appassionato , to bookstodon group
@appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

How the World Ran Out of Everything by Peter S. Goodman, 2024

How does the wealthiest country on earth run out of protective gear in the middle of a public health catastrophe? How do its parents find themselves unable to locate crucially needed infant formula? How do its largest companies spend billions of dollars making cars that no one can drive for a lack of chips?

@bookstodon



By the New York Times's Global Economics Correspondent, an extraordinary journey to understand the worldwide supply chain—exposing both the fascinating pathways of manufacturing and transportation that bring products to your doorstep, and the ruthless business logic that has left local communities at the mercy of a complex and fragile network for their basic necessities. "A tale that will change how you look at the world." —Mark Leibovich
ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    A True History of the United States: Indigenous Genocide, Racialized Slavery, Hyper-Capitalism, Militarist Imperialism and Other Overlooked Aspects of American Exceptionalism by Daniel A. Sjursen, 2021

    In vivid, engaging prose, Sjursen challenges readers to think critically and to apply common sense to their understanding our nation's past, and present.

    @bookstodon



    Written by a combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, A True History of the United States grew out of a course that Daniel A. Sjursen taught to cadets at West Point, his alma mater. With chapter titles such as "Patriots or Insurgents?" and "The Decade That Roared and Wept", A True History is accurate with respect to the facts and intellectually honest in its presentation and analysis. "Sjursen exposes the dominant historical narrative as at best myth, and at times a lie . . . He brings out from the shadows those who struggled, often at the cost of their own lives, for equality and justice."
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    It's a Jungle in There: How Competition and Cooperation in the Brain Shape the Mind by David A. Rosenbaum, 2014

    Competition within your brain does as much to shape who you are as the physical and figurative competition you face externally.

    @bookstodon



    Distinguished professor and cognitive psychologist David Rosenbaum takes this metaphor of surviving in the wild and applies it to the competitive arena within the brain. He argues that the overarching theory of biology, Darwin's theory, should be the overarching theory of cognitive psychology, the science of mental functioning. He explores this new and intriguing idea by showing how neural elements compete and cooperate in a kind of inner jungle, where only the fittest survive. Competition within your brain does as much to shape who you are as the physical and figurative competition you face externally. Just as the jungle night seethes with noisy creatures beckoning their mates, issuing their warnings, and settling their arguments, you might have trouble falling asleep at night because the thoughts in your head are fighting for their chance at survival. Rosenbaum's pursuit of this bold idea explains why we are shaped into who we are, for better or worse, because we are the hosts of inner battlefields. Written in a light-hearted tone and with reference to hypothetical neural "creatures" making their way in a tough environment, Rosenbaum makes cognitive psychology and his theory easy to understand and exciting to ponder. Rather than rely on the series of disconnected phenomena and collection of curiosities that often constitute cognitive psychology, It's a Jungle in There provides a fascinating way to place all cognitive phenomena under one flourishing tree.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    AI: Unexplainable, Unpredictable, Uncontrollable by Roman V. Yampolskiy, 2024

    Written by one of the founders of the field of AI safety, this book addresses some of the most fascinating questions facing humanity, including the nature of intelligence, consciousness, values, and knowledge.

    @bookstodon


    Moving from a broad introduction to the core problems, such as the unpredictability of AI outcomes or the difficulty in explaining AI decisions, this book arrives at more complex questions of ownership and control, conducting an in-depth analysis of potential hazards and unintentional consequences. The book then concludes with philosophical and existential considerations, probing into questions of AI personhood, consciousness, and the distinction between human intelligence and artificial general intelligence (AGI). Bridging the gap between technical intricacies and philosophical musings, AI: Unpredictable, Unexplainable, Uncontrollable appeals to both AI experts and enthusiasts looking for a comprehensive understanding of the field, while also being written for a general audience with minimal technical jargon.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Scenes of Attention: Essays on Mind, Time, and the Senses by D. Graham Burnett, 2023

    This book investigates attention from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, history, anthropology, art history, and comparative literature. Each chapter begins with a concrete scene whose protagonists are trying―and often failing―to attend.

    @bookstodon


    Authors examine key moments in the history of the study of attention; pose attention as a philosophical problem; explore the links between attention, culture, and technology; and consider the significance of attention for conceptualizations of human subjectivity. Readers encounter nineteenth-century experiments in boredom, ornithologists conveying sound through field notations, wearable attention-enhancing prosthetics, students using online learning platforms, and inquiries into attention as a cognitive state and moral virtue. Amid mounting concern about digital mediation of experience, the rise of “surveillance capitalism,” and the commodification of attention, Scenes of Attention deepens the thinking that is needed to protect the freedom of attention and the forms of life that make it possible.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Food Adulteration and Food Fraud by Jonathan Rees, 2020

    In this book, Jonathan Rees examines the complex causes and surprising effects of adulteration and fraud across the global food chain.

    @bookstodon




    What do we really know about the food we eat? A firestorm of recent food-fraud cases, from the US honey-laundering scandal to the forty-year-old frozen “zombie” meat smuggled into China, to horse-meat episodes in the United Kingdom, suggests fraudulent and intentional acts of food adulteration are on the rise. While often harmless, some incidents have resulted in serious public health consequences. At the heart of these dubious practices are everyone from large food processors to small-time criminals, while many consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about this malfeasance. Covering comestibles of all kinds from around the globe, Rees describes the different types of contamination, the role and effectiveness of government regulation, and our willingness to ignore deception if the groceries we purchase are cheap or convenient. Pithy, punchy, and cogent, Food Adulteration and Food Fraud offers important insight into this vital problem of human consumption.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    A Crack in Everything: How Black Holes Came in From the Cold and Took Cosmic Centre Stage by Marcus Chown, 2024

    As a journalist, Marcus Chown interviews many of the scientists who made the key discoveries, and, as a former physicist, he translates the most esoteric of science into everyday language. The result is a uniquely engaging page-turner that tells one of the great untold stories in modern science.

    @bookstodon




    What is space? What is time? Where did the universe come from? The answers to mankind's most enduring questions may lie in science's greatest enigma: black holes. A black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. This can occur when a star approaches the end of its life. Unable to generate enough heat to maintain its outer layers, it shrinks catastrophically down to an infinitely dense point. When this phenomenon was first proposed in 1916, it defied scientific understanding so much that Albert Einstein dismissed it as too ridiculous to be true. But scientists have since proven otherwise. In 1971, Paul Murdin and Louise Webster discovered the first black hole: Cygnus X-1. Later, in the 1990s, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope found that not only do black holes exist, supermassive black holes lie at the heart of almost every galaxy, including our own. It would take another three decades to confirm this phenomenon. On 10 April 2019, a team of astronomers made history by producing the first image of a black hole. A Crack in Everything is the story of how black holes came in from the cold and took cosmic centre stage.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    The Explorers A New History of America in Ten Expeditions by Amanda Bellows, 2024

    A fascinating new history of America, told through the stories of a diverse cast of ten extraordinary—and often overlooked—adventurers, from Sacagawea to Matthew Henson to Sally Ride, who pushed the boundaries of discovery and determined our national destiny.

    @bookstodon



    The archetype of the American explorer, a rugged white man, has dominated our popular culture since the late eighteenth century, when Daniel Boone's autobiography captivated readers with tales of treacherous journeys. But our commonly held ideas about American exploration do not tell the whole story—far from it. The Explorers rediscovers a diverse group of Americans who went to the western frontier and beyond, traversing the farthest reaches of the globe.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    The CIA An Imperial History by Hugh Wilford, 2024

    In this “superb” new history of American intelligence, a celebrated historian uncovers how the CIA became the foremost defender of America’s covert global empire.

    @bookstodon




    As World War II ended, the United States stood as the dominant power on the world stage. In 1947, to support its new global status, it created the CIA to analyze foreign intelligence. But within a few years, the Agency was engaged in other operations: bolstering pro-American governments, overthrowing nationalist leaders, and surveilling anti-imperial dissenters at home. The Cold War was an obvious reason for this transformation—but not the only one. In The CIA, celebrated intelligence historian Hugh Wilford draws on decades of research to show the Agency as part of a larger picture, the history of Western empire.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    The Network of Life: A New View of Evolution by David Mindell, 2024

    Why evolution is like a network, not a family tree—and why it matters for understanding the health of all living things.

    @bookstodon


    In The Network of Life , David Mindell explains why the conventional narrative of evolution needs to evolve. Ever since Darwin, evolution has largely been thought to work like a family tree in which species are related through a series of branching events. But, today, a growing knowledge of the ways species share genetic materials in a process known as horizontal evolution has revealed that evolution is actually a network of shared genealogy in which species are more interconnected than previously thought. In this book, Mindell presents this new narrative of life’s evolution and its profound implications for all life on Earth. The Network of Life describes the drivers of horizontal evolution—interbreeding and genetic recombination, the merger of species, horizontal gene transfer, and coevolution. The network view of evolution that emerges supports a new symbiotic theory of health, which holds that the future health of humans, other species, and our shared environments depends on evolution and adaptation across life’s network. Difficult times lie ahead for many of Earth’s species as climates and habitats transform. At the same time, new and altered life-forms are arising and spreading in association with human activities. We are also learning to reshape and create life by mimicking the mechanisms of horizontal evolution, and we are coevolving with technology as we enhance our bodies, brains, and life spans.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Disinformation Debunked: Building Resilience Through Media and Information Literacy by Divina Frau-Meigs & Nicoleta Corbu, 2024

    Offering a comparative study of 4 European national experiences (France, Romania, Spain, and Sweden), the authors also make public policy recommendations to improve the fight against disinformation.

    @bookstodon



    "Disinformation Debunked: Building Resilience through Media and Information Literacy examines the way Media and Information Literacy (MIL) can address disinformation in conjunction with fact-checkers and developers, to benefit from the expertise of these fields in fighting disinformation. The book highlights the underlying stakes that are involved in the fight against disinformation, from producing smart tools to generalizing their use beyond the journalistic profession. It considers the MIL theories and methodologies at work in the digital era, especially from the perspective of digital visual literacy. Offering a comparative study of 4 European national experiences (France, Romania, Spain, and Sweden), the authors also make public policy recommendations to improve the fight against disinformation. This book is of great importance to students, scholars and educators working on media and information literacy, digital media, journalism, mass communication, misinformation and disinformation.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    The Astrophotography Manual: A Practical Approach to Deep-Sky Imaging by Chris Woodhouse, 2024

    The Astrophotography Manual's Third Edition is the most up to date and authoritative guide for enthusiasts who want to create beautiful images of nebulas, galaxies, clusters, and the stars with the latest professional tools and techniques.

    @bookstodon


    The book has been completely revised and, after a brief astronomy primer, it guides readers through the full astrophotography process, from choosing and using equipment to image capture, calibration, and processing. An extensive Assignment section at the end shows how several deep sky objects were captured and processed. Throughout the book, the Author's combination of technical background and hands-on approach brings the science down to earth, with practical methods to ensure success. This latest edition is packed full of fresh images and ideas, using the latest hardware and software tools. Given its breadth, depth, and online resources, this book is ideal for those who wish to take their astrophotography to the next level.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz, 2024

    In Stories Are Weapons, best-selling author Annalee Newitz traces the way disinformation, propaganda, and violent threats―the essential tool kit for psychological warfare―have evolved from military weapons deployed against foreign adversaries into tools in domestic culture wars.

    @bookstodon






    A sharp and timely exploration of the dark art of manipulation through weaponized storytelling. Newitz delves into America’s deep-rooted history with psychological operations, beginning with Benjamin Franklin’s Revolutionary War–era fake newspaper and nineteenth-century wars on Indigenous nations, and reaching its apotheosis with the Cold War and twenty-first-century influence campaigns online. America’s secret weapon has long been coercive storytelling. And there’s a reason for that: operatives who shaped modern psychological warfare drew on their experiences as science fiction writers and in the advertising industry. Now, through a weapons-transfer program long unacknowledged, psyops have found their way into the hands of culture warriors, transforming democratic debates into toxic wars over American identity. Newitz zeroes in on conflicts over race and intelligence, school board fights over LGBT students, and campaigns against feminist viewpoints, revealing how, in each case, specific groups of Americans are singled out and treated as enemies of the state. Crucially, Newitz delivers a powerful counternarrative, speaking with the researchers and activists who are outlining a pathway to achieving psychological disarmament and cultural peace. Incisive and essential, Stories are Weapons reveals how our minds have been turned into blood-soaked battlegrounds―and how we can put down our weapons to build something better.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism by George Monbiot & Peter Hutchison, 2024

    Neoliberalism is the dominant ideology of our time. It shapes us in countless ways, yet most of us struggle to articulate what it is. Worse, we have been persuaded to accept this extreme creed as a kind of natural law. In Invisible Doctrine, journalist George Monbiot and filmmaker Peter Hutchison shatter this myth.

    @bookstodon



    A sharp, fiercely argued takedown of neoliberalism that not only defines this slippery concept but connects it to the climate crisis, poverty, and fascism—and shows us how to fight back. “Incisive, illuminating, eye-opening—an unsparing anatomy of the great ideological beast stalking our times, often whispered about and yet never so clearly in view.”—David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth
    ALT
  • Reply
    • lorywidmerhess , to bookstodon group

    American Nations

    @bookstodon

    https://enterenchanted.com/nonfiction-reader-american-nations/

    appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Particle Cosmology and Astrophysics by Dan Hooper, 2024

    A graduate-level introduction to the interface between particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.

    @bookstodon




    This book explores the exciting interface between the fields of cosmology, high-energy astrophysics, and particle physics, at a level suitable for advanced undergraduate- to graduate-level students as well as active researchers. Without assuming a strong background in particle physics or quantum field theory, the text is designed to be accessible to readers from a range of backgrounds and presents both fundamentals and modern topics in a modular style that allows for flexible use and easy reference. It offers coverage of general relativity and the Friedmann equations, early universe thermodynamics, recombination and the cosmic microwave background, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the origin and detection of dark matter, the formation of large-scale structure, baryogenesis and leptogenesis, inflation, dark energy, cosmic rays, neutrino and gamma-ray astrophysics, supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, sterile neutrinos, and axions. The book also includes numerous worked examples and homework problems, many with solutions. Particle Cosmology and Astrophysics provides readers with an invaluable entrée to this cross-disciplinary area of research and discovery. Accessible to advanced undergraduate to graduate students, as well as researchers in cosmology, high-energy astrophysics, and particle physics Does not assume a strong background in particle physics or quantum field theory and contains two chapters specifically for readers with no background in particle physics.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens by Rajiv Shah, 2023

    Rajiv J. Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation and former administrator of President Barack Obama's United States Agency for International Development, shares a dynamic new model for creating large scale change, inspired by his own involvements with some of the largest humanitarian projects of our time.

    @bookstodon




    "Raj Shah has written a practical guide to making the world a better place. He knows what he's talking about, because he's done it himself. Anyone who wants to make a change in the world, or their own lives, will benefit from this book." —Bill Gates, Cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Footprints in the Woods: The Secret Life of Forest and Riverbank by John Lister-Kaye, 2023

    Footprints in the Woods is John Lister-Kaye's account of a year spent observing the comings and goings of otters, beavers, badgers, weasels and pine martens. This family - - all live in the wild at Aigas, the conservation and field study centre John calls home.

    @bookstodon


    With the patient and meticulous care of a true naturalist, John observes and records the lives, habits and habitats of these elusive animals. Hours of careful waiting and watching in the woods and loch, the river, fields and moorland is rewarded with insight into how these animals live when unhindered by human interference; sometimes red in tooth and claw, but often playful, familial, curious and surprising. As a boy, badgers and weasels were John's first encounter with wild animals, now he has spent fifty years living side-by side with them in the Highlands and come to know much of their ways. Footprints in the Woods is the culmination of that long association with the Mustelidae family, a love letter to the otters, beavers, badgers, weasels and pine martens that also call Aigas home, and a reminder of the fragility of habitat and the beauty and variety we have to lose if we don't choose to actively protect it.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Food: The Chemistry of Its Components 6th Edition by Tom Coultate, 2016

    First published in 1984, and now in its 6th edition, this book has become the classic text on food chemistry around the world.

    @bookstodon



    The bulk components – carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and water, and the trace components – colours, flavours, vitamins and preservatives, as well as food-borne toxins, allergens, pesticide residues and other undesirables all receive detailed consideration. Besides being extensively rewritten and updated a new chapter on enzymes has been included. At every stage attention is drawn to the links between the chemical components of food and their health and nutritional significance. Features include:"Special Topics" section at the end of each chapter for specialist readers and advanced students; an exhaustive index and the structural formulae of over 500 food components; comprehensive listings of recent, relevant review articles and recommended books for further reading; frequent references to wider issues eg the evolutionary significance of lactose intolerance, fava bean consumption in relation to malaria and the legislative status of food additives around the world. Food: The Chemistry of its Components will be of particular interest to students and teachers of food science, nutrition and applied chemistry in universities, colleges and schools. Its accessible style ensures that it will be invaluable to anyone with an interest in food issues.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Wild Animal Ethics: The Moral and Political Problem of Wild Animal Suffering by Kyle Johannsen, 2020

    Though many ethicists have the intuition that we should leave nature alone, Kyle Johannsen argues that we have a duty to research safe ways of providing large-scale assistance to wild animals.

    @bookstodon



    Using concepts from moral and political philosophy to analyze the issue of wild animal suffering (WAS), Johannsen explores how a collective, institutional obligation to assist wild animals should be understood. He claims that with enough research, genetic editing may one day give us the power to safely intervene without perpetually interfering with wild animals’ liberties. Questions addressed include: In what way is nature valuable and is intervention compatible with that value? Is intervention a requirement of justice? What are the implications of WAS for animal rights advocacy? What types of intervention are promising? Expertly moving the debate about human relations with wild animals beyond its traditional confines, Wild Animal Ethics is essential reading for students and scholars of political philosophy and political theory studying animal ethics, environmental ethics, and environmental philosophy.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration by Laura J. Martin, 2022

    An environmental historian delves into the history, science, and philosophy of ecological restoration.

    @bookstodon





    Environmental restoration is a global pursuit and a major political concern. Governments, nonprofits, private corporations, and other institutions spend billions of dollars each year to remove invasive species, build wetlands, and reintroduce species driven from their habitats. But restoration has not always been so intensively practiced. It began as the pastime of a few wildflower enthusiasts. Restoration has been a touchstone of US environmentalism since the beginning of the twentieth century. Diverging from popular ideas about preservation, which romanticized nature as an Eden to be left untouched by human hands, and conservation, the managed use of natural resources, restoration emerged as a “third way.” Restorationists grappled with the deepest puzzles of human care for life on earth: How to intervene in nature for nature’s own sake? What are the natural baselines that humans should aim to restore? Is it possible to design nature without destroying wildness? Laura J. Martin shows how, over time, amateur and professional ecologists, interest groups, and government agencies coalesced around a mode of environmental management that sought to respect the world-making, and even the decision-making, of other species. In Wild by Design, restoration’s past provides vital knowledge for climate change policy. But Martin also offers something more―a meditation on what it means to be wild and a call for ecological restoration that is socially just.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    The Ocean Speaks by Matt Porteous, 2024

    The Ocean Speaks brings together more than 45 ocean culture life enthusiasts who have taken ocean protection into their own hands, documenting the unknown and telling stories that aim to connect humans with water. Stories by divers, marine biologists, surfers, influencers, conservationists, photojournalists & filmmakers.

    @bookstodon


    A collection of remarkable stories from the founders of charity Ocean Culture Life. Explore Earth's most remote open oceans with telling insights from the extraordinary heroes making new discoveries every day. Whether they are divers, marine biologists, surfers, influencers, conservationists, photojournalists or filmmakers, each of these ocean lovers is playing a part in deepening our understanding of our planet's largest life support system, 80% of which remains unmapped, unobserved and unexplored.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • bibliolater , to bookstodon group
    @bibliolater@qoto.org avatar

    Currently ….

    “Galileo: Decisive Innovator (Cambridge Science Biographies)

    by Michael Sharratt”

    What non-fiction book are you currently reading?

    @bookstodon

    bibliolater , to philosophy group
    @bibliolater@qoto.org avatar

    ‘He had a sarcastic turn of phrase’: discovery of 1509 book sheds new light on ‘father of utilitarianism’

    “Last month, UCL academics unveiled the most significant rediscovered books left to the university in Bentham’s will, including the translation of Brandt’s Ship of Fools and a maths textbook explaining Euclid’s propositions. Their contents, together with the philosopher’s own notes, indicate how some of his radical ­theories were first sparked.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/01/he-had-a-sarcastic-turn-of-phrase-discovery-of-1509-book-sheds-new-light-on-father-of-utilitarianism

    @philosophy @bookstodon

    attribution: Karmakolle, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeremy_Bentham_auto_icon_2.jpg

    appassionato , to bookstodon group
    @appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

    The History of Emotions by Rob Boddice, 2018

    This book introduces students and professional historians to the main areas of concern in the history of emotions. It discusses how the emotions intersect with other lines of historical research relating to power, practice, society and morality.

    @bookstodon



    Addressing criticism from within and without the discipline of history, the book offers a rigorous defence of this new approach, demonstrating its potential centrality to historiographical practice, as well as the importance of this kind of historical work for our general understanding of the human brain and the meaning of human experience.
    ALT
  • Reply
  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • kbinchat
  • All magazines
    •