Archives de catégorie : Nonfiction

LABYRINTH de Ben Argon

An original look at the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre—told in cartoons.

LABYRINTH:
An existential Odyssey With Jean-Paul Sartre
by Ben Argon
Abrams ComicArts, April 2020

As graduates embark on the next phase of their lives, what better way to get them accustomed to the rat race they are about to enter than by introducing them to the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre? Cleverly told through the story of a pair of rats trapped in the labyrinth of existence, this allegory humorously conveys the key ideas of Sartre’s existential philosophy in graphic novel form—accessible for students and readers of all ages. In addition, two reputable Sartre scholars have contributed the introduction and afterword: Gary Cox, a British philosopher with a doctorate from the University of Birmingham, and Christine Daigle, professor of philosophy at Brock University in Canada.

Ben Argon grew up in France surrounded by artists, authors, and philosophers of all kinds. It was then that he started making comics. At the age of reason, his attraction to science led him to embark on a corporate career, where he now leads teams of scientists and knowledge workers. He lives in Amsterdam.

THE FUTURE EARTH de Eric Holthaus

The first hopeful book about climate change, THE FUTURE EARTH shows readers how to reverse the short- and long-term effects of climate change over the next three decades.

THE FUTURE EARTH:
A Radical Vision for What’s Possible in the Age of Warming
by Eric Holthaus
HarperOne, June 2020

Credit: Karen Edquist

The basics of climate science are easy. We know it is entirely human-caused. Which means its solutions will be similarly human-led. In THE FUTURE EARTH, leading climate change advocate and weather-related journalist Eric Holthaus (“the Rebel Nerd of Meteorology”—Rolling Stone) offers a radical vision of our future, specifically how to reverse the short- and long-term effects of climate change over the next three decades. Anchored by world-class reporting, interviews with futurists, climatologists, biologists, economists, and climate change activists, it shows what the world could look like if we implemented radical solutions on the scale of the crises we face. What could happen if we reduced carbon emissions by 50 percent in the next decade? What could living in a city look like in 2030? How could the world operate in 2040, if the proposed Green New Deal created a 100 percent net carbon-free economy in the United States?

This is the book for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the current state of our environment. Hopeful and prophetic, THE FUTURE EARTH invites us to imagine how we can reverse the effects of climate change in our own lifetime and encourages us to enter a deeper relationship with the earth as conscientious stewards and to re-affirm our commitment to one another in our shared humanity.

Eric Holthaus is the leading journalist on all things weather and climate change. His work, which is regularly cited in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Buzzfeed, has appeared in Rolling Stone, Grist, and The Correspondent, where he currently covers climate science, policy, and solutions. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

FIRE DRILL FRIDAYS de Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda’s next book focuses on the climate crisis and her Fire Drill Friday weekly demonstrations in Washington D.C.

FIRE DRILL FRIDAYS:
Bold Moves for a Burning Planet
by Jane Fonda
Penguin Press, July 2021

Since October 11th, Jane Fonda has been leading weekly Friday protests in Washington D.C. in her now iconic red coat, heeding the urgent call of young activists like Greta Thunberg to take fighting climate change to the streets. She and the Friday actions have gotten so much media attention, in part because of Jane’s unyielding commitment in the form of civil disobedience, in which other celebrities and growing crowds of activists have been inspired to participate.

In the book, she writes of her awakening from an environmentally responsible lifestyle to an urgent need to engage in global activism as she hikes in Big Sur. With urgency as well as her signature humanity and humor, Jane will take readers with her as she leaves her comfort zone, bonds with activists young and old, experiences each week’s actions, is arrested and spends time in jail. In addition, she will write about how she learns from experts before the events—activists and scientists—about everything from stopping fossil fuel production to the impact on health and women. As she says, so many of us feel overwhelmed; we need to connect the dots to better understand what needs to be done.

HAPPY NOT PERFECT de Poppy Jamie

A guide to mental wellbeing for Generation Z from influencer Poppy Jamie

HAPPY NOT PERFECT:
Four Steps To Shifting Your Brain—And Your Life
by Poppy Jamie
Rodale, March 2021

© Poppy Jamie

Poppy is a burst of 29-year old energy guiding the 250,000 individuals who have downloaded her app, HAPPY NOT PERFECT, to care about their brain health in an entirely new way. A mindfulness expert with personal experience to support her, Poppy draws on leading psychology research to present breakthrough solutions for the burnout, anxiety and insecurity afflicting her peers in unprecedented ways, as well as many others. HAPPY NOT PERFECT addresses the most anxious and depressed generation in history. The news is full of headlines about mental health concerns for GEN Z, including early onset stress burnout and a greatly increased suicide rate. In fact, half of millennials and 75% of Gen Zers have quit jobs for mental health reasons, according to CNBC this October. HAPPY NOT PERFECT identifies a new set of ideas to advance mental wellbeing and features one of Gen Z’s own who knows how to captivate her audience. Poppy’s platform is increasing rapidly, and she is already taking this conversation around the world.

Influencer and businesswoman Poppy Jamie was named one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” at age 25. By 26, Poppy was hosting her Snapchat talk show “Pillow Talk with Poppy” and taking part in the uniquely Millennial experience of sharing glamorous and heavily curated pictures of her fabulous life with her 95,000 Instagram followers, while privately facing a breakdown. Inspired by messages from her constituents, in May 2018 she launched Happy Not Perfect, and its corresponding product line. Poppy was born in the UK and currently lives in NY, London, and Los Angeles.

Lire une interview de Poppy Jamie sur le site Appear Here

BONES, BLOOD, BREATH de Susan Wise Bauer

In the tradition of Sapiens, bestselling author Susan Wise Bauer’s BONES, BLOOD, BREATH is a gripping and thought-provoking take on human history told through humanity’s evolving perceptions of illness

BONES, BLOOD, BREATH: How Sickness Shapes Our World
by Susan Wise Bauer
St. Martin’s Press, TBD
Manuscript available Fall 2021

In illness, Bauer provides a surprising new lens through which to consider all of human history—she argues that bodily sickness and our conception of it has shaped our culture, our philosophies, and our religions, and has directly and indirectly affected how we view others, how we view ourselves, and how we fashion our world. She argues that sickness is the great mirror that reflects back our most urgent and eternal questions: Why does calamity descend without warning? How can we explain it? And how do we fight back? Told in a propulsive narrative style that brings sweeping history to life through intimate individual stories—the feverish Mesopotamian sufferer; the plague victim who dies alone, the last in his village; the seventeenth-century teenager racked by smallpox; the Congolese grandmother watching her family die of Ebola—Bauer takes readers on a journey from humans’ earliest days when sickness was an unsolvable mystery, evidence that humans were powerless to the unseen forces of gods, to more modern times and the birth of germ theory, when secularism grew alongside our fear of contamination. A multidisciplinary human history like no other, BONES, BLOOD, BREATH is a big think book that tells a large-scale, vivid, chronological story, stretching around the world from ancient times until the present—it will change the way we understand who we are.

Susan Wise Bauer is a writer, historian, and educator. Known for combining meticulous research with gripping detail to offer her readers sweeping and engaging big-picture narratives, Susan is also an in-demand speaker and expert. She is the author of eighteen books, including the educational classic The Well-Trained Mind (with Jessie Wise), now in its fourth edition with over 250,000 copies sold. Her four-volume educational series The Story of the World has sold over 1.5 million copies since 2001. Bauer has a bachelor’s degree in English language and linguistics with a minor in Greek; a Master of Divinity in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature; an M.A. in English language and literature; and a Ph.D. in American Studies, with a concentration in the history of American religion. Susan writes, reads, lectures and consults, and runs a family farm and bed-and-breakfast. With its broad, multi-disciplinary approach, and propulsive story-driven writing, BLOOD, BONES, BREATH is poised to be her breakout title.