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In this witty, incisive guide to critical thinking the author provides you with the tools to allow you to question beliefs and assumptions held by those who claim to know what they're talking about. These days there are many people whom we need to question: politicians, lawyers, doctors, teachers, clergy members, bankers, car salesmen, and your boss. This book will empower you with the ability to spot faulty reasoning and, by asking the right sorts of questions, hold people accountable not only for what they believe but how they behave. By using this book you'll learn to analyze your own thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, and why you act on them (or don't). This, in turn, will help you to understand why others might hold opposing views. And the best way to change our own or others' behavior or attitudes is to gain greater clarity about underlying motives and thought processes. In a media-driven world of talking heads, gurus, urban legends, and hype, learning to think more clearly and critically, and helping others to do the same, is one of the most important things you can do.

In 1957, as the world obsessed over the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite, another, less noticed space age was taking off. That year, astrophysicist Fred Hoyle and colleagues solved a centuries-old quest for the origin of elements. The answer they found wasn't on Earth, but in the stars - their research showed that we are literally stardust.

The first book dedicated to Dr. Elizabeth O. Hayes' fight for public health on the American homefront during WWII, for which she received national attention (and a victory under President Truman's Justice Department) for her protests against unsanitary conditions in the mining town of Force, Pennsylvania.

In America, lipstick is the foundation of empires; it's a signature of identity; it's propaganda, self-expression, oppression, freedom, and rebellion. It's a multi-billion-dollar industry and one of our most iconic accessories of gender. This engaging and entertaining history of lipstick in America throughout the twentieth century and into the present will give readers a new view of the little tube's big place in modern America; marching with the Suffragettes, building Fortune 500 businesses, being present at Stonewall, and engineered for space travel.Lipstick has served as both a witness and a catalyst to history; it went to war with women, it gave women of color previously unheard of business opportunities, and was part of the development of celebrity and mass media. In the Twentieth Century alone, lipstick evolved from the mark of the underclass, to a required essential for well turned-out women; a sophisticated statement about race, class, gender, consumerism, and sexuality.How has this mainstay of the makeup kit remained relevant for over a century? Beauty journalist Ilise S. Carter suggests that it's because the simple lipstick says a lot. From the provocative allure of a classic red lip to the subtle sophistication of a neutral to the powerful statement of drag, the American love affair with lipstick is linked to every aspect of the female experience, from venturing into the working world or running for the presidency. Red Menace will capture all of those dimensions, with a dishy dose of fabulosity that makes it an amusing read for lipstick's fiercest disciples, its harshest critics, and everyone in between.

Christianity is more than just a religion. It is a social organism that affects the lives of every person on earth in significant ways, even if they are not Christians themselves. In the United States its influence is pervasive with often profound influence on public policies, but it is largely unchallenged as a belief system, relegated to that quarantined area outside the zone of polite conversation. Despite much academic ink being allotted to the weaknesses of Christianity as a valid belief system, the general public remains unaware of these flaws. In Cross Examined, John Campbell applies his almost thirty years of experience as a trial lawyer to dissecting Christianity and the case of apologists for the Christian God. He addresses the best arguments for Christianity, those against it, and the reasons people should care about these questions. His purpose is to fill a void in books on atheism and Christianity by systematically taking Christian claims to task and making a full-throated argument for atheism from the perspective of a trial lawyer making a case.

Salado Creek, Texas, 1918: Thirteen black soldiers stood at attention in front of gallows erected specifically for their hanging. They had been convicted of participating in one of America's most infamous black uprisings, the Camp Logan Mutiny, otherwise known as the 1917 Houston Riots. The revolt and ensuing riots were carried out by men of the 3rd Battalion of the all-black 24th U.S. Infantry Regiment--the famed Buffalo Soldiers--after members of the Houston Police Department violently menaced them and citizens of the local black community. It all took place over one single bloody night. In the wake of the uprising, scores lay dead, including bystanders, police, and soldiers. This incident remains one of Texas' most complicated and misrepresented historical events. It shook race relations in Houston and created conditions that sparked a nationwide surge of racial activism. In the aftermath of the carnage, what was considered the "trial of the century" ensued. Even for its time, its profundity and racial sign

Violent, carnal, and profane. Not how you''d expect pretty, peaceful Minneapolis to be portrayed during Eisenhower''s somnambulant 1950s. But the City of Lakes was also the ''anti-Semitism capital of America. '' Sexual predators, pornographers, and backstreet Romeos were on the prowl, and ill-tempered cops, haunted by brutal World War II experiences, weren''t reluctant to thump the poor sap who rubbed them the wrong way.   In 1955, Minneapolis was also a magnet for small-town girls who flocked to the big city desperate for work, love, and adventure - not always in that order. But Teresa Hickman, of Tiny Dollar, North Dakota, was a special case. She was beguiling, promiscuous, and, on a chilly April morning, lying dead along an abandoned trolley track in a Southside neighborhood. She''d been strangled. Could the killer have been, among the many men drawn to her like flies to honey, Dr. H. David Rose, a middle-aged dentist with no criminal history? There''s no forensic evidence or credible wit

All divorce lawyer Toby wanted was to settle into island life and start working on her own love story - torn between the wealthy and charismatic Josh Barton, and the adorable and dependable detective Colin Destin. But Toby''s romantic prospects take the back burner when her mum''s best friend, Daphne Dane, disappears. Toby soon discovers that Daphne''s latest boyfriend is both an alleged conman and the cheating husband of her newest client. Could he be behind Daphne''s disappearance? What about Daphne''s children, vying for their ageing mother''s money?

"1723--Spider John is almost home, free of the horrors of the pirate life, free of the violence, free of the death. The wife and baby he left behind almost a decade ago are almost within reach. But then a murder aboard Minuet uncovers a deeper conspiracy, and soon Spider and his friends--curmudgeonly Odin, swashbuckling young Hob and alluring Ruth Copper-- find themselves in the midst of flintlock smoke and bloodshed. The violence follows Spider ashore to Nantucket, where the loving reception he'd dreamed of turns out to be something utterly unexpected. Soon, Spider is running for his life and confronting cutthroats and thieves -- while hiding from islanders who think he left a man dead on a widow's front step. The solution? Find the killer. The consequences? Those could change Spider John's life forever"--

Revealed uncovers the science behind mysteries of nature and secrets of frauds who have been fooling us for centuries. Beginning at the Greek oracle in Delphi, author Loren Pankratz, PhD. guides us through the mysteries of the ancient world, the rituals of the Renaissance Church, and the readings of early mystics and spiritualists of the modern world to expose the deception of those claiming to tap into supernatural realms. Quite often these deceptions were the product of powerful institutions, like Roman Oracles or the Church of the Enlightenment, used to suppress free-thinking and maintain a tight grip on power. From GalileoΓÇÖs scientific discoveries of the cosmos to Bernard FontenelleΓÇÖs popular philosophical dialogue that helped common people understand the sun-centered universe, Pankratz profiles those who used reason to challenge the authority of their time.Soon after, mesmerists and hypnotists paraded subjects who demonstrated insensitivity to pain and powers of clairvoyance. One such clairvoyant, a Frenchman named Alexis Didier, was so compelling as to provoke claims that if a case for clairvoyance could not be made for him, then no case can be made for anyone. This declaration has not been previously challenged, and DidierΓÇÖs secret methods are unraveled here through information in rare documents and privately printed pamphlets for the first time.Modern spiritualism started with simple rapping noises created by the Fox sisters, but these quickly escalated into an arms race of psychic manifestations like levitations and mysterious writing on slates. Scientists like Michael Faraday conducted clever experiments with magnets to show the deception at work ΓÇôbut the captivating power of the spiritualists was too much to overcome, and his results were shrugged off. We follow more individuals who devised tests to debunk these hucksters, even as mediums did everything possible to avoid exposure.Each story in Revealed captures the tension of mysterious conflict, the thrill of discovery, and the power of science to unmask frauds and fakes.

In the modern world the theory of probability is used extensively in mathematics, science, engineering, medicine and, of course, gambling. A proposition bet is one that involves the use of probability -both estimated and actual -where an individual makes an apparently attractive bet to someone who is easily deceived by the odds, which are at first glance in his favor.The Book of Proposition Bets gathers together, and reveals the true mathematics behind, over 50 classic and original proposition bets. From the famous Three Card Monty (really an exercise in the Monty Hall Paradox), to probabilities based on rolling dice and pulling playing cards, or whether or not a mark can guess 3 correct digits of a one dollar bill''s serial number (spoiler: the odds are against it), author Owen O''Shea here compiles a fascinating and engaging survey of prop bets. In addition, Part 2 of the book contains a brief history of the theory of probability and some examples of cons and scams perpetrated on the general public to this day around the world, (plus a few more mathematical proposition bets!).Whether to learn the intricacies used by hustlers, or borrow a couple of tricks for yourself, we wager that there is a high probability that readers will enjoy this entertaining and illuminating book!

Sherlock Holmes, safe in the bee-loud glades of the Sussex downs, is lured back to London when a problem is posed to him by Dr. Watson and Watson''s friend, Col. Higgins. Posing as a rich American gangster, Holmes infiltrates the Higgins household. He meets Freddy, a seemingly ubiquitous suitor, and the mysterious Baron Von Stettin, Bavarian attache. He brushes up against a doctor whose potions can turn Eliza from a spitfire into a kitten. And he faces a deadly enemy who had been thought dead for twenty years. The world of Sherlock Holmes will never be the same.

This book explains in layperson's terms a new approach to studying consciousness based on a partnership between neuroscientists and complexity scientists. The author, a physicist turned neuroscientist, outlines essential features of this partnership. The new science goes well beyond traditional cognitive science and simple neural networks, which are often the focus in artificial intelligence research. It involves many fields including neuroscience, artificial intelligence, physics, cognitive science, and psychiatry. What causes autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease? How does our unconscious influence our actions? As the author shows, these important questions can be viewed in a new light when neuroscientists and complexity scientists work together. This cross-disciplinary approach also offers fresh insights into the major unsolved challenge of our age: the origin of self-awareness. Do minds emerge from brains? Or is something more involved? Using human social networks as a metaphor, the author explains how brain behavior can be compared with the collective behavior of large-scale global systems. Emergent global systems that interact and form relationships with lower levels of organization and the surrounding environment provide useful models for complex brain functions.By blending lucid explanations with illuminating analogies, this book offers the general reader a window into the latest exciting developments in brain research.

This books considers what it means to respect others' beliefs and cultural traditions without abandoning a sincere disbelief in a supernatural being.

An account of the birth of globalisation in the sixteenth century. This book traces the roots of globalization through the story of how the closely related states of Portugal, Spain, and later the Dutch Republic were able to check the powerful Ottoman Empire, supersede the great Italian city-states.

The never-before told story of how Napoleon's top brass escaped to America after Waterloo.

Electoral Bait & Switch is prescriptive, and accessible to the general reader. If it is not challenged and overturned, we are likely to face a continual series of electoral and constitutional crises. The current Elector system discriminates heavily against minority and poorer voters. The winner-take-all method of allocating Electoral votes also results in large pockets of "useless votes" and a system in which where you vote counts for far more than how you vote. Most ominously, evidence is now clear that the Electoral-Vote system has opened the door for voter suppression and manipulation of elections by domestic and foreign conspirators.

The French were the archenemies of the British and her American colonies, particularly after the French and Indian War which was begun by George Washington. So, why did America look to the French as their principal ally in the American Revolution and why did General George Washington choose a Frenchman as his chief engineer? This biography of Louis Duportail, founder and first Commandant of the Army Corps of Engineers, begins by exploring those questions. It then explores the life of this man, who is virtually unknown in America and less known in his native France.This is an unique biography about an overlooked, even obscure, French officer that was instrumental in the American cause for independence. As a complete biography, it covers his return to France and his service in the French army. Cementing his role in the seminal events of the era, readers will also learn of his problems under the Reign of Terror and his escape to the United States where he purchased a quite farm near Valley Forge. It concludes with his unusual death at sea and the problems of settling his estate. Duportail died in the greatest anonymity, in the greatest indifference, without earthly burial, without military honors, a dedicated monument to his glory in service to France or the United States, and without intervention of his brothers in arms to honor and recall his memory.

A recognized classic, this work stands alone as a uniquely compelling argument for the great importance of visual thinking and visual technologies as well as the high creative potential of many individuals with dyslexia or other learning difficulties.

In the summer of 1864, the American Civil War had been dragging on for over three years with no end in sight. Things had not gone well for the Union, and the public blamed the president for the stalemate against the Confederacy and for the appalling numbers of killed and wounded. Lincoln was thoroughly convinced that without a favorable change in the trajectory of the war he would have no chance of winning a second term against former Union general George B. McClellan, whom he had previously dismissed as commander of the Army of the Potomac. This vivid, engrossing account of a critical year in American history examines the events of 1864, when the course of American history might have taken a radically different direction. It's no exaggeration to say that if McClellan had won the election, everything would have been differentMcClellan and the Democrats planned to end the war immediately, grant the South its independence, and let the Confederacy keep its slaves. What were the crucial factors that in the end swung public sentiment in favor of Lincoln? Johnson focuses on the battlefield campaigns of Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. While Grant was waging a war of attrition with superior manpower against the quick and elusive rebel forces under General Robert E. Lee, Sherman was fighting a protracted battle in Georgia against Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston. But then the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, made a tactical error that would change the whole course of the war. This lively narrative, full of intriguing historical facts, brings to life an important series of episodes in our nation's history. History and Civil War buffs will not want to put down this real-life page-turner.

Rocket Age traces the history of spaceflight innovation from Robert Goddard¿s early experiments with liquid fuel rockets, through World War II and the work of Wernher von Braun and his German engineers, on to the postwar improvements made by Sergei Korolev and his team in the Soviet Union, and culminating with the historic Moon walk made by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969. From designers to engineers, and even communication specialists and the builders who assembled these towering rockets, hundreds of thousands of people worked on getting humans to the Moon, yet only a few have been recognized for their contributions. George D. Morgan sets the record straight by giving these forgotten figures of space travel their due. The son of rocket scientists who worked directly on NASA projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, Morgan gives behind-the-scenes details on the famous missions, including a rare interview with Dieter Huzel ¿Wernher von Braun¿s right-hand man and a chief engineer on every major manned space program. Even the most voracious readers of US space flight history will discover things in this book that they have never read before. Rocket Age shines a light on those that have for too long been left out of the picture of the race to land on the Moon.

This is the only book that tells both sides of the story of germs: that they are critically important for our health and that the dangers of emerging pathogens continue to wreak havoc in our bodies and around the world.With straight-forward and engaging writing, infectious diseases physician Phillip Peterson surveys how our understanding of viruses has changed throughout history, from early plagues and pandemics to more recent outbreaks like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and the Zika virus. Microbes also takes on contemporary issues like the importance of vaccinations in the face of the growing anti-vaxxer movement, as well as the rise of cutting-edge health treatments like fecal transplants. Peterson relays his first-hand experience dealing with an unprecedented emergence of new microbial threats. Yet at the same time he has witnessed the astounding recent discoveries of the crucial role of the microbes that colonize our body surfaces in human health. Microbes explains for general readers where these germs came from, what they do to and for us, and what can be done to stop the bad actors and foster the benefactors.

The first memoir written by a person with Down syndromeIn this inspiring memoir, David Egan tells his own story, authentically describing a life of maximizing his abilities, as he advocates for himself and for all other people with disabilities. This book is yet another first in a life that has seen many firsts, a life buoyed by an optimistic perspective that refuses to be limited by stereotypes and the low expectations of others. As he says in the introduction, "You see there is an upside to Down. It has made me look at the words 'abilities' and 'disabilities' in a very different way than most of the world. A better way. A more inclusive way. A smarter way. I use the word 'smarter' very deliberately because one of the biggest perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities is that we are not smart."You will be quickly disabused of this faulty notion as you read David's impressive story. He has worked for more than twenty years for prestigious companies; he sits on the boards of two important advocacy organizations; he has addressed thousands of people as an advocate for people with disabilities; and he has competed in the Special Olympics. In describing his personal challenges and goals, he also conveys valuable lessons that apply to all people: the importance of a supporting family and friends; the need for others to see him and other people with disabilities as persons first, not just as examples of a diagnosis; the power of inclusion in school settings and community activities; the encouraging role that sports can play; the need for society to focus on our shared humanity despite differences; how to allow yourself to dream and to imagine possibilities; and much more.Concluding with an action plan detailing how individuals can discover their own abilities and how society can nurture those abilities, this is a book of hope that will encourage everyone to make the most of their lives.

The inspiring memoir of a middle-aged woman who challenged herself to climb one hundred Japanese mountains in a single year, even after an aggressive cancer threatened to derail her dream.After more than forty years of living "safe and scared," California attorney and mystery author Susan Spann decided to break free by climbing one hundred of Japan's most famous mountains, inspired by a classic list of hyakumeizan peaks. But when an unexpected cancer diagnosis forced her to confront her deepest fears, the mountains of Japan became the setting for an even more transformative journey from pain and fear to a new life fueled by hope, confidence, and strength. This immersive, inspiring, and witty page-turner captures the terrifying lows and breathtaking highs of a woman's journey from timidity to confidence, cancer to healing, and regret to joy, as she breaks the mental and physical chains that once prevented her from living out her dreams. Susan chronicles her journey with an insightful, often humorous eye for not only her travels across Japan, but the culture, food, nature, and obstacles she encountered along the way, and complements her honest and vivid prose with breathtaking personal photographs.

A veteran math educator reveals the hidden fascinations of geometry and why this staple of math education is important.If you remember anything about high school geometry class, it's probably doing proofs. But geometry is more than axioms, postulates, theorems, and proofs. It's the science of beautiful and extraordinary geometric relationships--most of which is lost in high school classrooms where the focus is on the rigor of logically proving those relationships. This book will awaken readers to the appeal of geometry by placing the focus squarely on geometry's visually compelling features and intrinsic elegance. Who knew that straight lines, circles, and area could be so interesting? Not to mention optical illusions. So get out the rulers, compasses, or even a software program, and discover geometry for the first time.

This accessible legal history describes how the Second Amendment has been interpreted throughout most of American history and shows that today's gun-rights advocates have drastically departed from the long-held interpretation of the constitutional right to bear arms.This illuminating study traces the transformation of the right to arms from its inception in English and colonial American law to today's impassioned gun-control debate. As historian and legal scholar Patrick J. Charles shows, what the right to arms means to Americans, as well as what it legally protects, has changed drastically since its first appearance in the 1689 Declaration of Rights.Armed in America explores how and why the right to arms transformed at different points in history. The right was initially meant to serve as a parliamentary right of resistance, yet by the ratification of the Second Amendment in 1791 the right had become indispensably intertwined with civic republicanism. As the United States progressed into the 19th century the right continued to change--this time away from civic republicanism and towards the individual-right understanding that is known today, albeit with the important caveat that the right could be severely restricted by the government's police power. Throughout the 20th century this understanding of the right remained the predominant view. But working behind the scenes was the beginnings of the gun-rights movement--a movement that was started in the early 20th century through the collective efforts of sporting magazine editors and was eventually commandeered by the National Rifle Association to become the gun-rights movement known today.Readers looking to sort through the shrill rhetoric surrounding the current gun debate and arrive at an informed understanding of the legal and historical development of the right to arms will find this book to be an invaluable resource.

The SIMPOL Solution, spearheaded by the Simultaneous Policy (SIMPOL) Organization, gives voters around the world a new way to pressure their leaders to address global problems ranging from climate change to mass immigration and gross income disparities.Blending politics and psychology, The SIMPOL Solution shows how through simultaneous action--through cooperation--we can overcome the problems we face today and our children will face tomorrow.The authors argue that the chief barrier to tackling pressing international issues is a vicious circle of destructive global competition, in which nations, corporations, and citizens are helplessly caught. Our current economic system--which rewards corporations and nations that offer the greatest profits no matter what the social costs--has the effect of hollowing out national politics and encouraging either voter apathy or populism championed by the Far Right.The good news is that it doesn't take masses of people to break this vicious circle and initiate lasting change. In fact, key transitions in human history were initiated by small numbers of activists. Already endorsed by leading policy-makers, visionaries, and public figures, this exciting book offers everyone a way to become a part of this important worldwide movement for change.

A private citizen discovers compelling evidence that a decades-old murder in Nashville was not committed by the man who went to prison for the crime but was the result of a conspiracy involving elite members of Nashville society.Nashville 1964. Eighteen-year-old babysitter Paula Herring is murdered in her home while her six-year-old brother apparently sleeps through the grisly event. A few months later a judge's son is convicted of the crime. Decades after the slaying, Michael Bishop, a private citizen,stumbles upon a secret file related to the case and with the help of some of the world's top forensic experts--including forensic psychologist Richard Walter (aka "e;the living Sherlock Holmes"e;)--he uncovers the truth. What really happened is completely different from what the public was led to believe.Now, for the very first time, Bishop reveals the true story. In this true-crime page-turner, the author lays out compelling evidence that a circle of powerful citizens were key participants in the crime and the subsequent cover-up. The ne'er-do-well judge's son, who was falsely accused and sent to prison, proved to be the perfect setup man. The perpetrators used his checkered history to conceal the real facts for over half a century. Including interviews with the original defense attorney and a murder confession elicited from a nursing-home resident, the information presented here will change Nashville history forever.