Author: Amanda Ripley Publisher: Harmony ISBN: 0307352900 Category : Self-Help Languages : en Pages : 290
Book Description
Discover how human beings react to danger–and what makes the difference between life and death Today, nine out of ten Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-second choices to save ourselves and our families. How will we react? What will it feel like? Will we be heroes or victims? In her quest to answer these questions, award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley traces human responses to some of recent history’s epic disasters, from the explosion of the Mont Blanc munitions ship in 1917–one of the biggest explosions before the invention of the atomic bomb–to the journeys of the 15,000 people who found their way out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. To understand the science behind the stories, Ripley turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts. She even has her own brain examined by military researchers and experiences, through realistic simulations, what it might be like to survive a plane crash into the ocean or to escape a raging fire. Ripley comes back with precious wisdom about the surprising humanity of crowds, the elegance of the brain’s fear circuits, and the stunning inadequacy of many of our evolutionary responses. Most unexpectedly, she discovers the brain’s ability to do much, much better–with just a little help.
Author: Joshua Cooper Ramo Publisher: Little, Brown ISBN: 0316070017 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 253
Book Description
Today the very ideas that made America great imperil its future. Our plans go awry and policies fail. History's grandest war against terrorism creates more terrorists. Global capitalism, intended to improve lives, increases the gap between rich and poor. Decisions made to stem a financial crisis guarantee its worsening. Environmental strategies to protect species lead to their extinction. The traditional physics of power has been replaced by something radically different. In The Age of the Unthinkable, Joshua Cooper Ramo puts forth a revelatory new model for understanding our dangerously unpredictable world. Drawing upon history, economics, complexity theory, psychology, immunology, and the science of networks, he describes a new landscape of inherent unpredictability -- and remarkable, wonderful possibility.
Author: Helen Thomson Publisher: HarperCollins ISBN: 0062391186 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 296
Book Description
An Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of the Month Indiebound Bestseller Award-winning science writer Helen Thomson unlocks the biggest mysteries of the human brain by examining nine extraordinary cases Our brains are far stranger than we think. We take it for granted that we can remember, feel emotion, navigate, empathise and understand the world around us, but how would our lives change if these abilities were dramatically enhanced – or disappeared overnight? Helen Thomson has spent years travelling the world, tracking down incredibly rare brain disorders. In Unthinkable she tells the stories of nine extraordinary people she encountered along the way. From the man who thinks he's a tiger to the doctor who feels the pain of others just by looking at them to a woman who hears music that’s not there, their experiences illustrate how the brain can shape our lives in unexpected and, in some cases, brilliant and alarming ways. Story by remarkable story, Unthinkable takes us on an unforgettable journey through the human brain. Discover how to forge memories that never disappear, how to grow an alien limb and how to make better decisions. Learn how to hallucinate and how to make yourself happier in a split second. Find out how to avoid getting lost, how to see more of your reality, even how exactly you can confirm you are alive. Think the unthinkable.
Author: Scott Rigsby Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. ISBN: 1414333153 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 278
Book Description
Documents the nine years between the cars accident that claimed both his legs to Scott Rigsby becoming the first double-leg amputee using prosthetics to cross the finish line in the grueling Ford Ironman World Championship triathlon in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Author: Peter René Lavoy Publisher: Cornell University Press ISBN: 9780801487040 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 592
Book Description
The proliferation of chemical, biologial and nuclear weapons is now the single most serious security concern for governments around the world. This text compares how organisations shape the way leaders intend to employ these armaments.
Author: Joshua Braff Publisher: Algonquin Books ISBN: 1565128931 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 272
Book Description
It's 1977. Jacob Green, a Jewish kid from suburban New Jersey, sits on the stairs during his family's housewarming party, waiting for his father, Abram--charming host, everyone's best friend, and amateur emcee--to introduce him to the crowd. Housewarming parties, Annie Hall parties, and bar mitzvah parties punctuate Jacob's childhood and require command performances by all the Green family members. But when the confetti settles and the drapes are drawn, the affable Abram Green becomes an egotistical tyrant whose emotional rages rupture the lives of his family. Jacob doesn't mean to disappoint his father, but he can't help thinking the most unthinkable (and very funny) thoughts about public-school humiliation, Hebrew-school disinclination, and in-home sex education (with the live-in nanny!). If only his mother hadn't started college at thirty-six (and fallen for her psychology professor). If only he were more like his rebellious older brother (suspended from Hebrew school for drawing the rabbi in a threesome with a lobster and a pig). If only Jacob could confront his overbearing father and tell him he doesn't want to sing in synagogue, attend est classes, write the perfect thank-you note, or even live in the same house with Abram Green. But, of course, he can't. That would be unthinkable. This self-assured, comic, yet piercing first novel deftly captures the struggle of an imperfect boy trying to become a suitable son.
Author: Kenneth Pollack Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1476733937 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 560
Book Description
A foremost expert on Middle Eastern relations examines Iran's current nuclear potential while charting America's future course of action, recounting the prolonged clash between both nations to outline options for American policymakers. By the author of The Persian Puzzle.
Author: Nik Gowing Publisher: John Catt Educational ISBN: 9781911382744 Category : Languages : en Pages : 342
Book Description
Thinking The Unthinkable is an investigation into why leaders have appeared more unable or unwilling than ever to anticipate the biggest issues of our time. In an era of 'wicked problems', why are current leadership behaviours and culture apparently not fit for purpose? What are the causes of so many failures in policy and strategic forecasting?
Author: Nancy Werlin Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 1101600071 Category : Young Adult Fiction Languages : en Pages : 217
Book Description
This much anticipated sequel to the New York Times Bestseller Impossible – a fantasy full of suspense, mystery, and romance – will appeal to fans of Beautiful Creatures, Raven Boys, and Wicked Lovely. Fenella was the first Scarborough girl to be cursed, hundreds of years ago, and she has been trapped in the faerie realm ever since, forced to watch generations of daughters try to break this same faerie curse that has enslaved them all. But now Fenella’s descendant, Lucy, has accomplished the impossible and broken the curse, so why is Fenella still trapped in Faerie? In her desperation, Fenella makes a deal with the faerie queen: If she can accomplish three acts of destruction, she will be free, at last, to die. What she doesn't realize is that these acts must be aimed at her own family – and if she fails, the consequences will be dire, for all of the Scarborough girls. How can she possibly choose to hurt her own cherished family – not to mention the new man whom she’s surprised to find herself falling in love with? But if she doesn’t go through with the tasks, how will she manage to save her dear ones?
Author: Amanda Ripley
Author: Joshua Cooper Ramo
Author: Cynthia Portaro
Author: Helen Thomson
Author: Scott Rigsby
Author: Peter René Lavoy
Author: Joshua Braff
Author: Kenneth Pollack
Author: Nik Gowing
Author: Nancy Werlin