And yet we rarely ask ourselves how we got there or what our occupations mean to us. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people wake up to do each day–and night–to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his signature combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacture, accountancy to art–in search of what make jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying.Along the way he tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can ask about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? And why do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also the planet? Characteristically lucid, witty and inventive, Alain de Botton’s “song for occupations” is a celebration and exploration of an aspect of life which is all too often ignored and a book that shines a revealing light on the essential meaning of work in our lives.

    Through the stories of victims, perpetrators, law enforcement, and reform movements from across the country, Snyder explores not only the dark corners of private violence, but also its far-reaching consequences for society, and what it will take to truly address it.

    Braided with that history is the moving story of Powers's beloved son Kevin--spirited, endearing, and gifted--who triumphed even while suffering from schizophrenia until finally he did not, and the story of his courageous surviving son Dean, who is also schizophrenic.A blend of history, biography, memoir, and current affairs ending with a consideration of where we might go from here, this is a thought-provoking look at a dreaded illness that has long been misunderstood.

    He tells us what to listen for in a performance and includes a guide to today's leading jazz musicians. From Louis Armstrong's innovative sounds to the jazz-rock fusion of Miles Davis, Gioia covers the music's history and reveals the building blocks of improvisation. A true love letter to jazz by a foremost expert, How to Listen to Jazz is a must-read for anyone who's ever wanted to understand and better appreciate America's greatest contribution to music."Mr. Gioia could not have done a better job. Through him, jazz might even find new devotees." -- Economist

    Moody, cofounder and director of the Brookdale Institute of Aging, reveals the spiritual passages that the vast majority of us encounter in life and explores the opportunities those spiritual stages offer us in achieving a sense of inner fulfillment.At some point in our lives, most of us begin to question what life is all about, what the purpose of our existence is. The first of the passages in our spiritual lives often arises as the result of the death of a parent or other loved one, the birth of a child, or any number of life-changing events that force us to rethink who and what we are. Described as The Call, it may lead some back to traditional religion, to community work; to mysticism. The Call is an opportunity to reflect on one's inner life, to explore and fulfill a deeper part of one's self. In The Five Stages of the Soul, Dr. Moody goes on to identify the four additional spiritual stages most of us go through on the quest for inner fulfillment, bringing together the psychology of our spiritual development with insights from Western and Eastern spiritual masters to illuminate our passage through the labyrinth of life.Written in richly textured narrative that constantly inspires as it offers a detailed road map of our spiritual lives, The Five Stages of the Soul is reminiscent in its approach of the best work of M. Scott Peck and Thomas Moore.

    If the conscious mind—the part you consider you—accounts for only a tiny fraction of the brain’s function, what is all the rest doing? This is the question that David Eagleman—renowned neuroscientist and acclaimed author of Sum—answers in a book as accessible and entertaining as it is deeply informed by startling, up-to-the-minute research.