An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back


Elisabeth Rosenthal - 2017
    In only a few decades, the medical system has been overrun by organizations seeking to exploit for profit the trust that vulnerable and sick Americans place in their healthcare. Our politicians have proven themselves either unwilling or incapable of reining in the increasingly outrageous costs faced by patients, and market-based solutions only seem to funnel larger and larger sums of our money into the hands of corporations. Impossibly high insurance premiums and inexplicably large bills have become facts of life; fatalism has set in. Very quickly Americans have been made to accept paying more for less. How did things get so bad so fast?Breaking down this monolithic business into the individual industries--the hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, and drug manufacturers--that together constitute our healthcare system, Rosenthal exposes the recent evolution of American medicine as never before. How did healthcare, the caring endeavor, become healthcare, the highly profitable industry? Hospital systems, which are managed by business executives, behave like predatory lenders, hounding patients and seizing their homes. Research charities are in bed with big pharmaceutical companies, which surreptitiously profit from the donations made by working people. Patients receive bills in code, from entrepreneurial doctors they never even saw.The system is in tatters, but we can fight back. Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal doesn't just explain the symptoms, she diagnoses and treats the disease itself. In clear and practical terms, she spells out exactly how to decode medical doublespeak, avoid the pitfalls of the pharmaceuticals racket, and get the care you and your family deserve. She takes you inside the doctor-patient relationship and to hospital C-suites, explaining step-by-step the workings of a system badly lacking transparency. This is about what we can do, as individual patients, both to navigate the maze that is American healthcare and also to demand far-reaching reform. An American Sickness is the frontline defense against a healthcare system that no longer has our well-being at heart.

The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children


Alison Gopnik - 2016
    Yet the thing we call "parenting" is a surprisingly new invention. In the past thirty years, the concept of parenting and the multibillion dollar industry surrounding it have transformed child care into obsessive, controlling, and goal-oriented labor intended to create a particular kind of child and therefore a particular kind of adult. In The Gardener and the Carpenter, the pioneering developmental psychologist and philosopher Alison Gopnik argues that the familiar twenty-first-century picture of parents and children is profoundly wrong--it's not just based on bad science, it's bad for kids and parents, too.Drawing on the study of human evolution and her own cutting-edge scientific research into how children learn, Gopnik shows that although caring for children is profoundly important, it is not a matter of shaping them to turn out a particular way. Children are designed to be messy and unpredictable, playful and imaginative, and to be very different both from their parents and from each other. The variability and flexibility of childhood lets them innovate, create, and survive in an unpredictable world. “Parenting" won't make children learn—but caring parents let children learn by creating a secure, loving environment.

Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour


Kate Fox - 2004
    She puts the English national character under her anthropological microscope, and finds a strange and fascinating culture, governed by complex sets of unspoken rules and byzantine codes of behaviour. The rules of weather-speak. The ironic-gnome rule. The reflex apology rule. The paranoid-pantomime rule. Class indicators and class anxiety tests. The money-talk taboo and many more ...Through a mixture of anthropological analysis and her own unorthodox experiments (using herself as a reluctant guinea-pig), Kate Fox discovers what these unwritten behaviour codes tell us about Englishness.

A Short History of Western Thought


Stephen Trombley - 2011
    - help is finally at hand. That help comes in the comfortingly accessible form of Stephen Trombley's Short History of Western Thought, which outlines the 2,500-year history of European ideas from the philosophers of Classical Antiquity to the thinkers of today, No major representative of any significant strand of Western thought escapes Trombley's attention: the Christian Scholastic theologians of the Middle Ages, the great philosophers of the Enlightenment, the German idealists from Kant to Hegel; the utilitarians Bentham and Mill; the transcendentalists Emerson and Thoreau; Kierkegaard and the existentialists; the analytic philosophers Russell, Moore, Whitehead and Wittgenstein; and - last but not least - the four shapers-in-chief of our modern world: the philosopher, historian and political theorist Karl Marx; the naturalist Charles Darwin, proposer of the theory of evolution; Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis; and the theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, begetter of the special and general theories of relativity and founder of post-Newtonian physics.

Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History


Bill Schutt - 2017
    Its presence in nature was dismissed as a desperate response to starvation or other life-threatening circumstances, and few spent time studying it. A taboo subject in our culture, the behavior was portrayed mostly through horror movies or tabloids sensationalizing the crimes of real-life flesh-eaters. But the true nature of cannibalism--the role it plays in evolution as well as human history--is even more intriguing (and more normal) than the misconceptions we've come to accept as fact. In Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History, zoologist Bill Schutt sets the record straight, debunking common myths and investigating our new understanding of cannibalism's role in biology, anthropology, and history in the most fascinating account yet written on this complex topic. Schutt takes readers from Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains, where he wades through ponds full of tadpoles devouring their siblings, to the Sierra Nevadas, where he joins researchers who are shedding new light on what happened to the Donner Party--the most infamous episode of cannibalism in American history. He even meets with an expert on the preparation and consumption of human placenta (and, yes, it goes well with Chianti). Bringing together the latest cutting-edge science, Schutt answers questions such as why some amphibians consume their mother's skin; why certain insects bite the heads off their partners after sex; why, up until the end of the twentieth century, Europeans regularly ate human body parts as medical curatives; and how cannibalism might be linked to the extinction of the Neanderthals. He takes us into the future as well, investigating whether, as climate change causes famine, disease, and overcrowding, we may see more outbreaks of cannibalism in many more species--including our own.Cannibalism places a perfectly natural occurrence into a vital new context and invites us to explore why it both enthralls and repels us.

For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage


Tara Parker-Pope - 2009
    And, surprise: It's good news. We've all heard the statistic: Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. It's enough to make many couples give up when the going gets rough, thinking that's what everybody else does. But what if it weren't true? What if, in fact, it's not only possible but often easier than you think to save a seemingly troubled relationship? These are the questions Tara Parker-Pope asked herself after her own divorce. An New York Times investigative journalist on the health and wellness beat, she turned to some of the top biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and other scientists for the facts about marriage and divorce. Those facts were more positive and provocative than she'd ever expected, and For Better offers page after page of astonishing, eye-opening good news. Parker-Pope presents the science behind why some marriages work and others don't; the biology behind why some spouses cheat and others remain faithful; the best diagnostic tools created by the most cutting-edge psychologists to assess the probability of success in getting married, staying married, or remarrying. There are questionnaires to uncover potentially damaging hidden attitudes toward spouses. There are tools to show the impact of routine, fresh activity and how small adjustments can make a huge difference. For Better is the definitive guide to the most profound relationship of our lives.

The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values


Sam Harris - 2010
    In the aftermath, Harris discovered that most people - from religious fundamentalists to non-believing scientists - agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values. Indeed, our failure to address questions of meaning and morality through science has now become the most common justification for religious faith. It is also the primary reason why so many secularists and religious moderates feel obligated to "respect" the hardened superstitions of their more devout neighbors.In this explosive new book, Sam Harris tears down the wall between scientific facts and human values, arguing that most people are simply mistaken about the relationship between morality and the rest of human knowledge. Harris urges us to think about morality in terms of human and animal well-being, viewing the experiences of conscious creatures as peaks and valleys on a "moral landscape." Because there are definite facts to be known about where we fall on this landscape, Harris foresees a time when science will no longer limit itself to merely describing what people do in the name of "morality"; in principle, science should be able to tell us what we ought to do to live the best lives possible.Bringing a fresh perspective to age-old questions of right and wrong and good and evil, Harris demonstrates that we already know enough about the human brain and its relationship to events in the world to say that there are right and wrong answers to the most pressing questions of human life. Because such answers exist, moral relativism is simply false - and comes at increasing cost to humanity. And the intrusions of religion into the sphere of human values can be finally repelled: for just as there is no such thing as Christian physics or Muslim algebra, there can be no Christian or Muslim morality.Using his expertise in philosophy and neuroscience, along with his experience on the front lines of our "culture wars," Harris delivers a game-changing book about the future of science and about the real basis of human cooperation.

What Makes Us Tick?: The Ten Desires That Drive Us


Hugh Mackay - 2010
    Dr Mackay has spent a lifetime listening to people talk about their dreams, fears, hopes, disappointments and passions. As well, his bestselling books have documented the impact of the changes that have been radically reshaping our society. In What Makes Us Tick? he reflects on some of the things that don't change, identifies ten desires that drive us all, and asks: `Why do we talk as if we're rational, but act as if we're not??; `Why do some people always want to take control??; `Why do we seek change, yet resist it??; `Why do we want more of the things that have failed to satisfy us??. His exploration of these and other issues goes to the heart of some of life's big questions.In this new edition Hugh Mackay offers a postscript that delves into the many concerns that were raised by people around the country when he was first promoting What Makes Us Tick? . They include: `Why do people become workaholics??; `How can religious people hold such irrational beliefs??; `Why are so many people hooked on social media??; `What about gender and generational differences??; `Shouldn?t our desire for security be on the list??, as well as many other issues that resonate with modern Australia. He also offers more thoughts on ? the desire to be taken seriously; the desire for `my place?; the desire for something to believe in; the desire to connect; the desire to be useful. Raising all these ideas, this is a book that will explain us to ourselves. Hugh Mackay is a psychologist, social researcher and novelist, and is the author of the the bestselling ADVANCE AUSTRALIA? WHERE?

President Trump And The New World Order: The Ramtha Trump Prophecy


Michael Knight - 2017
     Having been a businessman all his life, making billions in the process, as president he now has to choose to either join the club (the "club" that hides in the shadows at the top of the pyramid, or is embedded as the "Deep State" within government and its departments and agencies) or fulfill his campaign promises and "Make America Great Again"...in more ways than one. In this book, retired veteran investigative journalist Michael Knight brings you a unique perspective on the past, the present, and the future. Taking the lid off the pyramid of power, "President Trump And The New World Order" walks you through the veil behind which families such as the Rothschilds and Rockefellers have spent generations, both publicly and behind the scenes, manipulating governments, politicians, and ordinary people alike in order to build their New World Order. At the time of publication (September 2017) President Trump is under siege as outlets like CNN (referred to in this book as the Cabal News Network), continue to insist that he is unfit for the job. What they will never report - but what is revealed here, exclusively - is that President Donald Trump has friends in very high places. Among them is Ramtha the Enlightened One. Ramtha is an enigma to many people, but who he is is well documented in this book - along with his prophecy about President Trump, and UFOs, and why this will lead to some truly radical changes for the entire world. Just as evil can hide within good (an example of which you will see in the associated Ramtha prophecy video) good can also be obscured by chaos - which seems to be the current state of America under the new Trump presidency. Regardless of political persuasion, this book will certainly provide every reader with new and rational insights into the many ways in which deceivers under the appearance of doing good have indeed created a tremendous amount of bad, ranging from assassination of presidents and prime ministers who opposed their agendas, to false flag events that have resulted in major wars and the loss of many lives, to the establishment of central banks that have control of the money supply - control of governments - control of people - right down to the ordinary man in the street. Author Michael Knight and North Star Publishing Inc are licensed to refer to Ramtha's teachings that have been delivered over the past 40 years. For "President Trump And the New World Order" numerous Ramtha quotes are excerpted from the book "Last Waltz of the Tyrants," in which Ramtha outlined the Rothschild dynasty's rise to its current position atop the pyramid - a position which you will find is now in serious jeopardy. "President Trump And The New World Order" is recommended reading for anyone who is concerned about where America (and the world) are headed.

Cultural Anthropology: A Problem-Based Approach


Richard H. Robbins - 1993
    The book is organized around problems rather than topics, creating a natural and integrated discussion of such traditional concerns as kinship, caste, gender roles, and religion within the context of meaningful questions, including How can people begin to understand beliefs and behaviors that are different from their own. How do societies give meaning to and justify collective violence? Why are some societies more industrially advanced that others? What can anthropology tell us about attempts to link intelligence and class?

The Collected Works of C.G. Jung


C.G. Jung - 1958
    Jung is the 1st collected edition, in English translation, of the writings of the Swiss psychiatrist:1/Psychiatric Studies. Adler & Hull, ed./tr.2/Experimental Researches. Adler & Stein, ed./tr.3/Psychogenesis of Mental Disease. Adler, Read, Hull et al., eds./tr. 4/Freud & Psychoanalysis. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 5/Symbols of Transformation. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 6/Psychological Types. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 7/Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 8/Structure & Dynamics of the Psyche. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 9i/Archetypes & the Collective Unconscious. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 9ii/Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self. Adler & Hull, ed./tr.10/Civilization in Transition. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 11/Psychology & Religion: West & East. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 12/Psychology & Alchemy. Adler & Hull, ed./tr.13/Alchemical Studies. Adler & Hull, ed./tr.14/Mysterium Coniunctionis. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 15/Spirit in Man, Art & Literature. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 16/Practice of Psychotherapy. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 17/Development of Personality. Adler & Hull, ed./tr. 18/The Symbolic Life: Miscellaneous Writings. Adler & Hull, ed./tr.19/General Bibliography, Rev. Ress & McGuire, eds.20/General Index. Adler & Hull, ed./tr.21 Vol. Hardcover Set. Adler, Fordham et al., eds.Supplementary volumes occur.

Ethics in the Real World: 86 Brief Essays on Things that Matter


Peter Singer - 2016
    He is also one of its most controversial. The author of important books such as Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, Rethinking Life and Death, and The Life You Can Save, he helped launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements and contributed to the development of bioethics. Now, in Ethics in the Real World, Singer shows that he is also a master at dissecting important current events in a few hundred words.In this book of brief essays, he applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalized, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news. In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and what is the value of the pale blue dot that is our planet. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, like Singer’s thoughts on one of his favorite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast.Provocative and original, these essays will challenge—and possibly change—your beliefs about a wide range of real-world ethical questions.

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World


David Epstein - 2019
     Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world's top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.David Epstein examined the world's most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields--especially those that are complex and unpredictable--generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They're also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can't see.Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.

The Rise and Fall of the House of Bo


John Garnaut - 2012
    Now, as the Party's 18th National Congress oversees the biggest leadership transition in decades, and installs the Bo family's long-time rival Xi Jinping as president, China's rulers are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their poisonous internal divisions behind closed doors.Bo Xilai's breathtaking fall from grace is an extraordinary tale of excess, murder, defection, political purges and ideological clashes going back to Mao himself, as the princeling sons of the revolutionary heroes ascend to control of the Party. China watcher John Garnaut examines how Bo's stellar rise through the ranks troubled his more reformist peers, as he revived anti-'capitalist roader' sentiment, even while his family and associates enjoyed the more open economy's opportunities. Amid fears his imminent elevation to the powerful Standing Committee was leading China towards another destructive Cultural Revolution, have his opponents seized their chance now to destroy Bo and what he stands for? The trigger was his wife Gu Kailai's apparently paranoid murder of an English family friend, which exposed the corruption and brutality of Bo's outwardly successful administration of the massive city of Chongqing. It also led to the one of the highest-level attempted defections in Communist China's history when Bo's right-hand man, police chief Wang Lijun, tried to escape the ruins of his sponsor's reputation.Garnaut explains how this incredible glimpse into the very personal power struggles within the CCP exposes the myth of the unified one-party state. With China approaching super-power status, today's leadership shuffle may set the tone for international relations for decades. Here, Garnaut reveals a particularly Chinese spin on the old adage that the personal is political.

One Earth, One Humanity vs. the 1%


Vandana Shiva - 2018
    Vandana Shiva’s most radical and important ideas are represented in lucid form in this essential primer for those who wish to understand the forces that threaten our planet. Her vision of “one earth, one humanity” and its scientific and cultural roots are explained in depth; the monopolistic economic machinations of the 1% are exposed; the genetic manipulations of Monsanto and its Nazi roots are uncovered; and “philanthropists” such as Bill Gates are exposed as the new Robber Barons. Vandana Shiva’s struggles on the streets of Seattle and Cancun and in homes and farms across the world have yielded a set of principles based on inclusion, nonviolence, reclaiming the commons, and freely sharing the earth’s resources. These ideals, which she calls “earth democracy,” serve as an urgent call to peace and as the basis for a just and sustainable future. Unafraid to confront authority and name names, this slim book exposes the global elite, uncovering their links to the rising tide of fundamentalism, violence against women, and planetary death.