacement with new alternatives.

The Lifestyle Puzzle: Who We Are in the 21st Century

by Henrik Vejlgaard. 2010. 235 pages. Prometheus. Paperback. $19.

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires

Image of The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires (Borzoi Books)
Author(s): Tim Wu
Publisher: Knopf (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 384 pages
List Price: $28.95

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu. Knopf. 2010. 366 pages. $27.95.

Since the invention of the telephone, every information technology has evolved along a similar trajectory, says Tim Wu, chairman of the media reform organization Free Press, in The Master Switch. He calls this trajectory “The Cycle.”

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires

Image of The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires (Borzoi Books)
Author(s): Tim Wu
Publisher: Knopf (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 384 pages
List Price: $28.95

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu. Knopf. 2010. 366 pages. $27.95.

Since the invention of the telephone, every information technology has evolved along a similar trajectory, says Tim Wu, chairman of the media reform organization Free Press, in The Master Switch. He calls this trajectory “The Cycle.”

The Money Myth: School Resources, Outcomes, and Equity

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Author(s): W. Norton Grubb
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 400 pages
List Price: $35.00

by W. Norton Grubb. Russell Sage Foundation. 2009. 400 pages. $35.

Increased funding does not guarantee improved school performance, according to Berkeley education professor W. Norton Grubb. Despite lavish funding, he says, many U.S. school districts lag far behind others in the quality of education they offer their students. Those students will consequently be at a steep disadvantage throughout their adult lives.

The Neuro Revolution: How Brain Science Is Changing Our World

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Author(s): Zack Lynch, Byron Laursen
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 256 pages
List Price: $25.99

by Zack Lynch, with Byron Laursen. St. Martin’s Press. 2009. 245 pages. $25.99.

The Precarious Human Role in a Mechanistic Universe

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Author(s): John F Brinster
Publisher: Xlibris, Corp. (2011)
Binding: Paperback, 514 pages
List Price: $23.99

Religion’s influence upon society has waned in the past century, and it will continue to wane in the years to come, forecasts John F. Brinster, retired Princeton physicist and psychologist. He looks forward to secularism gaining progressively more ground over the next few generations.
More and more people will practice spirituality, but fewer and fewer will practice religion.

The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves

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Author(s): Matt Ridley
Publisher: Harper (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 448 pages
List Price: $26.99

by Matt Ridley. HarperCollins. 2010. 422 pages. Paperback. $26.99.

Throughout the last two centuries, experts have repeatedly warned that civilization was headed for an imminent collapse and that society would shortly descend into anarchy, epidemics, famines, or other such catastrophes—yet the future kept turning out better than they had expected, says conservationist Matt Ridley.

The Smart Growth Manual

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Author(s): Andres Duany, Jeff Speck, Mike Lydon
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 240 pages
List Price: $24.95

by Andres Duany and Jeff Speck with Mike Lydon. McGraw-Hill. 2009. 240 pages. $24.95.

Urban growth is inevitable, so let us plan ahead for it to make sure that it takes place in the most orderly ways possible, argue design consultants Andres Duany and Jeff Speck in The Smart Growth Manual.

The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger

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Author(s): Richard Wilkinson, Kate Pickett
Publisher: Bloomsbury Press (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 352 pages
List Price: $28.00

by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. Bloomsbury. 2010. 331 pages. $28.

The Vanishing of a Species? A Look at Modern Man’s Predicament by a Geologist

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Author(s): Peter Gretener
Publisher: Qualitas Classics (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 280 pages
List Price: $19.95

by Peter Gretener. Qualitas. 2010. 280 pages. $19.95.

In the 1970s, geologist Peter Gretener believed strongly that the human race would go extinct if it did not dramatically readjust its ways of living. He wrote a manuscript explaining why, but he died before he could publish it.

The Viking in the Wheat Field: A Scientist’s Struggle to Preserve the World’s Harvest

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Author(s): Susan Dworkin
Publisher: Walker & Company (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 256 pages
List Price: $26.00

by Susan Dworkin. Walker & Company. 2009. 239 pages. $26.

The Warcraft Civilization: Social Science in a Virtual World by William Sims Bainbridge

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Author(s): William Sims Bainbridge
Publisher: The MIT Press (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 256 pages
List Price: $27.95

Imagine a video game bursting out of the screen and merging with the real world around you. You may experience precisely that if a prototype augmented-reality game system called LARP (live-action role-playing games) becomes fully developed, according to William Sims Bainbridge in The Warcraft Civilization.

Thriving in the Crosscurrent: Clarity and Hope in a Time of Cultural Sea Change

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Author(s): James Kenney
Publisher: Quest Books (2010)
Binding: Paperback, 216 pages
List Price: $16.95

Thriving in the Crosscurrent: Clarity and Hope in a Time of Cultural Sea Change by James Kenney. Quest. 2010. 253 pages. $16.95.

Turning Oil into Salt: Energy Independence Through Fuel Choice

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Author(s): Anne Korin, Gal Luft
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 144 pages
List Price: $14.99

by Gal Luft and Anne Korin. Booksurge. 2009. 138 pages. Paperback. $14.99.

Current oil-consumption rates will require four new Saudi Arabias before the century is finished, according to the co-directors of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security in Potomac, Maryland.

Upstarts: How GenY Entrepreneurs Are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success

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Author(s): Donna Fenn
Publisher: McGraw-Hill (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 272 pages
List Price: $25.95

by Donna Fenn. McGraw-Hill. 2009. 258 pages. $29.95.

A new business landscape is in the making, and the 13-25-year-old youth demographic is creating it, according to Upstarts by business writer Donna Fenn. A trend is rising of teens and young adults starting their own businesses, offering the world’s best hope for a flourishing post-recession global economy, Fenn argues.

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers

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Author(s): Richard N. Bolles
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (2008)
Binding: Hardcover, 456 pages
List Price: $28.95

Every year since 1975, career coach Bolles has been producing updated versions of his comprehensive guide for finding jobs. This 2009 edition takes stock of the shake-up in the worldwide job market in 2008 and the ways it has radically changed job hunting.
Millions more adults are now out of work, Bolles notes, and the competition for new jobs is historically fierce. But he cautions against giving up. With a proactive attitude and some up-to-date strategies, he says, job seekers can become gainfully employed.

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2010: A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers

Image of What Color Is Your Parachute? 2010: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers
Author(s): Richard N. Bolles
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 311 pages
List Price: $28.99

by Richard N. Bolles. Ten Speed Press. 2010. 311 pages. $18.99.

The job search as career coach is not a matter of looking for available positions; it is one of self-discovery and personal futuring.

What's Next: Dispatches on the Future of Science

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Author(s):
Publisher: Vintage (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 237 pages
List Price: $15.00

Why We Cooperate

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Author(s): Michael Tomasello
Publisher: The MIT Press (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 232 pages
List Price: $14.95

by Michael Tomasello et al. MIT Press. 2009. 204 pages. $14.95.

In the next decade, research into human infants’ thought patterns might help answer millennia-old questions about human nature, speculate anthropologist Michael Tomasello and co-authors in Why We Cooperate.

Your Flying Car Awaits: Robot Butlers, Lunar Vacations, and Other Dead-Wrong Predictions of the Twentieth Century

Renowned twentieth-century experts made many educated guesses about what life in the early twenty-first century would be like, and many of those guesses turned out to be spectacularly wrong, notes freelance journalist Paul Milo in Your Flying Car Awaits.