Is the world falling apart? Is progress obsolete? In this elegant assessment of the human condition in the third millennium, cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to stop back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, which play to our psychological biases. Instead, follow the data: In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the...

"Marianne is stuck in a loveless, unhappy marriage. After forty-one years, she has reached her limit, and one evening in Paris she decides to take action. Following a dramatic moment on the banks of the Seine, Marianne leaves her life behind and sets out for the coast of Brittany, also known as "the end of the world." Here she meets a cast of colorful and unforgettable locals who surprise her with their warm welcome, and the natural ease they all...

"Twain's firsthand portrait of the steamboat age and the science of riverboat piloting recalls the history of the Mississippi River, from its discovery by Europeans to the writer's own time." *** "Mark Twain's famous account of life on the Mississippi in the old steamboat days and his own experiences as a pilot. Its historical sketches, its frequent passages of vivid description, and its humorous episodes combine to make [this] a masterpiece of the...

"Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie-scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to--a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Now, Quincy is doing well--maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists...

After his nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America, Harris knew he had to make some changes. He realized that the source of his problems was the very thing he always thought was his greatest asset: the incessant, insatiable voice in his head, which had propelled him through the ranks of a hypercompetitive business, but had also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that provoked his on-air freak-out. Eventually Harris stumbled...

Boston PI Spenser faces a hot case and a personal crisis in the latest adventure in the iconic New York Times best-selling series from author Ace Atkins. The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church raged hot and fast, lighting up Boston's South End and killing three firefighters. A year later, as the city prepares to honor their sacrifice, there are still no answers about how the deadly fire started. Boston firefight Jack McGee, who lost his best friend...

"The New York Times bestselling master of suspense is back with a riveting thriller, as reward seeker Colter Shaw plunges into the woods and races the clock in a case where nothing is quite what it seems"-- Allison Parker is on the run with her teenage daughter, Hannah, and Colter Shaw has been hired by her eccentric boss, entrepreneur Marty Harmon, to find and protect her. Though he's an expert at tracking missing persons--even those who don't wish...

The Wife Project is complete, and Don and Rosie are happily married and living in New York. But they're about to face a new challenge because -- surprise! -- Rosie is pregnant. Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he's left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie. As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy...